By: Gabrielle Guzinski 

Social media has become an everyday part of our lives and has changed the way we communicate forever. Humans have access from celebrities to businesses in a matter of seconds; to show we have information on anyone, anywhere at any time. It has integrated its way into society for close to fifteen years and it is here to stay. Technology is adapting and changing just as much as we are so we will learn from each other on how to be stronger and more functional together.

World Social Media Day was launched by Mashable on June 30, 2010. Seven years before this Myspace was launched on August 1, 2003 (which was even before Facebook which launched months later February 4th, 2004). More channels came around with the popularity of uploading videos and connecting with friends and family almost instantaneously on a global level. While everyone considers Facebook to birth the platforms we know today as Instagram, X, TikTok, and much more, the real credit goes to Myspace.

Myspace was one of the first video platforms that eventually led to the creation of YouTube. It launched the notorious careers of Lady Gaga and Arctic Monkeys. There is a concept of Myspace that has recently found its way into most social networks. Snapchat, for instance, had a feature like the top eight for Myspace, basically you could see a viewer’s top eight friends and while that still exists today you need a premium Snapchat account to use this feature. For any form of media you post you can include a song with it so far you can do this on Snapchat, BeReal, and Facebook just to name a few. While this might seem like an exciting feature for any of these users, it started with Myspace.

With anything in life, there is both good and bad factors incorporated into internet-based communication. If people are waiting for a friend at an event, they will automatically go on their phone till their friend gets there, but it is considered rude. Also, just because you read something online does not mean it is right, be sure to fact-check yourself and educate yourself on a topic before you speak about it. On the other hand, there are opportunities for remote employment which involves you saving money from commuting to an office every day. Online communities are another way to connect and share insightful ideas without having to talk to anyone and allow you to foster connections with people who have the same interests as you. Social media is what you make of it.

The internet community has been around shorter than humans have existed, and it already has created a big impact on the world as we know it. Social media is here to stay, but it is nice to remember that we created it. If there is something that has not been brought to your attention or you want to educate people from a bigger audience, you have the power to do so! Your opinion matters and it is here to connect each other one by one and get closer to make the world a better place every day.