Imagine the internet without social media. Imagine the world without youtube, facebook, twitter, instagram, whatsapp, or snapchat. What would you be browsing? What sites would you be on? Wikipedia? Netflix maybe? 

I reckon we would still be active online. I mean I’m pretty sure we would all find a way to leverage the massive enigma that is the internet. We would find other sites that will satisfy our thirst for entertainment, creating connections and learning new things. 

Regardless of how you see it, social media is the crux of the internet. Being able to connect with friends, have timely conversations, interact with the world, market yourself, and keep up with your favorite celebrities - all for free. It just doesn’t get better than that. 

But it is interesting to think of how far social media has come. When I first heard about facebook, I thought it was a cool way to send messages, see my friends’ photo albums and have a clue about what was on my friends’ minds. 

Today, over a decade later, I don’t use facebook for any of those things. In fact, to me, facebook is more of a marketplace than a platform for striking connections. The once harmless website, facebook.com, has now become a center of conversation about privacy laws and policies - including the General Data Protection Regulation that just went into effect today. 

Our motives for using the internet - particularly social media - has changed. We don’t really want to make new connections, we go there for the hype - the opportunity to showcase ourselves and to get an insight about what’s popular and how everyone else is showcasing themselves. 

Now I’m not saying social media is a bad thing. It is one of the greatest man-made inventions. I’m just saying it’s interesting how much it has changed over the years - and who knows where it is going?

That being said, believe the hype and share this article on your favorite social media platform.