Social media walks a very thin line between creative storytelling and “facts” which I now have to put in quotes because there’s real facts, and fake facts, of course. Just one kind of facts is so last week.
The only thing for certain is that social media is part of our lives more than ever before.
With the election coming up, and the pandemic burrowing in with no sign of disappearing, it’s fair to wonder where the world is headed. With the technology-consuming world in disarray, there’s only one constant we can count on: social media.
Oddly enough, the very presence of social media is one cause of the chaos. Information fluidity makes conspiracy theories as common as water cooler talk about a sitcom — but looking to characters in TV shows for a daily dose of dramas is so last decade…no, we need our drama up front and personal.
Here’s some unique social media stats to be aware of:
- Blue has been shown to be a color that encourages engagement. All of these Internet companies have a blue logo: Facebook, Twitter, Skype, Dropbox, LinkedIn, Instagram.
- In 2015, 20% of people on Earth had a Facebook account, according to this article. That number has likely grown.
- We…(I don’t know who “we” are, likely if we figure out who “they” are it will help)…spend 2 hours PER DAY on social media. (source 1) (source 2)
Designed to be engaging (down to the color scheme), used by people worldwide who are logging surprising amounts of time, it is as addictive as much as it is practical (at least that is what I am telling myself as I scroll with glassy eyes, transfixed like I’m at the slots in Vegas muttering ‘one more time’). We know it’s addictive. It’s just part of the game. What isn’t often considered is that, like the title of this article which references the British empire in days of old, it’s imperialistic. It’s invasive, cultural, and assimilative. The question is, do we stop it, sign the Treaty, or welcome it in?