Our peers could best be described as the cyber generation. Year after year, we delve further into the Internet. Be it for academic purposes or a simple hello, social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are a dominant force in shaping our activities.
Yet our generation is also criticized for succumbing to that very influence. Common criticisms include that we are too obsessed with social networking, we avoid social interaction and compensate by social networking, and we waste precious time on the web instead of being productive. Though I understand these are legitimate concerns, there are some substantial benefits of Facebook and Twitter, especially for college students, that many critics ignore.
At the University, social networking is playing a greater role in public communications. For example, the University’s College of Arts and Sciences has a Facebook page where the College administration posts new, upcoming class, research and internship opportunities which are available. Facebook has become a great mechanism to inform students and keep them up-to-date on College happenings.
The University’s use of social media has further legitimized such websites as an authentic source of communicating information at the University. Granted, at first when I found out that the University was on Facebook, I felt this would only increase our interaction with social networking and further glue students to the Internet. But since we are always on Facebook as is, why shouldn’t the University utilize the medium to inform students of things which could benefit them? Furthermore, the page really does supplement other communication mechanisms such as University-wide emails.
Furthermore, my professors are on Twitter. I am enrolled in PLAP 3700: Racial Politics, with Prof. Lynn Sanders, who uses Twitter to convey to us topics and articles relevant to our area of study. “I started using Twitter because I read an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education that said professors should try it,” Sanders said in an email. “Also, lately I’ve been thinking, I better start making an effort to get more modern in my media habits. And, I’d found myself deluging and annoying students with not-all-business emails, like stuff I think is funny … So I started tweeting to replace email, and now, I find twitter is a great way to capture all the scatter, both serious and lighter, that I think connects to Racial Politics.”
In such circumstances, social networking can be used in an interesting manner to further our understanding of the subject matter. While social networking sites do not allow for thorough teaching, short, direct messages do attract a student’s attention and are easy to remember.
On a larger scale, social networking played a significant role during the Arab Spring by spreading the message of revolution and rebellion to the public. Of course, the Arab Spring is only one example of social media making a large impact.
We can also see its importance in the United States. How Republican primary candidates are campaigning on Twitter truly shows its impact in our society. A January 28 New York Times article discussed how Newt Gingrich has been online in hopes of communicating to the public, while Mitt Romney’s team takes to Twitter to better shape perception of the candidate. Twitter, and social networking in general, has undoubtably changed the political playing field and added another dimension in appealing to the electorate.
Yes, I agree we could probably communicate less on Facebook and more in-person. This is especially true if the people with whom we are communicating live within traveling distance. As college students, social interaction is part of this experience. But as our technology becomes more advanced, we will invest more in technology. While social networking sites are important in the life of a student, this does not necessarily mean that we have completely dedicated our lives to social networking.
Critics of social networking have valid arguments. Nevertheless, social networking will remain, whether we like it or not. As a result, it is better to take advantage of it and the efficiencies it provides. I, too, first thought we were too invested in social networking, but that was when I failed to recognize how large an impact social networking could have.
Fariha Kabir’s column appears Thursdays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at f.kabir@cavalierdaily.com.
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Critics of social networking ignore the benefits and political potential such technologies enable