“THE SOCIAL Media generation”

Today, I stumbled across a comic on Zen Pencil about “The Social Media Generation”, detailing a quote by Marc Maron about the woes of Social Media — how everyone uses it as a veiled cry for attention. The comic displays a young man, comparing him to someone addicted to heroin, replacing that physical drug with Social Media.

The message here is clear: we’re all addicted to Social Media, and the world is becoming a worse place because of it.

But let me make something clear: we are not addicted to Social Media.

It seems to me that the cries of my generation becoming addicted to Social Media come from the same people who believe we are a generation of coddled brats. To this older generation, we come across as entitled. Like our lives should be handed to us on a plate. And that we cannot focus on a task for more than five minutes without tweeting about it.

But here’s the thing about those kinds of complaints: every generation has complained about the one coming after it.

Every generation has believed that the world was going to end at the fault of the generation coming after it. They just know that will be the case. They’re smarter. They’ve lived full lives. And their childhoods were nothing like their kids’. With their hoodlum rock and roll, and their bad haircuts, spending all their time at dances and outdoor movie theaters. Madness, that’s what it was!

They said it in the 50s and the world didn’t end. They said it in the 70s and it didn’t happen. And they’ll say it during the new millenium. But it’s not going to happen.

It’s a bit insulting, really. The problem I have with the argument that our generation is addicted to social media, is that it has always come across as superficial. It’s a very easy thing to argue for, and people will nod their heads and agree with you about the sad state of affairs the world has come to with Facebook and Twitter and Myspace (hah! I’m kidding about that last one.) taking over our lives. Because separating yourself from Social Media makes you sound so very smart. As if you’ve become so enlightened from thinking hard about an overstated problem.

But disconnecting yourself from Social Media doesn’t make you smarter. It just means you’re resistant to change.

Dare I say it, that change is actually positive! Put the pitchforks down, give me a moment.

In a span of a few seconds, I can send a message to a friend in Rotherham, asking her how her day has been. We have never spoken in person. Never looked each other in the eyes. And yet we know each other incredibly well. In what universe could this be considered a negative development? Evidently, the same one that believes Twitter is the downfall of productivity.

Social Media has made the world more convenient than it has ever been. In a few minutes, I can gather a group of friends to get together for a game of Munchkin, or to watch a movie. I can figure out which places to go out to eat, where the best deals for shopping are, and where the coolest places to hang out are. I can read a fascinating article a friend has posted on their Facebook wall, or be introduced to a band someone else has posted on their Twitter feed. It has never been so easy to intimately connect with the people you care about.

The older generation does not give us enough credit. The ability to do things in moderation hasn’t skipped a generation. It is very easy to take control of Social Media. It is a tool. And just like any other tool, it can be used incorrectly. How many people do you know that regularly post pictures and make status updates about everything that they do? Four or five, at most? Are these people even your friends?

No?

Then why are you “friends” with them!?

You cannot complain about how terrible social media is if you aren’t doing anything to tailor it for your own needs.

This isn’t to say that I condone using social media while “out” with your friends. That is rude, just as much as reading a book while someone is trying to speak with you. But I don’t think it happens as frequently as everyone seems to believe it does.

Our generation isn’t addicted to social media. It has simply become integrated into our lives, like the TV integrated into our parents’ lives, and how the radio integrated into our grandparents’ lives.

Why lament this exciting technological breakthrough? Embrace it! Use it wisely. Because in the end, Social Media is here to stay.

Oh, and don’t forget to like, retweet, and share this with your friends.