You’ve probably come across various comics online depicting today’s youth as self-absorbed, addicted to media, and unable to function without the internet. These comics give our current generations a very negative image. These comics also have a good point: social media is vital in this world. However, that’s not a bad thing at all. Social media has opened many doors when it comes to communication, jobs, friendship, and more! Here are a few of the many reasons why social media has been good for our social behavior.
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Contents
It has opened up new ways of communication
Before the internet, we wrote letters to each other or called our friends through analog phones. While we could still communicate, it was much less than we do nowadays. If you wanted to meet up with a friend on the same day, you would either have to visit them and hope they were home, or you would have to call them and wish they were available.
Nowadays, you can easily share your calendar with a friend to meet up through an app like Telegram. If you’re really close, you may even have their diary connected to yours, so you instantly know what they are up to. If you want to see whether they can hang out within an hour from now, you simply shoot them a text or give them a quick ring. Everybody carries a phone on their body, so they are much easier to reach than before.
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You can develop yourself through various communities
Let’s say you love miniature planes, but nobody in your direct circle enjoys talking about them or building them. Without social media apps, this would be a very lonely hobby. However, there are plenty of platforms today that dedicate themselves to specific hobby’s and interests. Take Discord, for instance. This web app allows people to create groups with like-minded people. If you have an account, all you need to do is search for “miniature planes” in the search bar, and you’ll find multiple groups with people from all over the world talking about those planes.
Besides hobby groups, some groups combine native speakers and non-native speakers to help each other learn a new language. These groups are created to help people develop their life skills, and thus improving themselves. You can check out Chattoday.com to find like-minded people from all over the world, or just within your vicinity.
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Connecting with friends and family has never been easier
These days, everyone has at least one family member located on the other side of the world. It makes communication hard, especially as international phone calls often aren’t as cheap as you may hope. Even then, you’ll also have to deal with different time zones and lousy connectivity. However, when you use social media, you only need a functioning internet connection to be able to communicate with one another.
An app like Kik allows you to chat with just your email address. So, if for any reason, you don’t want to enter your phone number, you can still connect with your family. Your great-aunt will be able to send you pictures from her Safari ride through the Savannah, and you can reply once you wake up without having to miss out on anything fun.
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You can find support from others
Sometimes, you need support from your loved ones, but they can’t or won’t give it to you. You may suffer from depression or another mental illness, or perhaps you’ve just experienced something awful and you need to get it off your chest. Social media platforms and groups open up the opportunity for you to talk about your feelings and to receive support from both strangers and friends. Some may share their own experiences to help you, while others just listen to you. Some people can’t leave their house when they’re in a bad state of mind, and the internet can help them get their mind off of things and to make them feel better.
Since not everyone can afford a therapist, the internet is a close second when it comes to helping you get through any issues in life. It’s, of course, not the same, but it still has a more significant impact than keeping it all inside. Some platforms even allow you to talk to a certified therapist for a smaller fee than you would pay at a regular therapist.
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It can help you find jobs
The world of visiting stores with your resume is over. Right now, there are plenty of websites showing lists with hundreds of thousands of job offers in your country. With just one click, you can apply to almost any job, you only need to visit the building for an interview, and even interviews often get done through Skype.
The growing world of the internet has brought another perk as well: remote jobs. When you, for any reason, can’t go out to work in a physical store or office, you can still earn money working from home. Some office jobs allow their employees to work from home, and other duties were designed to be fulfilled at home.
Also, if you have a specific talent, you can start working for yourself by offering freelance jobs. This is also something you can do from home, and it allows you to advertise on your own social media pages.
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Conclusion
All in all, there are plenty of ways in which the internet and social media contribute to the development of our current society. Everything keeps on changing and evolving, and there is little we can do than to accept it and use these developments for our own growth. With the help of social media, you can find jobs or advertise your services, you can find support, connect with your friends and family, and you can even develop new life skills from which you will benefit for the rest of your life! What more do you want?
