My opinion has changed slightly concerning social media. I was always aware of FOMO, but never actually had the chance to research it until this class. The positive affects of social media that I was aware of only went from knowing that I could connect with friends to knowing how to access the New York Times on Twitter.

After researching more material about the current state of social media and blogging more about the positive consequences, I must say I am a much bigger fan. I especially loved reading all of the very inspiring posts on Social Impact Blog. It is wonderful to know that there are actually people out there who are active in philanthropy use social media for true social benefit.

The future of social media can only grow exponentially. Whether it will grow in a positive way is not definite, but things are looking good. Besides the celebrity gossip on Twitter and Facebook that circulates, multiple sites are enabling more and more features to help those in need.

For example, Jackie Titus, writer for Social Impact, describes a recently New York Times article that talked about Twitter in her article published on February 28, 2012. The piece in the New York Times was tited: A Life on the Streets, Captured on Twitter (click for link).

Titus describes the article written by Kory Kilgannon, “The project follows four homeless men: Danny, Carlos, Derrick, and Albert, and each have been given prepaid cell phones and Twitter accounts that collectively boast a following of 15,905” (Titus, 2012).

In Kilgannon’s article, he describes that “Mr. Wiggins (Derrrick) typically writes a dozen times a day, often posting a “good night” from his bunk bed in the shelter room he shares with dozens of other men” (Kilgannon, 2012).

What most people do not realize is the immense social benefit of such technology. For the few homeless men who received pre-paid phones with Twitter access, they could not be more happy. Titus described Derrick’s appreciation for his new social media access. He said it “helps him avoid a spiral into dejection,” (Titus, 2012).

Social media, even if one is terribly addicted to it, can definitely be a positive force in this world, and hopefully it will continue to increase communication, knowledge, and positivity.

Works Cited

Kilgannon, Kory. “A Life on the Streets, Captured on Twitter.” City Room. Web. 17 May 2012. <http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/24/a-life-on-the-streets-captured-on-twitter/&gt;.

Titus, Jackie. “Social Media: Bringing Voice to the Voiceless.” Social Impact Blog. Web. 15 May 2012. <http://impact.webershandwick.com/?q=social-media-bringing-voice-voiceless&gt;.

There are many, many negative side affects to seemingly being addicted to social media, FOMO being one of them.

However, many people around the world are gathering together to help change the world through social media. For example, the Social Good Summit was held in New York City last year. “The event — sponsored by Mashable, 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation — is billed as a summit to disuss how innovative thinking and technology to solve our greatest challenges” (Social Media, 2012).

At the conference, participants learned a great deal of how social media is a true player in the global economy of social good. For example, some areas of the convention focused on how a nonprofit organization gets more traction from reaching its audience through an ad in the New York Times or through social media engagement.

Works Cited

“Social Media.” Social Impact Blog. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://impact.webershandwick.com/?q=category/tags/social-media&gt;.

The general public perception of social media and FOMO in particular is pretty well-known.   The one thing most people do not pay attention to is the fact that an addiction to social media does have its benefits.

Implementing Social Good and Positive Change!

Social media can be a tool used to help spread information and connect people mobilizing to create change. Within the last year, many companies have seen an increase in “social good”-based actions. According to J. Mack, editor of Black Enterprise, “Large-scale movements, from uprisings and protests to public celebrations and fundraising efforts, all spread and heightened via social media and real-time conversations happening globally.”

According to Mack, Brands big and small can get great value from connecting beyond our country’s borders using social media.

“Brands can tap into the spirit of social good by creating movements around their CSR [corporate social responsibility] efforts and calling people for ideas. They should enable hands-on consumers to show passion for and engagement with the relevant cause or campaign –providing them with tools for involvement,” says Mack.

 

Works Cited

Black Enterprise. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.blackenterprise.com/technology/top-trends-shaping-social-media-in-2012-and-beyond/?replytocom=346187&gt;.

The behavioral phenomenon known as FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) has been in existence for centuries. FOMO is experienced as a clearly fearful attitude towards the “possibility of failing to exhaust available opportunities and missing the expected joy” which is associated with succeeding in doing so. Simply put, it is concentration of attention on the empty half of the glass. It is considered a somewhat modern malaise based on today’s current technology – as opposed to earlier forms of anxiety-driven phobias, this blog will focus on the affect contemporary social media has had concerning FOMO. In the case of social media, FOMO was initially caused by the development of social networking sites generated by Internet users. On his website, fittingly titled “The Fear of Missing Out,” Dr. Dan Herman, who claims to have coined the actual phrase, describes FOMO as “a powerful motivator of human behavior in developed as well as in developing countries worldwide” (Herman, Fear of Missing Out).
According to Herman, “over 70% of adults are driven by FOMO to varying degrees.” This, again, enunciates the point that it is the people participating in social media who have actually catapulted the phenomena itself. 
 

Herman describes the history of FOMO in three developmental steps, or technological revolutions;

1. The transportation revolution (airplanes, sea vessels, trains, cars, even space-shuttles.)
2. The communication revolution (TV, wireless, mobile, the internet, etc.)
3. The information revolution (computers, IT systems, the internet again, digital everything), and the resultant globalism. (This exposed us to a flabbergasting variety of possibilities in all areas of our lives.)

Herman continues by explaining why this third revolution is so significant, “The recent rise of social media and the developments in mobile devices’ technology increased exponentially our immediate awareness the myriad of options available to us.”

There are many key factors in the actual development of FOMO. As stated previously, the two most basic factors, of course, are the constant, relentless use of social media and social media itself. 

In an article titled “Social Media Fuels Fear of Missing Out,” Caterina Fake, co-founder of Hunch and Flickr, highlights how social media both causes and soothes the addiction-like desire to constantly participate:

“Social media has made us even more aware of the things we are missing out on. You’re home alone, but watching your friends status updates tell of a great party happening somewhere. You are aware of more parties than ever before. And, like gym memberships, adding Bergman movies to your Netflix queue and piling up unread copies of the New Yorker, watching these feeds gives you a sense that you’re participating, not missing out, even when you are” (Pottinger, Social Media Fuels Fear Of Missing Out).

 

Works Cited

• Herman, Dr. Dan. “The Fear of Missing Out.” The Fear of Missing Out. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. <http://fomofearofmissingout.com/&gt;.
• Pottinger, Stephanie. “Social Media Fuels Fear Of Missing Out.” @PSFK. 15 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2012. <http://www.psfk.com/2011/03/social-media-fuels-fear-of-missing-ou.html&gt;.

 

Social media networking has drastically grown within just the past few years. One consequence of this growth has been labeled “FOMO”, or the fear of missing out.

Studies have been conducted by the University of Maryland on the phenomena, “Use of the Internet in society and on college campuses is growing at an exponential rate. Although the Internet is an excellent tool for gathering information and for interpersonal communication, dangers exist for those who make it the central focus of their lives” (Kandell, 1998).

This blog will focus on both the positive and negative affects of social media networking, as well as the vast research conducted on social media since its exponential growth.

Works Cited

Kandell, Johnathan J. “Internet Addiction on Campus: The Vulnerability of College Students.” Counseling Center at University of Maryland. Web. 25 Feb. 2012. <http://www.counseling.umd.edu/Personal/~kandell/iacpbart.htm&gt;.