Argumentative Writing Assignment

Social Media to Raise Awareness About Issues

     Due to the extreme rise in the use of technology, society relies on social media such as twitter and facebook to receive updates about news, events and world issues. Whenever someone logs on to one of these social media websites, they are bombarded with messages passed on via hastags, retweets, and statues posted throughout. As long as you are a member of one of these sites, you essentially can't avoid seeing these messages. Someone might "share" an article, or use a hashtag, which sparks curiosity and in turn, will likely cause people to find out more with just a click of a mouse, or tap on a touch screen phone. In a way, social media appears to be the main source of information, as the newspaper and even the television become less popular in today's society. Millions of people are connected through social media websites, and even more are joining these sites every day. The basic purpose of social media is for the convenience of contacting family and friends,  however it has become a realm of games, "likes", and even discussions with complete strangers. The media knows that people are on these websites frequently, and use that to their advantage to advertise, educate and use propaganda. I believe that it is important for people to stay aware, and social media is an excellent tool for people to be able to keep up to date. If people aren't watching the news on tv and in the newspaper, how else are they going to keep educated? With that being said, I still feel some resent towards the fact that the internet and social media are taking over the traditional newspaper article, and even simply talking to someone face to face. Unfortunately, it appears that the world is on the internet today, so social media is smart to bring awareness about issues to their websites.