So I was just scrolling through my feed like always. Then I remembered my childhood where there were barely smartphones. Facebook isn't a thing yet and it feels like the world is such a wonderful place to live in. I remember talking to my grade school best friend over the phone while watching Naruto.. and maybe if it did happen today, we will just be chatting over messenger or some other chatting apps. What if we have the internet but there's really no Facebook or Friendster to begin with? Will it have a big impact on how we live our lives now?
I say yes! Truth is, we rely so much on social media. That if it would be gone right now, I think we will all be lost, but at the same time would be living a normal life just the way it was before there were likes and shares. I wouldn't lie though, social media has made our lives easier, from sharing to what's happening right in this moment, to sharing a special moment with your friends, and your not so close friends. There probably would have less discussions and conflicts too! And who would forget about the trolls too? Maybe we will all live a peaceful life and we will all be relying to hearing the stories from the person itself rather than seeing it on a tiny screen.
And so while I was contemplating about where social media led us humans, I started to think about the stuff that would probably be different now if social media hasn't existed.
1. We will all be relying on our planners or if not, our memories, for our families and friend's birthdays. If it wouldn't for Facebook, we would have not greeted our friends during their birthdays. It could arise to a little tampuhan if you forgot someone's birthdaybut at least you would know who really knows and remembers your birthday! :p
2. We wouldn't be asking for the wifi password every time we dine out. It's funny how we see our friends to reconnect but we almost never put down our phone's when we're with them. I am guilty of this sometimes! And maybe wifis wouldn't be a big deal to everyone if social media hasn't existed.
"Do not use social media to impress people; use it to impact people"
- DaveWillis.Org
3. We would all rely to big media outlets for credible news. And probably, all of us wouldn't have to verify if the source is credible or not! Let's not begin with talking about trolls because we would be talking for forever by then. But let us discuss on how satire websites can change our lives. I don't know what actually are the motives of fake websites but I think without social media, they won't be successful enough in spreading malicious lies around the world wide web. Yes, they could exist because internet's still there but I think they will have a hard time convincing the masses of their false journalism. Mocha Uson probably wouldn't have a big number of followers.
4. And since we all rely to credible news, we will have to love reading newspapers for fresh news.
5. Photos will still be printed most of the time because there's no venue to share it with other than by putting it in the classic photo album.. or picture frame then show it to someone. No more likes or instant shares.
6. And we would probably only know something new about the person if we actually meet them in person! (well, there's a telephone, but you get the point)
7. The word "friends" would actually mean real life friends.
8. We will have more intimate gatherings because this is the only venue where we'll be able to catch up with each other. We can have a photo taken at an iPhone but that just about it. No more sharing.
9. Marketing would probably be different.. Brands wouldn't ask us to like their pages or post for something free from them. Influencers would have a hard time connecting to people.
10. We could have different leaders right now, and we could have prefer other brands instead of the one we are using right now.
11. We would appreciate our surroundings more. We would be more captivated by scenery.
12. We wouldn't think too much on which filter to use!
13. Less distraction.
14. We would probably be more productive. (Depends on how we use social media),
15. And lastly, we would probably be watching TVs right now instead of reading this blog post. You probably saw this post over facebook so if it doesn't exist, this post wouldn't reach you, right? We would have a longer family time and less internet time.
Overall, social media has pros and cons. I cannot list it all down because I know I am not the right person to do that as I am not an expert about social media. Sure, we get a lot of pros, but hopefully the cons doesn't have a great impact on us.These are just my assumptions and the product of my imagination. And if there's anyone who could know if social media's effect on you is good or bad, it is yourself. If you have anything else to add on the list, feel free to hit up the comments.
So how about you, does the nonexistence of social media have a big impact in your life? Tell me in the comment section below! :)
I'm glad social media exist so it's easy for me and my family to communicate. Most of my loved ones work abroad. It's refreshing to look at people though who doesn't rely on social media all the time. There are cons on it but it's a matter of how you use it anyway. :)
Thanks for the reality check................. hay. I grew up in the 1990s, the time when social media wasn't a thing and I think I was really lucky. I don't find myself too much attached to social media. I worry for my younger siblings though. They're always on the phone on Facebook and twitter :( It's so hard to remind them to stay away or at least be disciplined about it.
Social media has both advantage and disadvantage. I think the world would be harder to connect to without it. It's just sad that some people have chosen to stay connected to perfect strangers rather than their family. My family and I stay connected online to stay connected to each other as well.
Yep we'll all be fine! It will take some getting used to for millennials and older since they've been without it at one point in their lives. But for the later generations who woke up in the digital age and with social media rampant, it might be a shock! XD
Personally though, I can live without it but it will be very very hard haha. I might even need to downgrade my phone cos what use is a smartphone when I can't even overshare my selfies or rant about the traffic? haha
In things, there will always be advantages and disadvantages. For me, I would prefer life without social media. I love relationships offline more. I would just like to have phone though.
Everything you've said here is spot on. I try to use a planner anyway as you never know if your phone will be stolen or something and then you lose your entire calendar! There's an interesting episode of Black Mirror which talks about the opposite effect - what will happen if we rely even MORE on social media. It's quite scary and doesn't end well. You should give it a watch!
I find myself wondering that same thing!!! Although I'm actually glad that there's social media. It's a great way to connect with people, especially with us bloggers! :D
I am thankful for the internet and the way it has made a lot of things easier for everyone. One click on google and everything is there unlike the old times that we need to borrow an encyclopedia or a dictionary in the nearest library to do the research. I am thankful for social media too for allowing connections to be easier too. But living without social media makes life less complicated and simple. I've seen a lot of people using the social media to impress and not to impact anymore. The kind that when you knew them personally and saw them on social media, its way a lot different from their authentic life and that's kinda sad. Sometimes i refuse to share my personal life, our lifestyle because it does happen with or without likes and shares and thats fine with me. I guess its how we use and devote our time in social media that makes it all the difference. Nonetheless, i am thankful the internet existed and if if crashed diwn permanently i will still be thankful...
