By Nikeish Smith @nik3ish
Community Manager
Well, welcome. Ominous title right, gives the illusion that this is a serious blog post about the impact of social media on the civilized landscape as we know it – it is. It came hitting me like a ton of bricks, like a humid wind on a clear sunny day; just out of nowhere – What’s the use of our cell phone number?
As social media (SM) grows, it impacts the world and alters our social lives. We use it for every part of our lives – in our personal relationships, for entertainment, at work and in our studies. Ir used to be, that the main purpose of a first conversation between two peoples was “Can I get your number?”
However, at an event I attended the other day, I was interrogated for everything else except my number: my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and when that list was exhausted without merit, the perturbed gentleman gingerly asked for my number as a ‘last resort’.
Though an insignificant point, the fact is that our entire existence now hinges on our SM profiles as our identifier. A phone number now is probably only used on a resumé, or to Whatsapp, Telegram or other Instant Messengers apps but they’re still not used as mostly in the way telecom had first intended.
In the digital age today, it is much easier to put on a 2 -Day Data Plan than to send a text message, the technological age is here to stay and given the ever changing platforms it’s hard to keep up.
It’s like with my circle of friends, when I need to talk, a SMS can’t convey the memes I want to share from Instagram or the GIFs from Twitter. Through these apps a new form of communication is concocted, a full conversation can happen without words– only images and videos.
Sufficed to say, given the deep integration of SM into our everyday lives it’s no wonder why businesses and brands have to advertise their products and services on social platforms to reach a larger audience. They are using the same opportunities to speak to people – giving small businesses, in particular, many more opportunities. Some HR managers are even taking job recruiting to whole other level by vetting their applicants by their social media profiles. Though I think this is somewhat of an invasion of privacy, but I get why they would want to do that. Being on social is like an avenue to marketing yourself as a person. So, I think it’s safe to say one must:
So it leaves me to ask, “Is Social Media today a good or bad thing”? Let us know your thoughts.
