Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat

Argument 1: Social Media is Essentially Good

Evidence A

Social media connects us meaningfully to other people. Human happiness is very strongly influenced by our social ties. We need our family and friends.

In the original article on Social Media Today, Syed Noman Ali wrote, “Social networks has provided us the opportunity to connect with people and build better relationships with friends with whom we are unable to meet personally, and let them know about our life and take input about their lives and events happening with them.”

People are more and more mobile, moving for jobs, living far from their families, so technology that helps bridge the social gap created by the modern economy is useful. We build and maintain relationships on social

Thomas Friedman makes this argument in “The World is Flat.”

“In his book, The World is Flat, Freidman recounts a journey to Bangalore, India, when he realized globalization has changed core economic concepts. In his opinion, this flattening is a product of a convergence of personal computer with fiber-optic micro cable with the rise of work flow software. He termed this period as Globalization 3.0, differentiating this period from the previous Globalization 1.0 (in which countries and governments were the main protagonists) and the Globalization 2.0 (in which multinational companies led the way in driving global integration).

Friedman recounts many examples of companies based in India and China that, by providing labor from typists and call center operators to accountants and computer programmers, have become integral parts of complex global supply chains for companies such as Dell, AOL, and Microsoft. Friedman's capitalist peace theory called Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention is discussed in the book's penultimate chapter.” – Summary of “The World is Flat”

Evidence

People are using social media while they are supposed to be working.

In the original article on Social Media Today, Syed Noman Ali wrote, “Nucleus Research reported that Facebook shaves 1.5% off office productivity while Morse claimed that British companies lost $2.2 billion a year to the social phenomenon.”

How much productivity is being lost to social media?

“In its annual Wasting Time at Work Survey, Salary.com reported that 89 percent of respondents admitted that they waste time at work each day. A small percentage even admitted they waste at least half of an eight-hour workday on nonwork-related tasks.

For the 61 percent who admit to wasting 30 minutes to an hour, the lost productivity may not seem like a big deal. But for a small-business owner, even 30 minutes each day adds up to 2.5 hours a week and 130 hours each year.” – Inc. Magazine

However you do the math, it’s a lot.

Evidence B

Social media can be addictive and have the same consequences as other additions for some people. A lot of people look at their mobile when they wake up. It turns out that logging into Facebook can provide our brains with a influx of dopamine, just like alcoholic gets when she drinks a