Life is so much easier without social media or the internet, well for social maybe, but its hard without one right now kung ngayon iisipin. All of us needs wifi or the internet nowadays pero kung nasimulan ng wala then mas madali buhay natin. There will be communications with other people hindi ung lagi nakatutok lang sa phone.
For me social media has advantage and disadvantage. It helps us to connect and communicate from the people far from us but is removing to talk to someon who is near from us.
For X Gens like me, we were born w/o technology and saw how it evolved in front of us-- from analog phones, to GSM, to smartphones and camera phones. Our wireless network also evolved from GSM to WAP, to Edge, to 2G, 3G and 4G. Social Networks also evolved- from Friendster to Multiply, to Facebook, Twitter and IG. Chatting Apps from IM to Yahoo Messenger and now, Telegram and alike.
While XGens are thankful for social media because it makes connection, communication and sharing easier, it'll not be difficult to live without it because we also have offline social networks that is equally value adding.
We use social media literally in all areas of our lives. They are excellent assistants in building our plans. They help us to remember important events and dates.
Welcome to my personal space where I document my life, mostly travels and just normal 20-ish stuff written down for documentation. I hope you find something interesting in this blog while reading it. Cheers! xx
16 comments
I'm glad social media exist so it's easy for me and my family to communicate. Most of my loved ones work abroad. It's refreshing to look at people though who doesn't rely on social media all the time. There are cons on it but it's a matter of how you use it anyway. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://thewallflowersecrets.com/
Thanks for the reality check................. hay. I grew up in the 1990s, the time when social media wasn't a thing and I think I was really lucky. I don't find myself too much attached to social media. I worry for my younger siblings though. They're always on the phone on Facebook and twitter :( It's so hard to remind them to stay away or at least be disciplined about it.
ReplyDeleteSocial media has both advantage and disadvantage. I think the world would be harder to connect to without it. It's just sad that some people have chosen to stay connected to perfect strangers rather than their family. My family and I stay connected online to stay connected to each other as well.
ReplyDeleteYep we'll all be fine! It will take some getting used to for millennials and older since they've been without it at one point in their lives. But for the later generations who woke up in the digital age and with social media rampant, it might be a shock! XD
ReplyDeletePersonally though, I can live without it but it will be very very hard haha. I might even need to downgrade my phone cos what use is a smartphone when I can't even overshare my selfies or rant about the traffic? haha
In things, there will always be advantages and disadvantages. For me, I would prefer life without social media. I love relationships offline more. I would just like to have phone though.
ReplyDeleteEverything you've said here is spot on. I try to use a planner anyway as you never know if your phone will be stolen or something and then you lose your entire calendar! There's an interesting episode of Black Mirror which talks about the opposite effect - what will happen if we rely even MORE on social media. It's quite scary and doesn't end well. You should give it a watch!
ReplyDeleteI find myself wondering that same thing!!! Although I'm actually glad that there's social media. It's a great way to connect with people, especially with us bloggers! :D
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for the internet and the way it has made a lot of things easier for everyone. One click on google and everything is there unlike the old times that we need to borrow an encyclopedia or a dictionary in the nearest library to do the research. I am thankful for social media too for allowing connections to be easier too. But living without social media makes life less complicated and simple. I've seen a lot of people using the social media to impress and not to impact anymore. The kind that when you knew them personally and saw them on social media, its way a lot different from their authentic life and that's kinda sad. Sometimes i refuse to share my personal life, our lifestyle because it does happen with or without likes and shares and thats fine with me. I guess its how we use and devote our time in social media that makes it all the difference. Nonetheless, i am thankful the internet existed and if if crashed diwn permanently i will still be thankful...
ReplyDeleteLife is so much easier without social media or the internet, well for social maybe, but its hard without one right now kung ngayon iisipin. All of us needs wifi or the internet nowadays pero kung nasimulan ng wala then mas madali buhay natin. There will be communications with other people hindi ung lagi nakatutok lang sa phone.
ReplyDeleteFor me social media has advantage and disadvantage. It helps us to connect and communicate from the people far from us but is removing to talk to someon who is near from us.
ReplyDeleteFor X Gens like me, we were born w/o technology and saw how it evolved in front of us-- from analog phones, to GSM, to smartphones and camera phones. Our wireless network also evolved from GSM to WAP, to Edge, to 2G, 3G and 4G. Social Networks also evolved- from Friendster to Multiply, to Facebook, Twitter and IG. Chatting Apps from IM to Yahoo Messenger and now, Telegram and alike.
ReplyDeleteWhile XGens are thankful for social media because it makes connection, communication and sharing easier, it'll not be difficult to live without it because we also have offline social networks that is equally value adding.
We use social media literally in all areas of our lives. They are excellent assistants in building our plans. They help us to remember important events and dates.
ReplyDeleteI would like to get more writings on this topic. You know, all the social networks are highly influential for our living.
ReplyDeletei guess newspapers and books, theatres are the things that can help us to be literate.
ReplyDeleteThere are many other interesting things, such as a cinema, ballet, books and much more.
ReplyDeleteDoes the nonexistence of social media have a big impact in my life? I don't think so! There are a lot of other interesting things to be done.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting my blog! Comments are very much appreciated. :)