How Social Media Has Changed Us By Elvin Nisman

I play video games a lot so in my free time I created an em blem that would be displayed every time I play a game. I was able to use many tools available in Call of Duty. The game lets me use hundred of different building blocks and with some help from YouTube, I was able to create this emblem. Through the PS4 Share feature, I was able to screenshot the emblem on my console and email it to myself. I found it extremely interesting how new media gives us tools that can easily show how creative we truly are.

New media fosters creativity by enabling people the accessibility to share and generate thoughts cheaper and easier. For example, a photographer previously would need to take a photo and display it in a gallery and must pay money to the gallery as well. Now, photographers can share the image on Instagram and millions of people can view the photo in a matter of seconds. Twitter allows people to easily have access to other thoughts. People can view others tweets and respond in their own creative way or lead people to have their own creative thoughts. “The Internet lets people exchange ideas easily and rapidly with large groups, and computing tools let people design new products cheaply.” Companies can even be more creative now through tracking social media activity and monitoring their feedback or responses. New media is making creativity more readily available for everyone. Twitter Serves Up Ideas From Its Followers by CLAIRE CAIN MILLER, the New York Times, October 26, 2009. Avai...

Virtual World have been around for a long time. We have been introduced to them since my generation was little. With games such as Club Penguin where you could interact with your friends, play games, go shopping, do sporting activities all from the screen of your computer. This concept again rose with games such as Minecraft and Lego World. Growing up we get more into and reliant on virtual worlds for enjoyment with video games. Games like call of duty create an entire world of survival. Some benefits, other than for pure enjoyment, of virtual worlds like states in the Forbes article are that “you can use virtual worlds in education, in delivery services, or as an advanced form of telehealth care that offers so much more than videoconferencing. Virtual worlds can give us social connectivity, built-in support groups, and ways to avoid ever being alone again.” This shows the variety of forms virtual worlds can take from education to healthcare. Another benefit is using a virtual word a...

Twitter is one the leading social media platforms in the world and varies significantly from Blackboard discussions and in-class discussions. Twitter is great for communicating with the whole world on your opinions. If you want to discuss or respond to a topic with the whole world, twitter is the place for it. Blackboard discussions are limited to responding to posts from your classmates. Blackboard discussions is good for doing homework and responding to your classmates from home. It helps connect classmates while you are not together. In-class discussions are the best way to communicate with your classmates and professor. Inside a classroom, people can communicate quickly, efficiently and clearly. People can elaborate what they mean, so there is never a misconception about what someone means. The problem is that once the class ends, there is no communication between classmates unless we use an online platform. Each of these modes of communication are best used for different scenari...

The four social media platforms that I explored were Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. All these platforms are different in their design, but all share one purpose. They connect people together that previously would be unable to be reached. Facebook, the leading social media platform, is designed to bring friends and family together through messaging and posts. Facebook is used heavily among the older generation even though it started off with mainly teenagers. Teenagers have switched over to Instagram and Snapchat. Instagram connect people mainly through pictures. People post a picture and followers respond with likes and comments. On the other hand, Snapchat connect people mainly through videos. People can record videos on the spot which is deleted when the message is closed. Teenagers love the idea of sending pictures and videos to express themselves which may explain Snapchat's and Instagram's popularity. Twitter is used by many professionals and young adults mai...

Social networking is a transformational technology that influences the lives of billions of people. Social networking has made people more connected with one another due to the ease of communication available through the internet and other technologies. “It is clear that individuals are increasingly using these sites to keep in touch with friends, find jobs and enhance their careers. Social networking sites drew 139.8 million visitors in April, a 12% increase from 124.4 million in March, according to comScore, a service that measures web traffic.” [1] These technologies have made networking very simple by allowing people to contact across the world with a simple message or post. There are many downsides that have occurred as well. Privacy is much more difficult to attain even for the most affluent and powerful people in the world. The biggest concern is how communication changed due to social media. Social media made people lack the development of real-life social skills and ironica...