The Intensifying Conflict Between Community and Individualism: Social Media Week Conference
To commemorate the 10th annual Social Media Week conference in New York, the 2018 global theme, “Closer” explored the “intensifying conflict between community and individualism.” (Social Media Week Website) The conversation brought together a diversity of perspectives to discuss the most productive ways to harness these forces to drive innovation, improve consumer experiences and bring people together.
During the conference, I had the opportunity to sit in on many sessions but there were three specific sessions that resonated with me. The sessions included a discussion on youth and social media featuring Nev from the MTV show Catfish, a training on using LinkedIn for professional growth and a conversation on how social media can be used for social impact.
The session featuring Nev was one of the larger sessions (as expected). As a millenial, I grew up when social media and the internet was just budding (MySpace) so I remember a time when I couldn't just Google anything I wanted to know or when I had to actually make phone calls to speak to my friends but fast forward some years later and I have done group projects via text messages and Google Slides. Today Gen Zer know nothing but social media, their lives revolve around it and their lives are invested in it. Nev shared that in some cases that’s a good thing. Young people are mobilizing for social justice and are more connected with the world. Young people are able to meet each other and build lifelong connections without ever seeing one another face to face. As much as social media seems superficial many relationships now are built simply through online conversations. Does that mean young people today are able to build deeper relationships? Well on the other hand young people are killing themselves over “likes.” The superficial factor of social media is real and is causing a youth to be stuck in a mental state of inadequacy. So what does that mean? Nev went on to share that social media is a gift and a curse. For him it helped him land a popular TV show but before that it was the cause of a major heartbreak. Today social media can be used to stand up for issues and connect with the world or hide behind a screen and mask your true emotions. It’s a difficult dichotomy and although there was a robust discussion no true solution was offered.
The Social Media Week Conference went back and forth with how social media is bad but it’s also good. During the conference there were various workshops for professional development, obviously showing how social media can be used for growth. I attended the LinkedIn workshop facilitated Ty Heath. During the workshop she gave tips to develop a profile, utilize tools to connect with new people and build your professional brand. During the workshop one of the attendees shared how she landed her dream job through LinkedIn. She saw a job she liked and reached out to someone who worked there. It just so happened that the person she reached out to was the hiring manager for that position. Once they had the opportunity to speak she was hired a few weeks later. This made me think of LinkedIn in a new way. It’s not a virtual resume it’s a tool I need to leverage to build strong connections with other professionals.
Following the conference I connected on LinkedIn with the Tricia Clarke-Stone, the CEO of a small agency that focuses on developing social impact campaigns. She was the moderator for a panel that discussed the good that comes from Social Media through social impact campaigns. This panel was definitely my favorite because it showcased the opportunity we have with social media to really make a difference. As someone who works at a civil rights nonprofit and someone who is constantly trying to help underrepresented communities, this panel really hit home. The panelist showed some of their tear jerking campaigns that advocated for equality and human rights and shared their perspective on how we all can make difference in the world.Today we are more connected than ever through social media. While social media can be used for negativity it has so much potential to be used to spread positivity throughout the world and it’s my hope that conferences like Social Media Week show society just how much is possible.
