Not necessarily because “everyone’s doing it.”  See, you thought that was going to be the no-brainer answer.

Social media matters because it’s the best way for most people to connect with each other.  If you are shy in person, you’re generally a bold titan online.  If you have trouble connecting and communicating with people, you generally become more adept at introducing your feelings while in the comfort of your own home.  If you can’t seem to find an old friend’s number, you can easily find their contact info on Facebook.  My wife and I invited a handful of our friends via Facebook (here come the “you insensitive, unthoughtful, cheapskate” comments) to our wedding.

Social media is one of the main ways we network today.  The long chats on cell phones have been replaced by wall postings about boyfriends, girlfriends, life, congratulations, “happy b-days,” etc.  Celebrity gossip in magazines has been replaced by celebrities letting the world know about their breakup via a “tweet.”  Also, breaking news is divulged on twitter as much now as on CNN.

It’s truly amazing that social media is starting to evolve into a system that you can basically run all your interests, relationships, schedules, iPhone apps, and life updates through.

So, when you mock your friend about being on twitter (like many of my friends are doing now, the same ones who were mocking me in 2005 when I got on Facebook, all of which have Facebook profiles now), understand that it matters not because he or she is jumping on the social media bandwagon, but because that person may desire the ability to relate to his or her long lost friend in a more honest and streamlined fashion, something he or she wouldn’t have been able to do by foregoing the opportunity to join one of the fastest growing networks on the internet.

This is the thing about social media, people of all personality types can connect, network and converse within a sphere of their own comfort level, that’s why social media matters!  People who have shining personalities, amazing experience and character, unknown inner beauty and integrity are given the opportunity to be themselves within the protection of their comfort zones.

By no means am I encouraging hermitism (I think I just made up a word, maybe it’ll go viral), what I am saying is that we have unlocked the opportunity to see the best in a lot of people who would have normally withdrawn themselves from our conversations based on the risk of the pain associated with relationships.  That’s why social media matters, and that’s why it’s so important to me!

The hidden and untapped potential in each of us needs to find the light of day, and if that means that you have to join twitter and grow your network to ensure the breaking of the proverbial social ice, by all means, join the community, we’re glad you’re here!

God bless,

Travis Fitzwater
Follow Travis on twitter