Sociology Describe Impact Of Social Media On Culture

Impact of social media on culture
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Impact of social media on culture
Culture refers to the way of living that is charactered by customs and believes that are passed from one generation to the other. Culture is shaped by the peoples’ interactions with their surroundings in their everyday life. Social media refer to the networking platforms that have come with the rise in new technology. These platforms have adverse impacts on a culture that had existed before their emergence. The societal norms, values, and traditions have been highly affected by the social media. Social media has led to the rise of a globally homogenous culture, with the loss of the various unique cultures as people tend to copy from each other through their interactions. As much as the networking platforms may have positive impacts on cultures, various authors have attributed social media to adverse negative effects on culture. Authors like Andrew Keen have emphasized on the corrosion that has been brought to the society by the social media as a platform. The paper is set to discuss the various views of Lee Siegel in his book Against the Machine. How Lee sees the social media as the tool as well as the culture transmitter thus a great influence on culture.
According to Lee Siegel, our strengths and weaknesses are reflected through the social media and that it is our morals and behaviors that dictate the goodness and the badness of the internet and not the other way round. There is a reflection of a culture that is in danger of facing erosion as the internet has destroyed the social values and norms while at the same time degrading the truth and the authority that protects culture. Through the social media, everyone seems to have been given a voice and therefore blocking the original voice of truth and authority from being listened to. There is an abundance of information that is meaningless as people fail to master the art of knowledge which has been confused with the limitless self-expression that has been enhanced through the internet. People are no longer left to themselves, no time for thinking and meditation as the media is always with us. A passive self is encouraged whereas an active self is discouraged with the technological advancement in almost every day’s activities. The author insists on the fact that the internet users should not allow the technology to overturn their way of living. He urges people take control of the media and not to allow the media to take control of them.
Ten years since the book against the machine was established, Lee Siegel is still relevant because technology has not stopped but has rather advanced with people living in the age of technological fix .the number of websites that have been criticized in the book have risen, and there have appeared several platforms for networking. The freedom of expression that has been given to everyone seems to have risen with people getting online every moment. People have resorted to solving every problem through the social media. The illusion that Siegel claimed to be created by people who sorted to being someone else has been seen to be a great impact on the society. Family breakage has been on the rise, lack of intelligence that is associated...