How Different We Are Due To Social Media

It's no secret that people have changing significantly due to social media. Today, people are using social media to accomplish many things. For instance, some people get YouTube subscribers to grow their online audience. This enables them to disseminate information to more people at once. In the past, people used traditional media like radio and newspapers to do this.

Looking back to around a decade ago, one can see how social media has changed us and our lives. Here's how different we are due to social media.

How We Access News and Information
Modern society is different from the people that lived some decades ago when it comes to accessing information and news. Most people turn to social media once they wake up. They check the social media pages and accounts of different news outlets for the latest updates.

What's more, people check the stories shared by the people they follow and friends. This is different from how people used to get information and news before the emergence of social media. After all, people couldn't choose the editors of publications like newspapers and magazines. However, modern society can select the groups, news outlets, and people to follow on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks.

How We Run Businesses
Starting and running a business is now easier than it was before the introduction of social media. Modern entrepreneurs can use social media to locate potential prospects and collaborators. People are also finding the right employees via social media groups, social networks, and Twitter searches. What's more, social media provides platforms that people with tight advertising budgets a chance to promote businesses and engage others. Twitter, for instance, is a great marketing platform for mom-and-pop shops that do not have ad budgets.

In the past, people did business with people in their immediate environment. However, social media has opened new business opportunities. From tweeting to blogging, people can now reach clients and customers that are miles away from their stores.

Essentially, modern people are different from those who lived decades ago in terms of how and who they do business with. Social media is particularly valuable for startups or small businesses.

How We Connect and Keep in Touch
People meet at social places like parties and clubs. However, discovering people that share the same interests with you is now easier via social media. Social media has changed how we connect and keep in touch with other people. Many people have met on social media channels like Facebook groups and Twitter.

Some people have interests that lie in obscure areas like Nepalese art or France poetry of the 15^th century. However, they still find people that share the same interest in Facebook and Twitter. Twitter search, for instance, can turn up people that talk about a similar subject.

A lot of communication can happen via social networks. However, people are interacting more via social media networks. In some cases, people meet and introduce themselves on social networks before setting up face-to-face meetings.

Research indicates that people have almost tripled the amount of time they spend on social networks. Social sites like Facebook have primarily focused on connecting people and helping them keep in touch. In other words, people are using social media to establish and maintain friendships.

Nevertheless, research shows that most social media interactions are shallow and can't replace everyday interactions. Thus, people that meet and interact on social media may eventually plan to have face-to-face meetings and communications.

How We Influence Others
Television celebrities like Oprah Winfrey were famous for having more than 20 million individuals watch their weekly shows. It was also a big deal to have a publication read by millions. These traditional outlets still command attention in modern society. However, social media has changed how people influence others. The mainstream media is not the only influencer of public opinion.

Many individuals are using social media to influence millions of their followers. For instance, a Facebook page or Twitter account can have thousands of followers. A YouTube channel can have millions of subscribers that watch every uploaded video.

Regular people are also using social media to share content that can influence the opinions and decisions of their followers. Regular people have using social media to influence others beyond what was thought possible in the past.

Even with few Twitter followers, Facebook friends, YouTube, or blog subscribers, an average person can influence others in significant ways. Social media is now a reliable channel for sharing and even amplifying information. This enhances the ability of individuals to influence the opinions of others and also shaping policies.

Thus, social media makes people in modern society feel not just like passive bystanders but more of participants with a voice that can influence events in the world. This was not the case before the emergence of social media.

What We Can Express
In the past, people expressed little information about their doubts and fears. People presented images of themselves as knowledgeable and confident individuals. The goal was to look like a person was in complete control. However, this has partly changed due to social media.

People are more transparent, with feelings and thoughts. They now reveal their humanness. CEOs are expressing their reservations when it comes to making decisions. Leaders are acknowledging the fact that they sometimes get nervous. People are also sharing their views on different social issues more openly.

The Bottom Line
The emergence of social media is one of the cultural changes that have happened in this year. And it has changed humans in many ways. Social media has proven to be an effective means of connecting, doing business, accessing information, expressing views, and influencing others. These changes make people in modern society different from those who lived some decades ago.