In an article published today about Social Media it states the obvious that it will be a “hot topic”.

This topic is going to be discussed tomorrow (Friday) at a Youth Forum – “National Youth Forum on “Social Media & Youth” at Mary Miller Hall, 7.30 p.m. – 8.30 p.m.

I must confess the allotted time of one hour would seem to be very little.

The PR we received says, “During the event, the CIYA will address the sinister side of social media, particularly: cyber-bullying, illicit image sharing, trafficking, screen-addiction and safeguarding mental health in the digital era. The Youth Assembly will also invite responses to their research. With all opinions welcomed they hope to gather a wide range of perspectives on the topic.”

Before the Open Mike session, the Forum “will feature a research presentation from CIYA President Brianna Bodden, a short video featuring CIYA members and a 30-minute panel discussion. Panellists will include psychologists with OnCourse Cayman, Dr. Colleen Brown and Dr. Alexandria Bodden; Royal Cayman Islands Police Service forensic expert Anhill Carsana, Cayman’s CARICOM, Youth Ambassadors Shantelle Young and Tayvis Walters; and two CIYA members.”

I asked the question “how has social media changed the world?’ over the Internet and there was no shortage of answers. In fact I was swamped.

What is startling is that social media has only been around for the last ten years. It seems to have been forever.

The main areas it would appear social media has impacted us is:

AWARENESS

COMMUNICATION

TELL YOUR STORY

SHARE YOUR OPINION

IF YOUR NOT PAYING FOR IT, YOU’RE THE PRODUCT – I’ll explain that one:

Facebook for example embodies this philosophy and has created a whole empire from it. Astonishingly this is no secret, and we as users still willingly hand over our details and personal information.

Recent research reported by The Guardian states that most young people are more than willing to hand over information. 91% of users share publicly accessible photos of themselves, 71% post where they live and share their location when updating posts, 61 % of users give their email address away and over a fifth share their mobile number.

We know more about strangers than ever before. Years ago personal moments in your life were only shared with your close family and friends, these days that is still true but is also shared with our 500+ network of followers and ‘friends’.

Crazy isn’t it?

BUSINESSES

RESPONSE RATES – The speed of social media has changed the way we learn about and respond to natural disasters.

POLITICS – How Donald Trump became president and how he uses Twitter.

RECRUITMENT

So how has Social Media changed your life?