By: Tamara Tondreau
On Wednesday, October 30th 2019, CEO Jack Dorsey publicly announced that Twitter will no longer be supporting political advertisements. Dorsey explains the decision by stating,”political message reach should be earned, not bought.” Social media is one of the main forms of gaining news politically and with a billion dollar app such as Twitter cutting back, it makes people wonder what other forms of information is social media heavily relied on for? Are the past few generations(Gen Y, Gen Z, etc) too dependent on social media?
Pew Research Center reports that a little more than half of Americans receive their news from social media websites. This includes billion dollar applications such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. It is highly unlikely for people to refer to a newspaper as a first resort to obtaining information. Technology is normally the route people take, especially Gen Y and Gen Z.
Generation Y A.K.A Millennials are people born between the years 1980 and 1996. They are the first to be exposed and raised around technology, setting numerous standards and records for past and future generations. Millennials are the number one target for marketing strategies and advertisements, and are openly proud of their social media usage. According to Impact,” 90.4% of millennials report using social media …” The main reasoning behind social media is for communication, but it isn’t limited to this option.Generation Z consists young people born between 1996 to 2010. They were born around the shift from the 20th to the 21st century, and were raised around smartphones, TV’s and laptops that are much more advanced than they ever were. A myriad of sources claim that technology, specifically social media has taken a negative effect on the lives of Americans, however the dependency that both Gen Z and Gen Y share has both beneficial and harmful effects.
Social media does is more important than we realize and can lead to social and psychological effects. Instead of leaving the house to pick up a newspaper, Americans can access news within one click of a button, which ultimately leads to less social interactions. Also, with numerous sources placed on the internet each day, a great number of new the average person receives may be filled with biased or false information. On the other hand, social media can also be positive to the individual. It can bring awareness to businesses and consumer products in addition to inform people on current events around the world. There’s a debate between whether or not the negatives outweigh the positives, but one thing that is unmistakable is that it does leave an impact on the individual.
Based off of the Twitter Ban, one can question whether or not society is dependent on social media. The answer is yes, however with the increase in technology, it all depends on the ways in which you use it, not how much is being used.
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