THE WORLD OF SOCIAL MEDIA

By Philip M. Lustre Jr.

FACEBOOK, Pininterest, Friendster, Twitter, MySpace, Tagged, Namesdatabase, etc. - these are some of the social networking sites that have emerged over the past ten years to comprise what has been termed as the social media.

As part of the ongoing Information Revolution, these social networking sites form part and parcel of the emerging global culture.

These sites have been effective in establishing links and connections for millions of people all over the world.

They break barriers like space, languages, time, and domestic laws, enabling them to interact freely without fear, malice, or even retribution in case differences of opinion arise.

The emergence of social networking sites has reshaped the mode of interaction. 

Before friendship is deeply characterized by distance and intensity of emotions, but, now, friendship has become virtual as a result of these websites.

By mere connecting with one another through these social networking sites, people from various points of the globe, every walk of life, and even differing religions have become virtual friends, constantly communicating and exchanging information and views.

Pundits have already proclaimed that the current world order would be characterized by virtual friendship. 

In fact, political leaders, corporate entities, civil society institutions, and various organizations and institutions have started using these social networking sites to influence the people all over the world.

No wonder, news about US President Barack Obama are evenly distributed to most Twitter and Facebook accounts, probably making him the political leader, who has been extensively using the information highway to attain his objectives.

The rise of social media has triggered the emergence of new words among Internet denizens (or netizens), reflecting its deep influence and effect to daily living. Oxford Dictionary chose the word "unfriend" as its "Word of the Year" for 2010.

According to Oxford, unfriend refers to the act of deleting listed friends on a social networking site.

Oxford's choice however is enough to instigate a healthy debate on the word. Some pundits said the better word is "defriend," while others said it should be "unbefriend" because these sites exist to enable people to befriend other people.

Pundits have also proclaimed that the emergence of global culture is just a matter a time. 

Before everybody realizes it, most people from all parts of the world and walks of life will follow common norms in their daily behavior, thus making them truly global citizens.

In this sense, the goal of globalization, which is "one world, one culture" becomes a reality, a success.