When discussing 21st-century issues and their effects, many inquisitors are bound to fall upon the topic of social media in today’s environment and entertainment, especially for children and the upcoming generation.

Typically, social media is portrayed as a negative hidden within a positive, as everyone—from news anchors to acclaimed writers—tend to agree it has a detrimental effect on society but is necessary for the modern-day global economy and politics. 

This is especially seen in but is not limited to, news stations, media sites, and unofficial online chat logs. There’s even a saying which goes, “No news is great news,” which seems to be an idiom more associated with news media nowadays.

We also tend to associate the media with negative events or ‘spreading evil’. For example, the widespread infection of misinformation about immensely important topics such as vaccines, the origin of COVID-19, and global warming—all of which are extremely controversial and significant in the modern-day generation.

But putting aside all the pop-culture ideals and sci-fi pieces of literature—like Fahrenheit 451—that argue against a future overrun by technology and media which negatively affects its surroundings, I propose we look at media as a tool to better shape humankind.

For example, the positive aspects of communication throughout the entire world are all able to be done in under ten minutes. Of course, this topic has been talked to death about; however, I find that people don’t mention enough specific examples of why fast communication is such a gift in the evolving global economy. 

During the Opium Wars, especially during the first, communication between military leaders and rulers was imperative and necessary since there were increasing threats of violence and bloodshed between the Chinese and British Empire.

However, because the two empires were located so far away from each other, communication through letters usually took over two months to arrive. That meant any serious changes in military action, leadership, or tactics took increasingly long to implement and end the war.

Nowadays, that is no longer the case, and conflicts can be solved around the globe relatively quickly. 

Another spectacular thing I don’t see discussed enough with social media is its particular culture and widespread availability. For better or for worse, the internet has allowed for a certain type of culture to grow within these last decades: open-minded culture.

Now, some may point out that the internet does not radiate—at least at surface level—a degree of tolerance that is spectacular or awe-inspiring; however, it is by far the most effective tool for human cultivation to date.

It’s a source of pride and knowledge that we can reach some of the most far-reaching minds of the globe and connect virtually with family and friends, something the past ages could not think possible.

It is difficult for people to pinpoint a time when an invention, disaster, or event will forever alter our footprint on the world, because, let’s be honest, that’s almost impossible to do within a lifetime.

However, social media’s impact has already begun to affect and change our society at the very core of its existence. Whether we choose to continue criticizing and looking for the negatives in the media or see it as a divine piece of humankind’s innovation, no one can argue against the fact that the internet is the defining concept of the 21st century.