I made friends.

Social media is a tool, and a tool becomes what ever the user wants it to be. Personally, that is how social media has changed my life and has also changed in my eyes.

Social media is a means to an end. It connects the user to whatever they desire. For some, the desires are friends and family. Others connect to a particular interest, like politics or history, and for different folks it is a chance to connect to celebrities.

Social media is about making the user feel connected and has evolved into making the user feel as if they are in control. It is a tool that can be overwhelming, but like all tools, it is what you make of it. Social media can be a point of sharing everything from personal thoughts to marketing a brand.

Social media can be used regularly in certain professions, even ones that don’t seem obvious. In the job of choreographer at Maryvale High School’s musical, social media is a productive tool. So much of working in a high school setting as a choreographer is developing a performance that is informed, and cultivating an education of these kids, even if that education is in sort of a “musical pop culture.” YouTube links can be sent out in a private message, or a public link. Rehearsal information can be announced on twitter. The choreographer can answer questions that don’t go to my personal text inbox. They may also follow others in the theatre world to gain inspiration and thoughts that are current and constantly evolving on several different platforms. Social media has absolutely been positive for in this instance.

The biggest criticisms of social media come from the idea that it is intrusive, thus more options to control what you see being a necessary development. Already, Facebook has made it easier to customize whose stuff you actually see. The user can now “unfollow” someone without “unfriending” them. Did your cousin have a new baby? Unfollowed. No more baby pictures. Twitter’s “mute” function is similar.

Social media is also a cause of stress and even addiction. The instant feedback causes a user to feel instantly gratified, and can cause psychological effects. A network going down or a lack of notifications can cause negative effects on the user.

Some content is not positive on social media either. With the removal of face-to-face communication, some users feel bolder than they would in real life and resort to cyber-bullying or hate speech.

At the same time user customization happens, content itself will be dictated more and more towards our interests. Every day computer scientists are trying to find the best algorithms to guess what we want to see. Every day, these formulas are improved upon. This monetizes the platforms, which is important. You need to make money to survive. The motive of making money isn’t inherently evil. There’s nothing wrong with making money, but social media platforms want to be more efficient in what advertisements they show users.

I found the American Outlaws via social media.
Here I am with some of the Buffalo crew at a game.
Dan, far right, bought his house this night.