Hey did you reply to that email that I sent earlier? What about the tweet that I sent or the picture posted on Instagram? Everyday people are making connections. Blink your eyes and you’ve got a new post, friend or tweet. Social media has changed everything about our lives in the last 15-20 years. Finding lost relatives, connecting with family members in others states, promoting one’s business, searching the job market more effectively are all areas that have been flourishing due to social networking and media. In addition, people are using it as a venue for perfect self-expression. It’s been used as a platform to support the less fortunate, decrease disparities amongst minorities and increase advocacy for special populations that at one time had no voice. 

Social media has also welcomed us into the lives of complete strangers. We know more about these individuals than their coworkers, families and friends. We follow them, “like” them, comment on their posts & status and so much more. In a sense, our words and support have been their fuel. The time we spend with these strangers online is our form of embracing and fully accepting them. When a local, national or international crisis occurs we use social media to show our support especially when being physically there is not possible. We have seen so much loss in the last eight months: the massacre at the Orlando night club, senseless killing of black men, radical police reform, a huge loss of lives in Syria and the religious bombings that have killed and taken countless innocent lives. There are no words to explain or justify the loss of all these lives. It is a deathly wonder that calls for no words, but only action.

Has social media reached it’s highest potential or have we just scratched the surface? The release of new song, movie or celebrity gossip usually creates a social media storm. A storm so chaotic that it can take weeks to sort through it all. I think one that we are all familiar with is the “Kardashian Storm”. We can only hope that more important events garner the same response. Fast forward to 2020 and we have become a polarized nation. Divided on so many issues: race, immigration, healthcare and so much more.

The argument can also be made that these events and what our nation chooses to focus is a reflection of our current state of unrest. Maybe at the nation’s core we are not truly making the connections that need to made : the connections that foster impactful change and love.