Every day when I get home from school, I turn on my computer and log in to Facebook. Yesterday was no different. I logged into Facebook and started reading the latest updates. Most of the updates were meaningless nonsense, like pictures of cute cats, funny videos, or texts about what my friends think of Apple's latest operating system. Then I saw an update that caught my attention and I started thinking about the role of social media in our society. One of my friends had liked Unicef's Facebook page. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay So I started to wonder if he liked that Unicef felt better, or maybe it was part of showing the perfect facade to his friends, because maybe social media has become an online exhibition where we want to show the perfect side of ourselves. We care more about how food looks in photos than how it actually tastes. I remember a few years ago when a journalist's video about a Ugandan military leader was published. His name was Joseph Kony and the video talked about the living conditions of the population in Uganda. According to the film, the Ugandan population is all victims of the violence caused by Joseph Kony. The video was shared more than hundreds of thousands of times in just a few days. Viral success was a given. However, was this someone who had been critical before sharing the video? No. Days after the video was uploaded and garnered millions of views, critics came forward. Joseph Kony did not live in Uganda and had not lived there in recent years. I think we should take this as a warning message about our accuracy and responsibility on social media. Of course I know that social media can have very positive effects on people. Like the Arab Spring in Syria in the fight against a dictator and in the protection of human rights, where social media was the people's weapon to share and show the world what was happening. In this case, social media was perfect in its ability to spread the news. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a custom essay As a result, it can work as a tool for making political revolution. On the other hand it scares me a little when people think that by pressing the "Like" button on The Kony Video or on the Unicef Facebook page they will change the world or even help the most vulnerable. I really think the world is a little more complex and we need to do more if we really want to make a change, but do we really want it? We didn't hit the like button just to feel better?
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