Concerning People Without Social Media

            Isn’t it sad when our society decides that social media is a good thing? In my opinion, HELL NO! But, there are some people out there that actually don’t have a Facebook or Twitter, two of the most popular social media sites out there, because “they just don’t want one.” In fact, a little more than a third of the U.S. population does not have either of these accounts. Shocking!

            According to a recent (2011) independent study conducted by Marketing, E-Commerce and Web Development expert Jamie Grove, 34.5% of the United States population do not have a Facebook or Twitter account. The survey asked if the individual signed into websites using a Facebook or Twitter account, and then it asked why. Responses included: Yes – Because it’s easy; No – I don’t understand how it works; Yes – But I hate it; No – I’m scared of scams. Results varied between age, but there was a pattern that showed that 41.7% of people without one of these accounts were age 65+. This would make sense since old people don’t know how to work computers. I may sound like I’m holding stereotypes, but I want to be perfectly clear when I say IT’S TRUE! A lot of old people have succumbed to owning some sort of computer, but maybe half of those owners don’t have email accounts. I can promise you that the majority of those computer owners don’t have a Facebook or Twitter because they simply don’t want to learn how to use it. I hear from old people all the time that younger people should not spend so much time “staring at screens”, but I believe that the people of our generation have learned a lot from our “screens”. Maybe that’s just me.

            Now to my opinion of sites such as Facebook and Twitter: I am a firm believer that without these social media sites, the only contact human beings would have with each other would be telephone. You’re probably saying to yourself: But Zaq, We’ve been through this before, so what’s the big deal? The big deal is this: How are we supposed to advance as a technological race if we don’t advance technologically!? Without these social sites, we would not have the technology we use today. These sites advertise jobs, they help you shop online, they keep you in “the loop” with the people around you, not to mention people that you’ve never even met before (dating websites?). Without Facebook, we would never stay as connected with people as we do today, and if you’re a member of the 34.5%, just know that I’m more of a human being than you are. LOL KTHNXBYE =D