Soldiers overseas, nurses working shifts late into the night, and college students miles from home: how are all of these hardworking citizens supposed to keep in touch with their loved ones when times get hard? With the development of social media sites such as Facebook, Skype, and Twitter, it has become increasingly simple to keep in touch with friends, family, coworkers, and even strangers from all over the world within seconds, making society more connected than ever before. It is no mystery that members of the millennial generation are the primary users of this internet resource. In fact, 75% of American teenagers currently have profiles on various outlets of social media (Ramasubbu). However, society has become progressively critical of this generation’s diminishing communication skills due to the development of social media. Some argue that social media has caused a lack of face-to-face communication as well as decreased the linguistic skills within this generation. What many do not know is that social media is actually correlated with increased self-esteem, sense of identity, and communication skills among adolescents (Barker). Although the internet has always presented a risk of danger, social media provides an overwhelming number of benefits to societal communication and intimacy in personal relationships (Broadbent). With effective use of the internet and an increase in technological knowledge within society, social media is significantly enhancing the millennial generation’s communication skills and increasing their opportunities for the future.

Social media can be defined as “forms of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content” (Hughes). This includes video content, blog posts, and pictures that users choose to share instantaneously to an outside community that has potential to reach the whole world. The most popular among the millennial generation today includes Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Tumblr, all providing varying methods of sharing ideas and communicating closely with society in a way that has never been available in the past (Alrubail). These platforms provide the millennial generation and the rest of the world a multitude of opportunities to communicate with best friends or complete strangers and facilitate creativity. Ultimately, this causes ideas to flourish, creating an overall positive and productive environment. Additionally, virtual communication increases productivity in the workplace, creative writing skills, and intimacy among members of society. However, despite all of the many benefits that social media presents many are critical about it serving as a distraction from reality and a safety hazard.

Throughout history, something has always served as an interference with reality and social media is no different. As observed by sociologist Charles Cooley back in 1909, the delivery of the morning newspaper was causing an uproar in American families because it took away from family togetherness at meals or throughout the day (Hampton). Now that the delivery of newspaper is declining, the upload of daily news on a tablet is virtually the same. In fact, 88% of millennials report using Facebook as their primary news source and 83% use YouTube, in contrast with simply watching the news on television (How Millennials Use and Control Social Media). What is different, however, is opposed to a hard copy newspaper, news through social media allows one to not only engage in current events happening in the world, but also connect with specific individuals to share ideas about these events. Though smartphones and social media create a brief disconnect from the real world to interact with the virtual, what is occurring in the virtual world is what truly matters. Engaging on social media is not like staring into an endless abyss of nothingness; it allows one to communicate and interact with an endless number of people, creating diverse and intensified close relationships throughout society. According to Forbes, “94% of people use social networking to learn, 78% to share knowledge and 48% to access needed expertise” (Hebner). Therefore, the “distraction” that social media presents should hardly be considered a distraction, but rather a social enrichment. With the diversity of the information and relationships presented on social media, it allows users to become more culturally aware and engaged in the world around them, which makes one more comfortable in social situations that otherwise could have been difficult (Hampton). This signifies that social media does not inhibit face-to-face communication, but rather facilitates and diversifies relationships inside and outside of the virtual world.

With any social media relationship, it also presents the possibility of danger depending on how one chooses to use it. These dangers include cyberbullying, internet addiction, and loss of privacy, however, cyberbullying is by far the most prevalent as 32% of teens who use social media admit to encountering some form of intimidating experience online (Ramasubbu). Cyberbullying can vary from receiving aggressive messages from a friend to being anonymously attacked for a number of unknown reasons. The reason cyberbullying has become so common is because users feel a false sense of security when they are behind a computer screen, rather than confronting a person face to face, and often do not think about the repercussions that certain actions could cause. There will always be people in this world who contribute to the negative side that social media can present, but the users must act responsibly by practicing safety online and pay it forward. As awareness of cyberbullying continues to increase and online bullying laws are enacted, the rates of reported cyberbullying attacks have actually been significantly reduced. According to Time Magazine, the number of 14-24 year olds who have experienced cyberbullying dropped from 56% in 2011 to 49% in 2013 and the number has only continued to decline (Rayman). There was also an increase in the number of incidents where the victim decided to get an adult involved, as users are becoming less worried about embarrassment and more concerned about safety. The use of social media will in no way decline in the near future, so it is important that users discourage cyberbullying and keep personal information private to create an overall positive online environment and healthy virtual communication. 

In assisting in this positive communication online, it is important for the less common users of social media, such as parents and guardians of millennials, to become fluent in the use of social media to not only reap the benefits, but also better communicate with their children and ensure positive behavior. By engaging and learning the ropes of social media, parents have the same opportunity as millennials to engage with their coworkers, friends, and family members, while also having the ability to be more involved in their children’s lives. The majority of guardians wish to teach their children to be strong conversationalists and be fully engaged members of society. The development of social media has caused a shift in not only having to teach children how to communicate in the real world, but also in the virtual one. As stated by parental expert Logan Levkoff in her book Got Teens? “It is our responsibility to teach our children what it means to be a fully functioning human being. Part of this effort includes knowing how to communicate with people” (Levkoff). Therefore, by creating Facebook pages and Twitter profiles, parents have the opportunity to bring their own communication wisdom to the virtual world and share it with their children while also learning the ropes of virtual communication themselves. This also starts a wave of including all members of society in online conversations and voicing opinions that younger generations can learn from,  and vice versa, causing an increase in communication throughout society.

