The Positive Impacts Of Social Media

Social media is a web-based tool that allows people to communicate, share interests and activities and consume information. There are many types of social media such as virtual games, publishing websites and communication websites. In “Connectivity and Its Discontents,” Sherry Turkle talks about how technology has taken over communication. In “Mind over Mass Media,” Steven Pinker talks about the growing controversies of technology and media. In “Reality is Broken,” Jane McGonigal talks about how games can bring a change to the world. In “Connectivity and Its Discontents,” Turkle believes that text messaging has become the connection of choice. Whereas in “Mind over Mass Media,” Pinker believes that the internet has increased our brainpower.

For instance, when we use social media to communicate with one another and the world we feel more connected and closer. As Turkle states in “Connectivity and its Discontents,” “The technology has become like a phantom limb, it is so much a part of them” (144). Specifically, in “Connectivity and Its Discontents,” it is told how a twenty-one-year old college student prefers to communicate through texting and social media websites instead of using a phone (Turkle 192). To emphasize, when we communicate with people over the phone we cannot see them we are only talking to them. When we communicate through social media, we can see an individual, see what they are doing, and feel like we are right next to them. When we communicate with the world we find people who have the same feelings and interests as ourselves. This is what makes it a personal connection. After all, when you personally connect with someone and learn to understand one another it unites

Likewise, social media and technology helps us progress. It has become an advantage to help us learn. Social media and technology provides us with the tools to use information in a convenient and understandable way. According to Pinker, “Knowledge is increasing exponentially” (197). To illustrate, in “Mind over Mass Media,” the author tells the reader that discoveries are multiplying like fruit flies (Pinker 196). In addition, the author also states that the decade in old-fashioned electronics and rock music was the decade in which Intelligence Quotient scores increased (Pinker 196). Not to mention, the author also states that scientists are learning more with the help of Powerpoint (Pinker 196). In today’s world we have a variety of technology, from Powerpoint and the internet to cell phones and Google. Social media and technology provides us with the tools to use information in a convenient and understandable way. All people, including scientists, are using technology as resources to improve their research and theories. Technology and social media have proven to help because more things are being created and new inventions are being discovered. Therefore, our brains are increasing with the help of the internet and information