An Open Letter to Social Media

Dear Social Media,

Honestly, I am a big fan. I probably spend too much time scrolling through tweets I've already read, watching vines I've seen a thousand times, and posting pictures in hopes of breaking my personal record for most likes.

This week, social media has been the center of our attention. Mark Zuckerberg has been on trial this week for the Facebook data leak. Essentially, Facebook used our data to create targeted advertising during election time. Not only is this a breach of data, but it is also a breach of trust. Many Facebook users were horrified to discover all of the information that the huge corporation had on them.

You can see the types of ads that Facebook believes are best garnered for you. If you go to settings and click on ads, it will present you with a litany of examples of the types of ads that you have been targeted to receive.

I looked through these this morning and was shocked, particularly by one of my "interests."

Last night, I was scrolling through Twitter and saw that an all-revealing interview with Bella Thorne (a child star from a TV show my sister and I used to watch) was uploaded on YouTube. I never thought much about Bella Thorne before then, but decided to watch the interview.

I'm sure you can figure out who showed up in my suggested interests this morning.

Data breaching is scary when it's about anonymous people, but it is even worse when you realize that it affects you as well. I think that everyone knows, deep down, that our cell phones and the social media on it is toxic. We know that we can be tracked, watched, and hacked with them in our pockets. However, none of us can turn away. None of us are going to put down our phones or delete our Facebook accounts. Especially with younger generations, social media has become completely entrenched in our lives. It has reduced us to the 180 character word. It has prevented me from going to bed earlier. It has filled what would've been awkward silences.

And, it has violated my privacy.

But, as I write this somewhat scathing review of social media, I can't ignore the irony that I am writing on a social media platform. Without social media, there would be no way for me to communicate my ideas about any of this. I would just be lecturing to some unfortunate friend who got stuck listening.

And, yes, while Facebook seriously messed up and reminded us of all of the horrible power of social media, I can't hate it. Social media has a huge part in my life, and I willingly admit that I am addicted to my iPhone. However, I think I could live without my social media. The question is, though, would I want to?

With everything that is bad about social media, there are so many good things as well. And I'm not going to write some sentimental, heartfelt message about how it "connects us" because that has been said and done. Instead, I am going to write about how it divides us (and why that's a good thing).

I am a social media debating veteran. Most people with political views are, because in today's polarized political environment it's impossible not to be. Usually, I am not the one to incite debate, but I will never back down from one. I don't like to give my opponent an easy win. I want them to think about what they said. Whenever I write something, I know that I can fully defend it. I don't want someone to think that I write something that I do not fully believe in (like some orange people that we know).

For instance, my first letter about gun control received a fair amount of backlash. I agree that what I wrote was extreme, but I still stand behind every word. Many people (including some adults) wrote back to me to debate, to argue, to try and get me to waver on my word.

Social media gives us this rare opportunity to really think about what we are writing. Okay, I know that there are PLENTY of people who do not think before they tweet or snapchat. But, there are plenty of people who consciously think about what they are going to say. Our social media accounts reflect us and our brands. Even if we don't have millions of followers and sponsors, we still think about how other people will perceive us and how they will respond.

Some will say that this is a curse, not a blessing. But, social media, in a political sense, helps us to solidify our beliefs. It helps us to challenge our views so that they become stronger. It helps us to explore ourselves and our views. Because we have access to so many people, we have an unending supply of people willing to disagree with us.

I'm not trying to stand up for Facebook. I don't think that what they did was right. And I don't think we should spend the entire day staring at our phones instead of engaging in conversation. But, instead of getting annoyed at all of the debates you see online, embrace them. Embrace the confrontation. Join in, if you want to.

Use social media as a tool to stand up for your beliefs. Use it to grow your views, to challenge your opponents, and to spread the word.

To conclude, social media is a growing monster that is slowly impeding on our lives while stealing our data. But it's also a place to fight trolls on the Internet. And, to me, that's a winning situation.

Yours truly,

P.S. If you incite a debate, and then claim it wasn't a debate just to back down, then don't start a debate in the first place. (yes, this happened!)

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Announcement from An Open Letter: Due to quickly approaching finals and the craziness of the end of the school year, I will be taking a hiatus until June 1st. Check back then for more content!