Is Social Media Good for You?

Look, I’m not going to beat around the bush!

Yes, social media is good for you!

However, like any good thing, social media can be abused.

Let’s talk about that!

As a tool for instantaneous contact with global audiences, 7 X 24, social media can’t be beat.

Until someone figures out how to tap directly into our minds, social media is the only game in town.

(Don’t snicker, they did it on My Favorite Martian and with the Borg.)

The problem is there’s no filter as to its content.

(Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey may disagree with me and they’re welcome to guest blog here and state their side of the argument.)

We all know the negatives, outright lies, half truths, and pure spam.

Even the positives have issues, poorly written, repetitive truths, half truths, and pure spam.

(Don’t believe me?  Check it out for yourselves!)

Then there’s cyber bullying, hate speech, and pure spam.

(Seeing a trend here?)

Now, in fairness, you may ask “Why is this guy thinking that this is in anyway good for me?”

Hear me out, there’s a method to my madness. 

Like it or not, Pandora’s Box has been opened.

Social media is here to stay for better or worse.

Yes, we have be our own editors and filters. 

Yes, we have to be more discerning.

Maybe even unfriend some people.

(The horror!)

But, on the flip side, we can build our online communities as we go along in our lives. 

Young people today no longer face the dread of moving along after graduation and losing contact with friends.

Leaving a job for another one, no longer means losing touch with colleagues.

Moving to a new town doesn’t mean leaving old friends behind.

Many bemoan the fewer Christmas cards that go out each as a sign of losing touch but overlook the daily if not hourly contacts that take place on social media with friends and family.

And, this is just on the personal side!

On the business side, there are myriad ways to use social media to promote products  and services, stay in touch with clients and customers, conduct research,  and a lot more.

I don’t want to even think what life during thus pandemic would have been like without social media and its associated technologies. 

So, overall, yes, social media is good for you!

Paraphrasing what they say in liquor ads, ‘If you use social media, use it responsibly!’

That’s it for now!

Please check out my 8 step approach for developing a social media program for more ideas on how to use social media.

Also, never forget to reach out to either ask questions or to ask for help from someone like myself! In the meantime, thank you for following and reading my blog.

I look forward to any and all comments that you may have. I will reply to any comments made to this blog post as promptly as I can.

And, remember!

I do this for a living and if I can be of any assistance to either you or your organization, please feel free to call on me. Our initial discussion will be of no charge to you.

I can also be reached at conpsweeney@someddi.com.

My Twitter handle is @conpsweeney.

Stay well!