The Compass

Social Media – A Blessing or a Curse

Welcome to our monthly Newsletter, which aims to create more awareness of the Virtual Assistant (VA) industry. Today’s Newsletter, though, is a bit different. 

I debated whether I, as a Virtual Assistant, should even discuss this sensitive topic, as social media management and content publishing are one of the services offered to our valuable clients.

Social media – is it a curse or a blessing? My thoughts on this topic follow.

Putting yourself on social media and working out of your comfort zone can be daunting. There is some excellent work being undertaken on social media, and with this in mind, I thought we could put our own views forward for a debate.

Social Media – Blessing or curse

Today, social media is extremely important and necessary in our professional and personal lives, which was highlighted by the pandemic! The entire world was, in a way, shut down.  People were in their own private spaces (homes or wherever they were) with no personal contact with the outside world.  All they could do was rely on technology for all sorts of interactions. We lived in our PJs, ordered groceries online and were grateful for every business that was able to offer delivery services. We shopped online for everything – from food and clothes to garden supplies and craft items to help us keep busy! I discovered apps which allowed me to rediscover my love of crafts. It was fun and kept me occupied for hours. 

Social media also kept me in touch with my family and friends. We had endless face time on Zoom and Teams to meet with our colleagues whilst working from home.  Everything we once did in the office was now happening on our devices. Our physical world shrank, but our electronic one extended.  

I’m sure we all also used this time to venture down roads we were once not comfortable with – the online, social media world. We educated ourselves, made connections with people we didn’t know and found new, valued friends and even expert resources that we would not have been able to otherwise if we didn’t have Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. All these experiences made me think how blessed we are to have these technologies available to us these days.

I found modern technology to be a blessing. I was introduced to new people, beliefs, ideas, views and experiences that otherwise I would not have come across. Everyone who had access to a computer and internet connection was doing the same thing. The human need to stay connected and communicate with everyone was fulfilled with electronic communication. Was the experience the same as having coffee with our friends in person? No, but we are still thankful for it.

Unfortunately, a dark side to all this became all too evident over time. That dark side stems from the very nature of social media itself, depending on how we use it. We might have noticed from time to time how social media can be abused, overused and taken advantage of. The power of social media today is probably more significant than the power of any one person or country. Is this power a blessing or a curse? When misused, this power can quickly become a curse.

Social media also has an enormous impact on changing the behaviour of our society. These media sites can lead to shorter attention spans and less efficient work but can also be abused and used as a tool to become famous or infamous. Many people today blindly connect and follow many people on social media, making those relationships superficial. In the race to connect with people, we lose the meaning of connection and friendship.

In saying so, I am also fully aware of many amazing people and organisations doing significant, meaningful work and using social media for positive purposes. This positive side of social media leads me to believe that “social media is a blessing to this modern world.”

When used appropriately, social media’s benefits offset many of its negatives. Social media is changing our world every day. Thanks to people who use it to promote and encourage communication, it is an excellent way of learning and communicating. Social media sites are the best ways to influence people by sharing opinions positively; they are great platforms for your voice. I have seen amazing people sharing great ideas on websites like Google+, Twitter and LinkedIn and promoting good intentions. Social media connects millions of people who share the same interests, and I believe small steps can lead to more significant positive and powerful differences for our people, community and country. 

I would be interested in knowing your thoughts and comments on this topic.