Hannah Fetty's Blog

We are eager to share, to retweet, to hashtag for good causes. We change our profile pictures to support things like the shootings in Paris. We do all these things and we tell ourselves we are making a difference now. The question is how much of a difference are we making? Is it enough to post on social media? I believe that it will absolutely raise awareness and perhaps even invoke questions within those who see your posts. BUT if everyone ONLY shared things, what would happen? Where would we get if everyone only did their fighting on social media? Would a change ever occur? What would have happened to the people who were affected by the hurricane if everyone had just kept everything on social media? What actions would have been taken in response to #MeToo if it was only on social media? My point is not to say that social media isn't valuable because it totally is. However, we cannot let the fight solely reside on social media. Let's make a stand.

Social media is a tool that can take many forms. There is certainly good to it as it amplifies many good causes and charities. It connects people with old and new friends. It serves as a way to build an online portfolio and community. There is also the bad aspect. This aspect might involve the time it consumes and the addiction that it many times causes. The ugly would have to be the way it amplifies bullying and trolling. It can bring out the worst in people because many times those people can remain anonymous. We can choose what our own personal social media broadcasts. Will it be good, will it be bad, or will it be ugly? I personally hope that we all choose to put more good out in the world with our social media. Lets start a revolution of positive posts.

When you post something online, do you ever think to yourself that it will go viral? That you will be an overnight sensation? That your entire life could be turned entirely upside down by a single tweet, Facebook status, or Instagram post?  I'm sure that most people do not put things online with these thoughts in mind. Most people do it to share a moment in life or to make a funny joke. They do not do it with the intention of being famous by any means. However, this is what happens. One tweet, status, or post grabs someone's attention. Repost. Then another's attention. Repost. Then 5 more people's attention. Repost, repost, repost, repost, repost. Before you know it, your post has been shared hundreds of thousands of times and you have become either the praise or the joke or the target of the internet. Many lives have been ruined and many have been amplified from a single post.  The saying goes, "Expect the unexpected." Maybe we should all post things a...