Social Media through the Diffusion Theory

 

    The most important aspect of the Diffusion Theory, to me, is the tipping point, and when analyzing social media through its lens, it seems that the tipping point may be steeper than one realizes. 

   As technology seems to be everlong developing, advancing, and overtaking our society, it is easy for being to hop on the bandwagon and spread. A chance to express yourself online? Share photos of yourself for likes and comments? Tell everyone what you're doing, from wherever you are, at any time? Most people would say "Sign me up!", and that's what they did.

    However, most people became these early adopters without realizing the stakes at hand in having an online presence. Thus, certainly not making late adopters any safer, but at least making them more aware of the issues. 

    The risks of putting yourself online seem to all fall under the category of safety. You are putting your full name, photos of yourself, and sometimes even your address online for anyone in the world to see. You are posting photos of yourself that leave room for anyone in the universe to analyze and draw opinions about, even if they are harmful to you. You also indulge in a lot of informative digestion, even if it is information that you wanted or didn't. With this, comes a lot of information that you have to draw conclusions about to be either true or false. 

    With all these risks, it is important to note that there are positives. Some being the wonderful platform of being able to share content, communicate with others all around the world, and share experiences. You can put yourself out there, and that might help you secure a dream job, or even make new friends. It helps you keep tabs on old friends, and stay in touch. It may even help you build up your confidence, or in other cases, thick skin. 

    So, when analyzing whether or not the positives outweigh the negatives, it truly depends on the person. It depends on whether or not a person is self-aware enough to be able to differentiate true from false, or positive to negative. It depends on whether or not you live a lifestyle that this new communicative technology would benefit you, and allow you to have stronger communication skills and experiences.