The benefits of social media

Connecting with others

It wasn't all that long ago that the idea of real-time video communication was considered futuristic! But today's social media platforms allow you to do just that – to connect instantly with friends and family from all around the world.

Most social media platforms allow you to sign up, message and make video calls free of charge. All you need is a decent internet connection and computer or smart device.

Sharing with others

While real-time video calls and messaging are great features, social media platforms also allow you to share content such as videos, photos and news articles with friends and likeminded people. Again, content can be shared free of charge on these platforms, with the only requirement being a reliable internet connection.

Reacting to posts

The next best thing to bringing your friends and family on holidays with you is being able to share your photos with them. You can instantly share photos or videos via most social media platforms, and this is known as posting. Your connections can Comment on and Like photos to show their appreciation of your posts.

eSafety Tip

Be wary of posting while you're away from home. Posting to public forums broadcasts that you are on holidays and that your house is probably vacant. Only send photos to trusted friends or family whilst you are away, or wait until you are back home before posting.

Accessing real-time news and information

The days of waiting for the evening news to come on TV to find out what's happening in the world are over. Social networks are awash with news and current affairs posts. All reputable news outlets have accounts across all of the major social media platforms.

Often, breaking news stories are posted on social media before they appear in newspapers due to the quick turnaround of creating a social media post.

Sharing content

Many news sites, review pages and other content providers allow you to share their content via your own social media accounts.

This is handy, for instance, if you are attending The Perth Garden Festival and are keen to get some of your friends interested. To share the link to the event page, either click on the Share link provided or copy the website address and post it from your social media account.

Congratulations

You have completed The benefits of social media activity.

You should now be able to identify some of the benefits that social media can bring to your life.

The next activity, An overview of social media platforms, will outline the function of some of the most widely used social media platforms.