Pros and Cons of Social Media

It is interesting to read the differing opinions of the “experts” regarding the “Pros and Cons of Social Media”. I found myself agreeing with some of the comments, disagreeing with some, and not identifying at all with others.  For me, the overall benefit of social media is summed up in the quote from Jessica Clark, “Social media are value neutral; their main virtue is the promise of democratic communication. (It’s) a challenge to each of us to fight for parity, transparency, access and openness.”  Sasha Pasulka points out the good in social media: “It’s a way for us to become more informed, more connected and overall less ignorant. It’s a way for us to experience different lives, different worlds and different points of view in a way that has never been possible, quite literally, in the history of the world.” While Matt Hinckley points out the negative aspects of social media:  “Too much information bouncing around at the speed of thought leads us to too much information erroneously being ‘reported’ or accepted as ‘fact’.” Hinckley’s comment reminded me of the Koltay article from last week.