Technology is changing the way that we live our lives. With the advances in technology we are enabled to complete more tasks in less time, and often times, with less effort and more productivity. But with these abilities, our interactions with other people have drastically changed. We have this thing called “Social Networking” or “Social Media” that allows us to communicate with a much broader group of people, but at what cost.
With the release of the iPhone 5s, the iPhone 5c, and the iOS 7 update it is very easy to see that technology is well on the move. Cell phones have become more than just tools to make phone calls. They are getting smaller, yet bigger at the same time. And there are also tablets and computers that are getting faster, thinner, and all around prettier. Just recall the first computer you had. I know my first computer looked something like this:
But now I use a laptop with a resolution so high that the human eye can’t even differentiate between pixels.
I could type for another 2,000 words about how technology has changed, but that is not my primary purpose for this article. I want to look at what this technology is doing to our communication, specifically our social media use.
I don’t know about you, but social media and mobile devices seem to go hand in hand. More often, I am accessing my facebook and twitter account through my phone than I am through my computer. Actually, let me clarify – I would say that I spend more TIME on my social network sites through using my computer, but I DO more social networking through my phone than through my computer, and I would say that various advances in technology are the primarily to blame for this.
I thought this was an interesting realization. I suppose that I spend more time on social media sites while on a computer because it is easier. But since I usually only use my phone to do social media, instead of browse, it seems to make sense, especially since I have my phone with me all the time.
Another thing I’ve noticed is the increased use of images and videos, and the decreased use of text or words. For example, I seem to check my instagram account more often than my twitter, and even twitter has started to taylor to posting images. I also posted a blog with an infographic titled The Future of the Internet – 2015 Infographic. This information seems to all point in the same direction, that the internet is growing more and more visual.
Another technological advancement that has influenced social media is the quality of camera on the average cell phone. Nowadays most people have iPhones, which have 8 megapixel cameras, and if you have a phone that is not an iPhone you very well might have an even higher resolution camera. For example, the Nokia Lumia 1020 that boasts a 41 megapixel camera. Now, I don’t know what on earth you would use a 41mp camera for, but they exist.
With all of that to say, it seems like the biggest impact that technological advances is having on social media is aiding in visualizing our social networking experience. We are heading toward more video on the internet, and I believe that social networking is going to follow in the same steps, and possibly even be one of the spearheading elements to the movement.
