Sharing is Caring

Lately, and for no reason in particular, I've been thinking about how the social media thing is possible. I know, pretty deep. But seriously, how is it possible? Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Reddit, YouTube, and other social media sites wouldn't be possible if it wasn't for one thing: sharing.

We're social creatures: from time immemorial we have been more successful in a group than alone. Why do TV characters freak out when their friends leave them in an unknown land? Because the character know he/she could easily be a snack for a hungry animal.

 



When our ancestors weren't running away from saber-toothed tigers or other human beings of different clans, they were sharing with each other. The only way people can learn things is from others. And the only way others can teach us is through sharing. Teaching is sharing knowledge. Our ancestors shared knowledge with one another, thus helping us evolve from living with only a thatched roof between our head and the sky to living in skyscrapers fully equipped with running water, plumbing, heating and air conditioning, and internet--which was made by and for the military, not the public. We wouldn't have the internet and any social media without the military (another thing to thank them for!). Because they let entrepreneurs and engineers develop it, we have the internet we know today (that's not a great summary of the history of the internet, but you get it).

But why is social media so damn popular?  As I said before I went off on a tangent, we are social creatures. We want to know and care about others, but even more so, we want to be known and cared about in return. 

Social media has made sharing and caring about others a hell of a lot easier than ever before. I wasn't alive in World War II, but I'd venture to say that Americans didn't care too much about the rest of the world's issues until the issues were shoved into America's face via Pearl Harbor. I'm not saying nobody cared or that 1940s Americans were heartless, but its hard to really care when the information isn't readily accessible. Before the internet, the world was still a relatively large place that had to be explored and shared slowly. Long-distance communication was primarily letters. Its hard to be upset about a country being invaded when you're an ocean away. Today, millions of people can care about a single kid with cancer more quickly and honestly with one click of a button.

It is the sharing that makes social media. There's no point in having an account on Twitter or Facebook if you're not going to use it. Using it means following others and being followed. It means sharing bits of your life with the hope someone will care; it's the hope that someone will have something grand or interesting to say so you can join in. It's the hope that maybe we aren't as boring and insignificant in this wide world to another person as we think ourselves to be.