Extra! Extra! Social Media Reports the News First

Social media has changed and will continue to change the way people receive news, share their lives, and spend their time.  Social media is intrusive to a degree.  By turning on privacy settings and following certain things people can limit how intrusive social media is.  Sometimes, even when people are not posting themselves, they end up in their friend's posts or some private story of theirs was shared by another person.  The fact that one post can reach all around the world gives social media the intrusive power when the person the post is about did not want that information to go that far.  With great opportunity comes great responsibility and that is exactly the case with social media.  The connections all over the world, news sharing and more are awesome positives of social media but with that comes the responsibility of not letting it take over one's life.  If someone is spending all their time on social media and procrastinating homework, skipping plans with friends or ignoring those around them, they are not using it responsibly.  Also, if someone posts something they should not such as underage drinking, drug usage or nude photos, those things can spread like wildfire.  If that person's grandmother, pastor, employer or teacher sees that post they could get in more trouble than the post is worth.  Not to mention the responsibility of being kind to one another and not saying mean things just because the screen acts as a shield.  There is a huge responsibility when it comes to having social media which is why I think it is important to make sure kids accounts are monitored.  Twitter is one social media platform where many people get their news.  This all started on January 15, 2009 when Captain Sully miraculously landed a plane on the Hudson.  Jeff Krums tweeted "There's a plane in the Hudson.  I'm on the ferry going to pick up the people. Crazy".  This tweet caused hundreds of millions of people to start turning to Twitter for serious news.  The news that this tweet delivered got people talking and became the first serious news event that was first reported on twitter.  The news of Osama Bin Laden being killed was also first delivered on twitter a couple years later.  The easy usage and constant attention the app gets makes Twitter have a positive impact when it comes to delivering information.  At the rate it is going, social media could easily put newspapers out of business.  Many older people appreciate the newspaper but with the younger generations being raised in a technologically advanced world, newspapers will become a thing of the past.  Social media will also continue to allow people from all over the world to connect in new ways.  Many advancements have been made in such a small amount of time with no signs of slowing down.  Social media is also hurting people's face to face social skills.  The growing field has a world of opportunity and danger ahead.

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