Along with communicating and learning from wiser members of society, social media has also provided many opportunities for millennials as they enter the workforce. Social networking sites, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, allow businesses to recruit new employees by utilizing “behavioral sciences, social analytics, and comparative benchmarks” that can cause one potential employee to significantly stand out from another (Hebner). This gives millennial social media users the opportunity to be recruited for a job based on their online information before ever walking into an interview. Along with that, social media also lends itself to group communication and productivity in the office. As millennials enter the workforce, they already have a step up in the world of business if they are experienced in communicating through technology because social sites are the new wave of business. In fact, “social businesses that embrace this phenomenon are able to… fuel innovation by crowdsourcing ideas [and] improve productivity with better collaboration” (Hebner). Consequently, the use of social networking not only benefits the user in the workplace, but also the company as a whole. Additionally, social media provides the opportunity for millennials to become better leaders in management positions. Instead of struggling to find a time that every member of a company can meet, managers can create company Facebook groups or post inspirational Tweets to keep the company motivated and reach the business and the outside community. This also creates a two-way communication dynamic so employees have the ability to have their voices heard within the company by directly responding to the top executives (Tardanica). By utilizing the millennial generation’s knowledge of the virtual world, businesses have the opportunity to better connect with customers and employees and research market trends allowing the business to flourish. This, in turn, will benefit the members of the millennial workforce as profits increase due to better communication and customer service through the use of social media.

Not only does online communication provide increased opportunity in the workforce, it also supports students’ creative written communication skills and their ability to share their works with a larger audience. A survey of 2,462 AP English teachers revealed that 96% agree that digital media allows students to share work with a broader audience, 79% agree that it encourages collaboration, and 78% agree that it encourages creativity and personal expression from what they have witnessed in the classroom (Buchanan). In the past, people were not as willing to express their deep, inner thoughts on such a casual and public platform. Today the development of social media has made it more acceptable to better utilize freedom of speech on as public or private a platform as the author desires. It also enhances creativity among writers as they witness various posts touching on a number of topics. This exposes social media users to a variety of language use that students will not always be exposed to in the classroom. In this same study, the author found that between both teachers and students, the majority of those surveyed agreed that assignments typically completed in class such as research papers, essays, and journal entries are all considered forms of “writing,” whereas blog posts and texts are not. However, most teachers believed that “these digital formats do spur thinking and encourage communication among their students, which may lead to deeper thinking and self-expression” (Buchanan). This means that even though virtual communication is typically considered more informal, it still is beneficial to exposing millennials to new ideas that can spur creativity and make students more confident with writing in the classroom.

Social media has also led to increased self-esteem, sense of identity, and overall confidence in communication among the millennial generation. Psychologist Valerie Barker conducted a study involving 734 millennial Facebook users of varying genders and ethnicities to research their motives for using social media as well as their reported sense of esteem and identity from using it. She found that of these millennials, the majority reported using social media primarily for better communicating with their peer group and as a result, they felt better connected with their friend group and had an increased sense of belonging. Along with that, this group also reported feeling more confident in leaving a peer group if they felt it was not suited for them as a result of having increased communication because of social media. Furthermore, these participants also felt more confident in connecting with those whom they have never met before (Barker). Thus, social media provides a direct outlet for millennials to better communicate with those they see frequently or perhaps even complete strangers, which intensifies the relationships they already have and diversifies the relationships that are just being created. It also gives users more confidence in disconnecting with peers who could be making them feel despondent, which leads to healthier and more positive relationships. 

With the positive relationships that social media brings about, it also increases intimacy between friends, family, and loved ones. With the tough world we live in, it becomes increasingly important to keep up with the ones that we love and cherish when times get difficult. This is especially important for millennials as they encounter many transitionary periods at this time in their lives. Suppose one decides to spend a year abroad, lands a new job across the country, or marries a loved one serving in the military. Without social media it would be nearly impossible for these individuals to remain intimate with those they are closest with during times when social interactions are not only wanted, but necessary (Broadbent). By using social mediums such as Skype and Facebook, these individuals have the opportunity to communicate face-to-face with a loved one miles away or view pictures and status updates of those whom they have not had the opportunity to communicate with in some time. Additionally, schools and businesses who condemn the use of social media are hurting themselves in the long run. Along with social media being an easy medium for learning new information, allowing students and employees to use social media to connect with loved ones increases productivity and esteem throughout the day (Broadbent). When one does not have the ability to receive an embrace from a loved one, social media provides an alternative way to assist those relationships through video content, pictures, and verbal communication.

Social media provides numerous opportunities and increased methods of communication for millennials and future generations to come. Being exposed to a sophisticated plethora of knowledge from people around the world allows one to get out of their own head and experience the world in a way that was never available in the past. Social media is associated with higher morale, a better sense of self, and increased confidence in communication skills among millennials, which ultimately leads to an increase in positivity and productivity within society. Not only does social media facilitate close relationships and communication among millennials, it also serves to make one feel better connected to the world around them and more confident in social situations as they have been exposed to a more diversified community than just their peer social circle. Social media is constantly evolving and it is important for one to take advantage of all of the opportunities that each site creates because the newest technology has the possibility to develop within seconds. Each social media site has its own attributes that it uses to attract its users. As all members of society continue to gain knowledge about the limitless opportunities that social media presents, the world will become a more intertwined, better connected, and overall accepting community.
