Social Media is everywhere. Not being connected via social media is the exception, not the rule. While there are many debates, complaints, and legitimate downsides to being connected 24/7, there are also a lot of advantages that some of us take for granted or may not even be aware of. To help us appreciate having the world just a friend request away, here are 7 Advantages of Social Media That Are Good To Keep In Mind.
1. It exposes us to different points of view, new ideas, and gives the power to research those opinions and discuss them with others. If someone puts an idea in front of you that you’ve never considered, you can look up the data for yourself, read about both sides of an issue, and have your mind opened to new and shiny points of view.
2. It keeps us informed about the world. Even people who don’t care to read news websites or watch news on tv, or listen on the radio, find out about current major events via friends and family on social media. How reliable that information always is…is another question…
3. It keeps us in touch with friends and family who are far away.
4. If you have a business, particularly a small local or internet based business, Social Media is an incredible tool to reach your customers. You can get feedback right away, have last minute sales or specials on slow days, or just build a relationship that makes them more likely to use your services.
5. Helps us connect with people who are into the same weird stuff we are, and expand our skill set. So if you’re learning to cook, there’s about a billion other people out there who would love to talk to you about it, and help you get better at it.
6. Information spreads really quickly. Things like severe weather information, major news events, missing persons, who Taylor Swift is dating this week, etc, spreads throughout the world in moments.
7. It helps us find stuff we need and get rid of stuff we don’t. There are many buy/sell/swap groups for everything you can imagine on social media. Beyond that, we can post items we no longer need for sale or to give away. It’s the beauty of a yard sale, without lugging your crap outside.