TED Conversations

Shane Lynch

Student,

This conversation is closed. Start a new conversation
or join one »

Is social media changing the way we experience the world?

During the 2012 Olympics in London there were more recorded tweets in one day then there was during the entire Olympics in Beijing. London was called the first Social Olympics.

Do you think that social media is changing the way people experience events such as the Olympics or life in general?

Will this trend last or fade away?

Is this the evolution of communication?

Topics: 2012 Beijing London Twitter communication evolution facebook olympics social media
0
Share:
progress indicator
  • thumb

    James Zhang 30+

    • +1
    Aug 17 2012: YES, Social Media has changed the playing field in how we literally do everything. This is indeed the evolution of communication. You can communicate to someone halfway across Earth. Information travels like wildfire, where a few hundred years ago, letters traveled in snail's pace. This trend isn't a simple fad, it's revolutionary in its paradigm.

    Here's the video of Michio Kaku talking about Type 1, 2, 3, and 0 Civilizations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnmmnpj_pX8

    Basically we are approaching a Type 1 Civilization where everything will become global. Social Media and Internet are basically this form of global communication.
    • thumb

      Debra Smith 200+

      • 0
      Aug 17 2012: I utterly agree with James. In times past, I would be isolated during my recovery and perhaps embarassed by the limitations I have had to work through. In this system, I can connect with persons from all around the world who simply know me by my thoughts and i can move forward with dignity.
      • thumb

        James Zhang 30+

        • 0
        Aug 17 2012: Indeed, we are no longer limited to most physical limitations that used to be needed for communication.
        • thumb

          Feyisayo Anjorin 50+

          • 0
          Aug 18 2012: Sometimes what we call 'solutions' brings new and peculiar problems of its own.
          Social media has created a different kind of physical limitation. Now, a faceless person can spread hateful and sinister information on the cyber.
          I'm not saying this to mean social media is the cause of the spread of evil: the cause is the use of social media by someone or some people who are driven by sinister agenda.
      • thumb

        James Zhang 30+

        • 0
        Aug 18 2012: The sinister agenda probably has already existed before, only social media has made it easier to do them. I think social media is a great and powerful tool, and we need more "good" people to make this kind of tool less "corrupt". And to do that, it starts with how each child is raised.
        • thumb

          Debra Smith 200+

          • 0
          Aug 18 2012: iN every society there are gossips and liars. Good people are initially unequipped to deal with these but it does not take viewing the suffering for too long to get those good people to react. The danger with cyber space is that the lies are overtly (instead of covertly) there for ever. For example, millions were influenced by information against vacinations which has been utterly proven to be false. Even the guy who did it admits to falsifying the results but it is still out there misleading. Thus, people like me take a bit of our time in the hopes that our words of truth stay out there too. Autism is NOT linked to vacinations.That guy lied!
      • thumb

        James Zhang 30+

        • 0
        Aug 18 2012: I mean we live in a world where there are lies/truths, ignorance/knowledgeability, and silence/outspoken-ness. The guy could have lied about it with good/bad intentions, the guy could have been misinformed, the guy could have just kept his mouth shut to begin with, etc.

        There's just a ton of variables and possibilities and we simply can't know what really went down unless we're given the correct information and the whole information. It's almost impossible to say whether the guy is evil or not, but the only thing we know is that what happened has happened and the damage/impact and consequences have resulted.
    • thumb

      Q Hampton

      • 0
      Aug 18 2012: It's also breeding a higher level of anti-social within people. When I'm at events and social outings and get together everyone is mostly immersed in their smart phones checking out Facebook, twitter and all these social networking sites.
      • thumb

        Debra Smith 200+

        • 0
        Aug 18 2012: Is this reaction perhaps correlated with novelty? Do you think it will disappear when the devices are old hat?
        • thumb

          Q Hampton

          • +1
          Aug 19 2012: The way we communicate and interact has been changed for ever. Anti-Social will evolve into being normal behavior.
      • thumb

        James Zhang 30+

        • 0
        Aug 18 2012: You're right, there's a good and bad to everything, even social media.

        There are times when I feel like I need to get off social media and internet altogether and just take a breath of fresh air and spend time with friends doing physical activities or just talking with them in person.

        Nothing is perfect, but we should capitalize on the good of everything, while being aware of the bad.
        • thumb

          Q Hampton

          • 0
          Aug 19 2012: Yes, but as history shows it, we always over consume on the "good." Gluttony is the Achilles Heel of humans.
  • thumb

    Feyisayo Anjorin 50+

    • +1
    Aug 17 2012: Certainly! Social media is an information revolution. It is an influential meeting place; the impact on human interaction should not be underestimated. Social media has brought down dictators and exposed shady politicians. And advertisers are battling on the cyberspaces.
Showing all 13 comments