We’re not all zombies.
Not all of us emerge from the dark corners of our rooms after a long day of sitting huddled over our laptops and iPhones, cringing at the first sign of light. Not everyone with a social-media account lacks basic interpersonal skills in the physical world. Not all of us stop what we’re doing to take a selfie.
OK, maybe some of us do.
Despite the trend of teenagers gluing themselves to the cyber world, social media is actually pretty awesome.
I’m not just talking about the mindless task of scrolling through selfies on our Instagram feeds or the viral six-second videos of cats and racist teenagers that clutter our Twitter timelines.
We now literally have access to the world’s information with just a few clicks and a couple swipes — that is what’s awesome.
I don’t think a lot of people actually realize the power that sits at their fingertips.
People have the opportunity to learn things about other areas that they may never have a chance of traveling to or learning about otherwise.
Details about an event that happens across the globe can be at your fingertips within seconds of it happening. Sometimes it can actually bring you access to information that mainstream media wouldn’t report.
Remember that guy who accidentally live-tweeted the Osama bin Laden raid?
Social media has the power to beat science.
Back in 2012, a 7.6-magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of the Philippines.
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey analyzed Twitter for tweets containing the word “earthquake.” Those on Twitter learned of the earthquake a minute before the underground sensors did — sensors our government relies on.
They created a program that watches twitter for the trending word  “earthquake.”
So now, the USGS Tweet Earthquake Dispatch is actually a thing.
Let’s say you don’t care about news and information around the world. Maybe you also believe everything FOX News reports.
Besides all of the information from around the world, it’s an awesome way for young artists and professionals to promote themselves.
Aside from the superfluous amount of people’s lunches, Instagram can help young artists such as photographers share their work and market themselves. Blogging and sites such as Tumblr give young writers the opportunity to demonstrate their witty writing.
Oh yeah, it also, you know, allows you to socialize.
Social media still allows you to interact with people across the globe. Your family members have basically flooded your Facebook “friends” lists, giving you no possible excuse not to know what your grandma had for lunch.
As someone who has moved around a lot, keeping up with friends and family across the country is great. I get the chance to catch up and occasionally creep up on friends who I haven’t seen in years.
Sure, sometimes the information on social media isn’t always true, and I don’t always want to see a photo of my grandma’s turkey sandwich, but we should educate ourselves enough to be able to identify the fact from the fiction.
I know social media isn’t perfect, but hey, as Chuck Palahniuk once said, “Even the Mona Lisa is falling apart.” There’s no reason to resent it.
Without a doubt, things are changing. Things have changed.
The way we interact with each other, and how we get our information on a day-to-day basis, has revolutionized beyond what we ever anticipated. Change is scary, but change isn’t always Armageddon.