Social Media Tools and Social Liberation
Social media is a term that is commonly used to refer to a group of Internet-based tools and applications that are developed to enable the creation and exchange of content generated by users. These applications and tools take different forms including blogs, different online forums, social networks, and weblogs. The most common form of social media that has become prevalent in the recent past is social networks as reflected in the development and increased use of online sites like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Together with other social media platforms, Facebook has played a crucial role in social liberation instead of a return to individualism. The role of social media in social liberation is attributable to the significance of these applications and tools in modern communications.
Link between Technology and the Society
The modern society has been characterized by rapid technological advancements that have revolutionized communications. One of the major ways through which these advancements have transformed communications is through development and emergence of social media. Technology and the society has become significantly linked to an extent that it is difficult to understand or represent society without technological tools and platforms. These technological tools that are used to understand or represent society promote interactions between users while providing them with information (Storck, 2011).
Together with other social media platforms, Facebook has become a revolutionary and transformational invention that is crucial in the modern social fabric. Facebook was developed and introduced in 2004 as a social networking platform that was exclusive for interactions between Harvard students. This platform was introduced as a social utility that would enable students to communicate more effectively with their peers and family. However, the website grew beyond its initial target of Harvard students...
Actually, Facebook and other social networking sites have become part of the lives of millions of people, which demonstrates the significant connection between technology and the society.
How Facebook and Other Social Media Tools Are Social Liberation
Social liberation can basically be described as all initiatives towards enforcing real and long-term change in social systems that limit people's lives through systemic and organizational oppression. In this case, social liberation is not short-term or changed with changes in circumstances but real and long-lasting. Throughout the history of mankind, there have been several efforts towards social liberation depending on the systemic and institutional oppression within the society from time to time. Social media tools are social liberation since they deal with systemic and institutional restrictions relating to communications and interactions between people in different parts of the world. Generally, social media removes structural and geographical restrictions associated with communications by promoting instant and timely interactions between people regardless of their geographical locations. In addition to eliminating these limitations and restrictions relating to communications, social media tools can be regarded as social liberation in other ways including
Acting as Organizational Infrastructure
The other major way through which social media tools are social liberation is their role as strong organizational tools. Social media networking sites have been used as efficient form of organizational infrastructure that is crucial towards development of networks and movements towards the establishment of common goals and objectives. For instance, during the recent Egypt uprising, social media tools like Facebook were core to the acceleration of incidents since they provided a form of organizational infrastructure (Storck, 2011). In this case, these tools…
