Gadget is an object that is mandatory for every individual in this era of globalization. Databoks has published the global number of gadget users, which is 3,6 billion in 2020 and will increase over time.
This is also due to the transformation of gadgets equipped with extremely fast internet resulting in many individuals taking advantage of this one object. They take advantage of every aspect of life, such as economics, entertainment, etc through social media.
Social media indirectly has a very important and beneficial role in life. Social media has 4 advantages for the users, namely expression, relationship, information, and business.
The primary benefit of social media is a way to express something (such as our feelings). The primary function of many individuals having social media is to express the feeling they are feeling at that time. They can upload their own photos or videos with whatever caption they want. Then, they get feedback from others, such as likes and comments. This may satisfy the social media user's desire.
Secondly, social media keeps in touch with others. We no longer always stay with our friends or family as time passes. There are times when we move to another city or country to continue our education or work. This is where the role of social media is very much needed, namely as a protector of relationships with others.
That way, the relationship will be maintained no matter where we are. In addition, social media can build a relationship with a new friend from various countries in the world.
Third, social media can spread the most recent information. With the advent of social media, information spreads faster than it did previously. For example, information about traffic jams in a place will spread widely in a matter of hours or even minutes thanks to the existence of social media. We do not need to wait until a few days to get the latest information that is going on.
The last benefit which people usually pursue is business. The Covid 19 pandemic has caused many people to lose their jobs and become unemployed. There are also those who have to close their offline stores due to the unfavorable conditions.
The existence of social media helps them to open a new store or business or just promote their wares there. With the advent of social media, which used to be limited to buyers from within the city, it is now possible to reach buyers from all over Indonesia.
However, in the current era of globalization, false information or hoaxes are often spread in society. Most of them were immediately provoked by the information without filtering it first. However it can be handled in a relaxed and wiser way in using social media. We have to be smart in filtering and exploring whether the information is fact or just a hoax.
Thus, social media has a lot of positive things in every area of life than the negatives. This relates to how well social media itself. If we are wise in using social media, we will not be affected by the negative things of social media.