Are you a Millennial or an early Generation Z? Do you have a son or daughter, brother or sister who is within these generations?
Individuals still at university through to the generation in their mid 30s (Barr 2022).
We have been labelled ‘The Burnout Generation’, the ones who are tech smart, open-minded, independent yet lazy. (Newswire 2021).
I am one of this generation, freshly 20 and in the middle of my University degree. I am also a Social Media Manager for a competitive Cocktail bar and supposedly living my best life, partying, keeping physically fit and achieving good grades (Parsons 2017).
Pressure from society requires me to keep on top of every trend, from ‘Are there more wheels or doors in the world?’ (Nixon 2022).
to ‘It’s Margarita Month’; honestly, it’s exhausting! My life never stops and if I don’t keep on top of everything I will feel and be excluded.
What is Social Sustainability?
Social Sustainability is complex (Wielgus 2013a).
It contains a vast scope of areas and will be defined by your own focus and narrative.
I have chosen to step away from the traditional form of environmental sustainability to explore social sustainability within today’s society.
This short video highlights the importance of social relationships and interactions between people and the devices used to support this – social cohesion.
Social Media (SM) is a new revolution (Benioff 2012), everyone is still learning exactly what it is, how it affects people and what role it plays in society.
(Riggs 2014) – 7 building blocks of social media
Social media is a major part of my life; it’s my job, it’s how I communicate and stay current, its power is astronomical. Online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have connected people in every corner of the world for years. (Edmonds 2020). It exploded in 1997, its actual birthday is 24th of May 1844, when the telegraph machine was invented (General 2013). Social media has taken the world by storm, becoming the second largest form of communication (Thomas 2022).
There is hatred towards social media; it is often blamed for adding pressure to our already busy lives. Is it as bad as we think, or is it worse?
Is the digital facade painted for society telling the truth or does it depict the ideal we think we need to strive for?
What is Social Media?
Like sustainability, there is no clear definition. It varies depending upon which aspect you look at, whether it’s for business or pleasure, the tone and presence you have will be hugely different.
Cambridge Dictionary defines social media as ‘websites and computer programs that allow people to communicate and share information on the internet using a computer or mobile phone’ (Dictionary 2022).
A powerful tool, when used effectively its scope is endless. I am sure you agree this isn’t always the case and a lot of criticism has been targeted at these platforms due to people’s opinions, comments and posts.
There are over 4.2bn active social media users worldwide (Clement 2020).
An interesting study I read stated ‘Social Media will never replace real-life connections and human-to-human interactions. These small interactions release major hormones which relieve stress, anxiety, and depression and with a lack of these hormones the feeling of isolation and depression can begin.’ (Essat 2021).
Other articles have argued that social media, in the form of Artificial Intelligence (AI), will continue to develop technological advancements and in a few years may be able to achieve this. There is no limit to what social media can achieve. (News 2020).
What has surprised me is the breath of social sustainability and the impact on our quality of life, social cohesion, equality, diversity and democracy. Social media is extremely dynamic within these four areas of social sustainability (Sustainability 2022).
Join me as I investigate the sustainability of social media, the pressure it places on individuals and the digital façade painted for society.
Look forward to catching you in my next blog...
References listed below
BARR, Sabrina. 2022. “What Generation Do You Belong To? Millennial, Generation X or Z.” The Independent [online]. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/what-generation-z-y-x-millennial-b2000282.html [accessed 19 Mar 2022]. BENIOFF, Marc. 2012. “Welcome to the Social Media Revolution.” BBC News, 10 May [online]. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18013662 [accessed 19 Mar 2022]. CLEMENT, J. 2020. “Topic: Social Media Statistics.” www.statista.com [online]. Available at: https://www.statista.com/topics/1164/social-networks/ [accessed 25 Mar 2022]. DICTIONARY, Cambridge. 2022. “WEBSITE | Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary.” dictionary.cambridge.org [online]. Available at: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/website [accessed 19 Mar 2022]. EDMONDS, Rhys. 2020. “Anxiety, Loneliness and Fear of Missing Out: The Impact of Social Media on Young People’s Mental Health | Centre for Mental Health.” www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk [online]. Available at: https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/anxiety-loneliness-and-fear-missing-out-impact-social-media-young-peoples-mental-health [accessed 15 Mar 2022]. ESSAT, Peachy. 2021. “Social Media and Mental Health.” Peachy Essay [online]. Available at: https://peachyessay.com/sample-essay/social-media-and-mental-health/ [accessed 19 Mar 2022]. GENERAL. 2013. “How Was Social Media Created - Google Search.” www.google.com [online]. Available at: https://www.google.com/search?q=how+was+social+media+created&oq=How+was+social+media+&aqs=chrome.0.0i512j69i57j0i512l5j69i60.5871j0j9&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 [accessed 16 Mar 2022]. NEWS, Global. 2020. “Echoes of the Future: What Will Alexa’s next Five Years Look Like?” Artefact [online]. Available at: https://www.artefact.com/news/echoes-of-the-future-what-will-alexas-next-five-years-look-like/ [accessed 19 Mar 2022]. NEWSWIRE, Julie Marks, Ivanhoe. 2021. “Tired at 30? Millennials Report They’re Mentally and Physically Burned Out.” WJXT [online]. Available at: https://www.news4jax.com/news/local/2021/05/17/tired-at-30-millennials-report-theyre-mentally-and-physically-burned-out/ [accessed 19 Mar 2022]. NIXON, Ryan. 2022. BBC Sounds. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0bqhpc, April 11, 2022. PARSONS, Josphine. 2017. “Why You Shouldn’t Put so Much Pressure on Yourself at Uni.” Junkee [online]. Available at: https://junkee.com/why-you-shouldnt-put-so-much-pressure-on-yourself-at-uni/136070 [accessed 19 Mar 2022]. RIGGS, Nate. 2014. “Seven Building Blocks of Social Media.” Hubspot.net [online]. Available at: https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/431273/file-3019055984-png/blog-files/untitled-3-300x300.png [accessed 14 Mar 2022]. SUSTAINABILITY, Social. 2022. “Social Sustainability – Everything You Need to Know [2022] | Diversity for Social ImpactTM.” Diverse.social [online]. Available at: https://diversity.social/social-sustainability/?amp#0-what-is-social-sustainability [accessed 23 Mar 2022]. THOMAS, Chris. 2022. “The 10 Most Essential Digital Communication Channels for Business.” gettalkative.com [online]. Available at: https://gettalkative.com/info/communication-channels [accessed 16 Mar 2022]. WIELGUS, Paul Holland and Ben. 2013. “Sustainability: A Complex World of Interconnected Challenges.” the Guardian [online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainability-complex-world-interconnected-challenges [accessed 23 Mar 2022].
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