Being Positive About All of Those Ones and Zeroes, Essay Example

Social media is prolific. It’s in homes, schools, churches. Secluded Tibetan monks have Skype these days. This means that we’re living in an age in which we’re more connected on a global level than any other time in history and I think it’s a positive thing. The feminist movement is growing on social media thanks to the positivity of selfies (most teens in a research pool reported having more confidence posting a selfie and getting “likes” and positive comments about their selfie). This is a way for women to reclaim their sense of identity as women, instead of always looking through the male gaze, as has been done through history (male painters got to choose what their female models looked like). CNN reported that teenagers thought that social media is a positive thing because it boosts their esteem, makes them less shy, and makes them feel more outgoing; “On the whole, teens said that they feel that social media has a more positive than negative impact on their social and emotional lives,” said Shira Lee Katz, Common Sense Media’s director of digital media. “They believe that social media helps their friendships, makes them feel more outgoing and gives them confidence.” (CNN para. 12). Between Shirky’s cognitive surplus and Pariser’s filter bubble I’d go for Shirky’s cognitive surplus since it seems that social media is helping to bring worlds together instead of dividing them. The information that’s available to people on the digital level is immense and even if there are filters through search engines, there are ways around such filters. The internet satisfies curiosity and the challenge to find something on the internet is the next level treasure hunt. Anything can be found as long as the person is tenacious enough.