Origins and Future of Social Media

Title: Origins and Future of Social Media
Student’s Name
Institution
Course Number and Name
Instructor’s Name
Date
Title: Origins and Future of Social Media
Thoughts on the Reading
It was quite surprising to learn that social media, in a sense, can be traced back to 1844 in the form of a telegraphic message (Maryville University, n.d.). This revelation reminded me of the saying, "there is nothing new under the sun." I am unaware of the origin of this saying, but I have heard it many times in my life, and now, I somehow believe it. Honestly, I thought social media was novel; a pure invention made only possible by the internet. However, it seems that it has some sort of precedent that predates the official invention of the internet. I also found it interesting to learn that social media in China has evolved almost like the rest of the world. Although common foreign social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have been restricted in China, local social media platforms have been created to meet the needs of China-based users. The similarity in the features of foreign and Chinese social media sites indicates that they all have similar origins, meant to create connections between friends and family.
The readings also reveal that moving forward, social media might need to go back to its original intentions of building relationships. I agree with this view. Even though social media has evolved into a commercial tool being utilized by businesses, it still needs to maintain its original purpose and allow people to build intimate relationships online. People now visit social media for many reasons, but the underlying reason for social media existence is online social existence. Even as social media companies continue to look for new ways to generate revenue and contribute to social media evolution (Maryville University, n.d.), it s important not to forget the original intentions of social media. It is becoming apparent that social media has lost sight of its original intentions (Smith, 2019). How will this affect the future of social media?
Question
Can/will people evolve out of social media?
Answer
Despite all the...