Importance of Social Media, Essay Example

Social media has a high importance for us in modern society.  It has developed over time from being a simple method of people connecting through telephones, community fairs and letters or newspapers to a wealth of connections via the internet that allow for greater information sharing than in any other time in history.  Today, a family relative living thousands of miles away can easily be informed of the birth of a new baby complete with pictures, comments from friends and family and a detailed timeline all through a few simple clicks on Facebook.  Millions of people log on to Facebook every single day to provide updates on their own lives and to stay connected with the people they care about.  Therefore, it is reasonable to assume that Facebook is necessary to stay informed and stay connected to others.

One major issue that globalization presents in today’s society is that most people may live in different parts of the country or globe, but still need to stay informed of events and happenings in other parts of the world such as their home town where friends and family may be living.  Facebook provides real-time updates for people to receive updates from friends and family, but also to receive updates on store discounts, purchasing options and even when someone has beaten their high score on an important Facebook game.  This allows people to stay informed of happenings all over the world that people value.  Facebook does not question whether it is important for people to value certain things, but it does provide the a strong method for people to do receive the information they want and need to continue to maintain aspects of their everyday lives.

Facebook also provides a strong method for people all over the world to stay connected to one another through direct private and public messaging.  People can communicate to one another by using the built-in email system and the private chat system.  People can also implicitly communicate with each other by tagging friends, family members and business pages on wall posts and activities.  Finally, people can also stay connected by reviewing the news feed which is the main page view on every Facebook profile that shows updates of all connections that have been made for every person or group.  This is an excellent way to receive regular updates and to review a history of updates in case the user fails to log on for the first time.  Without this function, people would not be able to effectively stay connected with others, which is a common requirement and expectation in today’s society.

Unfortunately concrete facts and statistics are rare to showcase the importance of usage and connectivity with Facebook.  However, through using logos “in the absence of hard facts, [or in addition] claims may be supported with other kinds of compelling reasons” (84).  Therefore, the importance for people to stay informed and stay connected with others are clearly compelling reasons to emphasize the importance of Facebook and other social media for common usage by all people and businesses across the world.  This continues to address many of the growing needs of globalization and provides a strong benefit using a phenomenal modern tool.