Sometimes it’s difficult to understand just how much our lives have changed until we stop and take a look back to 5 years ago. Whether we like to admit it or not, social media now plays a massive role in a lot of people’s day-to-day lives. Without a doubt, social media has now changed us as a society, and for the most part, it’s been a positive thing. Now, we can connect with people across the entire planet with a simple click of a button.
We are now able to stay in touch with friends and family, keep up to date with the latest news and connect with businesses on a much more personal level. In fact, businesses now outsource the task of handling their social media to other businesses because of how much time and effort it takes to do right; this is exactly what a social media marketing agency does. So, even this suggests that social media has completely changed the world of business. So, here are some of the areas where social media has changed the way we live our lives and interact with each other.
It’s Where We Get The News
The days are long gone where we need to tune into the news each evening in order to find out what’s going on in the world. Now, we can look at trending news and receive instant updates directly from our social media profiles. In fact, this has had a huge impact on millennials, of which 40% of them say they rely on social media for the news.
Live Moment Broadcasts
Whether you are celebrating a friend’s birthday or attending a concert, the ability to broadcast live as things are happening has changed social media and the way we post content. We can now share even more of our lives and daily experiences with the people that follow and care about us. In addition to this (and, on a more serious side of things) broadcasting live on social media has helped to increase awareness and facilitated conversations about topics that are deemed as controversial. This is important because it can help to achieve positive change.
Discovery
Have you ever booked a holiday and then wondered what life might be like for people living in the country you are travelling to? In the past, you might have read a book or watched a TV program to learn about different cities and cultures, but these days social media has made it possible to gain this insight with very little effort. As well as gaining an insight into what other locations are like, live broadcasts have broken down barriers and made it possible to virtually attend events all over the world.
Staying Connected
Social media gives us all a sense of urgency when it comes to communicating with other people. Afterall sending a message literally takes a number of seconds. The amount of time that it takes to send a message and get a response back is hugely convenient and a prefered form of staying connected in today’s day and age.
Opinion Sharing
Social media has given people the ability to have a voice and share it with millions of people. Before social media came about, you could have an opinion or a view on something but only be able to share it with friends and family. But, given how easy social media makes it reach people, more and more are using it as an outlet to share their thoughts.
Political Gain
The past few presidential elections in the US have shown how social media is being used more than ever by candidates. For example, 2016 saw Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton using Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook to influence voters. There is also new disruptive technology out there now that can also be used to predict certain outcomes when it comes to social media and elections.
