Introduction
Social media has become a significant part of today’s youth and is one of the newest inventions to hit the human race. It plays a significant role in influencing young minds, it is utilized by many people as a site to communicate with friends and family, but it also has disadvantages that are not beneficial for everyone. User-generated content, connectivity, and interactivity are the defining characteristics of this medium. The use of this media has become a daily requirement in today’s culture. This is because it is primarily utilized for decision-making, news information access, and social interaction, a valuable tool for sharing, creating, and disseminating information and influencing marketing conclusions. Additionally, in an interview, three individuals stated that it can affect consumers’ purchasing decisions through reviews, advertising, and marketing strategies. In essence, these interviewees stated that it significantly impacts one’s capacity for communication, the development of relationships, information access, and dissemination.
Discussion
The first individual stated that it is essential because it influences the capacity of individuals to communicate in society. It is crucial because it affects human capacity through the information content and how individuals communicate. Communication is one of the fundamentals of achieving social interaction. The media significantly influences human development and enables people to connect with others through social interaction (Kahne et al. 474). It is noted that it has an influential role in today’s society because it creates more opportunities for interaction among people. Compared to traditional forms of news, the platform plays a significant role because it is effortless to access information that will be useful to society. This medium allows people to share stories, photos, videos, and information about their daily lives all over the world at any time and place, making communication easier.
The third interviewee stated that it has helped foster the development of relationships among individuals in society. Through it, people have established a podium to interact with others in society. Additionally, through this medium, people can connect with others by sharing ideas and thoughts. The person stated that it has influenced social interaction in today’s culture (Kahne et al. 474). There are many historical examples where it was discovered that some individuals were able to meet their significant partners through that podium. Through this platform, it was easier for them to communicate and establish relationships with each other, unlike the traditional methods of meeting people where people have to go through different communication channels such as face-to-face interaction for one to be able to interact with others.
In the interview about the significance of social media, the interviewee stated that critical issues were communication and learning. The participants discussed this subject that it helps to communicate and interact with different people through various ways like texting, video calling, instant messaging, and other apps. Through this technology, people can share with anyone worldwide at any time of the day in just a matter of seconds or minutes. This is important because an individual can interact with people from different countries, and it makes them better understand the culture of others. One can also learn a lot from this type of communication because they mostly learn more about other people’s lives and cultures. This technology helped me to have a deeper understanding of what it was like to live in a different society. Hence the importance of the platform is its ability to establish relationships through entertaining content, and communication, among others.
How the Pandemic has Impacted Our Entire Culture
The pandemic has impacted our entire shared culture by affecting how individuals interact with each other. Since the attack by the pandemic, it has become difficult to share cultures, such as storytelling, music, and dance. For instance, cultural practices that include physical and direct eye contact, such as hugging, kissing, shaking hands, or holding hands, are considered high-risk activities. Therefore, people have become very anxious about their interaction and their lives (Alzueta et al. 560). This way, it has become difficult for people from diverse countries to travel to other countries to shoot videos or entertain them due to the strict pandemic laws.
The pandemic has influenced learned culture by limiting the rate of carrying them out. Leaned cultures are developed by individuals living together and performing similar tasks. In this process, there are a lot of learned behaviors that have changed from their initial one to another. Examples of learned culture include giving parents birthday cards and having fun (Alzueta et al. 560). The pandemic has negatively impacted these cultures and has made it difficult for people to perform these cultural practices because handing over Physical objects such as cards is not encouraged. People, therefore, prefer celebrating birthdays virtually, and instead of sending cards, they post them on various podia.
The pandemic has affected the symbolic cultures of society by restricting the number of spectators in various sports. Symbolic cultures are developed when there is a development of symbols, objects, signs, and symbols for the members of society. In symbolic cultures, the community plays different games, including recreational activities and sports. One distinct feature of this kind of culture is that it is usually altered with time as other rules are applied to the game by people (Alzueta et al. 560). The pandemic has restricted spectators from participating in various games, including basketball, soccer, musicals, and dance, making it difficult for some individuals to enjoy these games. For example, watching soccer matches has become one of the best sources of entertainment for individuals who like watching live matches while listening to cheers from the crowd or other fans.
The pandemic has influenced dynamic cultures by changing how people communicate and interact. Vibrant culture provides a unique way of communication between members of society. This culture is based on the style in which people communicate and interact with each other. People usually carry out this culture in different workspaces and within other domains such as education, work, politics, and human rights (Alzueta et al. 560). The way people communicate at their workplaces is usually different from how they communicate with each other at home. The pandemic has transformed into a great challenge for the very existence of human beings by causing significant changes in the social interactions and patterns of individuals. The pandemic has made it difficult for people to go out and work and perform other activities because of its restrictions.
Conclusion
The pandemic has impacted integrated culture by introducing a new way of life, such as restricting the population that can access religious buildings. Integrated cultures are usually found in all the domains of life. One of the most important features of integrated culture is that it brings people from all walks of life together in a single entity (Alzueta et al. 560). Examples of integrated cultures include marriage which unites people from different backgrounds, religions, or social classes into a single union. The pandemic has impacted integrated culture by restricting the number of people allowed in these places hence interfering with worship.
Works Cited
Alzueta, Elisabet, et al. “How the COVID‐19 pandemic has changed our lives: A study of psychological correlates across 59 countries.” Journal of clinical psychology 77.3 (2021): 556-570.
Kahne, Joseph, and Benjamin Bowyer. “The political significance of social media activity and social networks.” Political Communication 35.3 (2018): 470-493.