Social media's influence on our culture
Aug 30, 2021
The internet, first brought a goldmine of information to our fingertips. Then it revolutionised our mediums of communication and expression. Personal profiles, community building platforms and messaging applications cropped up a dime a dozen. Now these applications or websites fuelled by the world wide web; social media; is where the masses gather for their information, entertainment, socialising, employment and education.
Social media has has a profound effect on all aspects of our lives and cultures. Culture is the values, customs and social behaviour of a group of people or society and is dependent on geographical, religious, linguistic and historical factors. But now, with the rise of the internet and all things smart, cultures have evolved and social media has introduced many new ‘social cultures’ shared by billions of people across the world.
The top trendsetters, talents and entrepreneur of this decade operate mainly out of their social media accounts. Showcasing your talents and skills, promoting your career and even personal life as a money making venture was made possible by social media. We can keep up with lives of people who live across the world and are privy to their private lives. It has become easy to borrow from other cultures and have it even become a norm in other societies. Tiktokers and YouTuber’s have taken the world by storm regularly with their challenges, both for noble and questionable motives.
The internet is the biggest world stage, for people to share ideas and ideas, to raise awareness and organise and to connect and communicate. It has raised social awareness and changed the way we see the world. Social medias influence on cultures is growing everyday and it has become a topic of concern as well.
While social media is a great place to share your life with close people and connect with like minded people it is also a breeding ground for unwelcome attention, bullying, cultural appropriation, harassment, ’cancel culture’ and so on. Young adults especially, are vulnerable to the influences of social media. The unfiltered content available on social mediums expose them to age inappropriate content and even put them at risk for being victims of grooming and child trafficking. Parenting in the age of social media is also a volatile new feat.
In Maldives, social media has led to to a burst of new careers in modelling, art, crafts, performing, home businesses and online shops. Social media has changed our consumer culture, our fashion trends, what we do for leisure and even relationships with our friends, parents and children. Our culture has transformed in many ways and sustaining some values and behaviours valuable to us as a society is proving difficult.