Nowadays, an increasing number of people of all ages use social media regularly. While it is true that there are risks involved with sharing personal information on social media, I personally am of the opinion that the advantages of social media far outweigh the disadvantages, particularly in the areas of communication and education.
One of the biggest benefits of social media is that it makes communication very easy. This is particularly true between groups of people with shared interests who live in different areas or even different countries. Whereas previously those people would have had little chance of meeting, today it is perfectly possible and indeed very common for someone with a specific interest to discuss it with someone else from halfway around the world. Social media therefore provides a way of increasing social networks and deepening a person’s knowledge of their area of interest. For instance, someone living in a small town in the north of England could use social media channels to discuss the best wood for making cricket bats with someone living in a city in India. To conclude, the ability to communicate with people around the world is one of biggest advantages of social media.
Another major plus point of social media is the education that it can enable. Social media channels like YouTube and WeChat make it very easy for people with specific skills to upload and share videos in which they can teach others the same skill. Consequently, people who want to learn a new skill can easily find learning material on social media. Moreover, teachers are often able to generate additional income from their work on social media. For example, the YouTube channel ‘Yoga with Adriene’ gives ordinary people the chance to learn yoga, and allows the presenter Adriene to earn a living doing what she loves. To conclude, a second major advantage of social media is the education that it supports.
Overall, it can clearly be seen that the huge advantages social media provides in the areas of communication and education outweigh any risks and disadvantages it might have.