Social media can be good?

I spend a lot of time talking about the cons of social media and how it’s wreaked havoc on my life, but I don't talk enough about it’s good parts.

Back before the time of the internet, social media was originally conceived to solve a big and ongoing problem: connection in an increasingly globalized world. It was a tool for people to keep in touch with friends and family, find career opportunities, and meet like-minded people.¹

Essentially, it was a way to create community, despite the separation of distance. So where did it go so wrong?

Much of it comes down to how social media grew after its conception. To make money, it began to sell ad space. And to maximize advertising profits, it needed to keep people’s attention on the app. Social media was thus designed to be addictive, which is why mindless scrolling through your feed feels so good after a long day.²

This recent pandemic was a huge wake-up call. With all of us being isolated, the cracks in social media have gotten wider, worsening a loneliness epidemic rather than solving it.³ It wasn’t until now where we’ve realized how far social media has strayed from its original noble intentions.

Luckily, tech companies are responding to this desperate need for support, get-togethers, and conversations. As some examples, software applications like Adobe are constantly releasing new features to encourage digital collaboration, as many of us have transitioned into remote work.⁴ Facebook has changed their algorithm to feature more groups and events, making it easier for us to find comradery. Live-streaming platforms like Twitch have also become more accessible, skyrocketing the popularity of casual and interactive content (more on 2021 social media changes here)

With that being said, a lot of how social media can benefit us still comes back down to our own actions. Consider this excerpt from the book Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman, talking about a study by Burke and Kraut that assessed the effect of social technology on friendships:

“The more people talked one-on-one, such as writing wall posts or comments, especially with close friends, the more their well-being improved.” Burke and Kraut reported. But the more people looked at strangers’ feeds, without that interaction with friends, the worse they felt.

This means that as a social media user, posting consistently and passively scrolling isn’t enough. If community is what we’re looking for, we need to make an effort to be actively social. Reach out to people directly. Attend events. Learn. Find support. And most importantly, connect. Face to face. Human to human.

Because in my experience, it’s only after doing these things, that I’ve found the goodness in social media.

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Some of my favourite corners of the internet

A few online spaces that have made me hate social media a little bit less:

• Wild Green Memes for Ecological Fiends: a weird and wacky Facebook group dedicated to quality ecology memes and laughs. If you love nature, you need to be in this group.

  Note: They also have an Instagram and Tiktok, but I think the Facebook group is still the best.

• Ologies Podcast: a Facebook group dedicated to fans of the Ologies podcast. People share their insights into the latest Ologies episodes, and ask questions about anything and everything, resulting in some wonderfully interesting discussions.

• Pandemic University: I’ve talked about this initiative before on my newsletter, but if you are looking to get into freelance writing, this is the community for you. There are so many courses available, from comedy to screenwriting to nature storytelling, which are all incredibly well-organized. Attending them will give you access to resources and equip you with a greater understanding of the Canadian journalism landscape.

• Leah’s Fieldnotes: Lately, I’ve been watching a lot of content from Youtubers that are close to my age. I find it incredibly calming, because it makes me feel not so alone with my twenty-something struggles. Leah recently posted a Q&A about life and careers which was super insightful, so I’d thought I’d share it here.

I think that’s probably enough for this newsletter, but of course, there are so many other platforms and creators that I haven’t mentioned (let me know if we want a part 2). Please pop your own favourites in the comments as well. I need more recommendations!

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A quote for the road

“Our sociality is simply too complex to be outsourced to a social network or reduced to instant messages and emojis.”

- Cal Newport (from the book Digital Minimalism)

1. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/social-media.asp

2. From the documentary The Social Dilemma. Give it a watch if you haven’t already.

3. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/02/young-adults-teens-loneliness-mental-health-coronavirus-covid-pandemic/

4. Something I learned from the recent Adobe MAX conference.