It’s been 3 years now since Mashable decided to create the Social Media Day, in order to celebrate the importance of social media, nowadays.
Social media have become part of our daily routine and nobody can disagree with that. Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest, Linkedin, Tumblr are only a few of the examples of social networking. Internet has become more social than ever and the global community is closer than ever. We don’t feel isolated anymore, since we can reach anyone we want throughout the world that has the same interests with us. Social media have preserved long distance personal relationships with friends, relatives or new acquaintances, but they have also become a great way of networking. Facebook is not just a site that you can upload funny videos, but it is also a site that can be your showcase to your future employers. It can also help you meet other people that might help you build your professional name.
Communication has changed, too, since we are replacing calling and texting with emailing and “Facebooking”. We don’t need to be charged anymore to organize a night out, we just speak with our friends through Facebook. However, there is also the need to let others know of what we are doing every single minute. Although most of us are not really excited with this trend, it’s still an indication of the changing times.
Companies have realised the importance of social media and thus, they hire social media managers to handle their digital presence. Social media management might require a lot of time, but can become rewarding. Companies undestand that nowadays, a brand should have at least an average social media presence (with Facebook and Twitter), in order to promote its products, but also gain new customers. That’s why cautiousness towards social media has been replaced with interest in them.
Although we cannot predict the future of social media and their impact in our lives, we can guess that they will be around for a long time. Our lives are no longer the same after using social media. Although there might be some disadvantages with overusing them (there are no advantages, without disadvantages), we are responsible for their use and it’s up to us to manage our time.
How would you define your relationship to social media then?
Image Sources: tweepuntnu.com, socialmediainbusiness.com
