Nearly everybody has a Facebook. Almost every country in the world has Facebook listed as their 2nd most used site. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc., are among the top ten sites in the world and are constantly being used no matter the time, economic status, or location.
Social media has become such a large part of our lives that many cannot even begin to fathom what the world would be like without it. It’s convenient. Nowadays, most people have smartphones. They also can connect to the internet at anytime. There are downloadable applications, which are usually free, that can connect to any social media whether it be Facebook, Yelp, etc,. Since the use of the sites are free and readily available, what’s the incentive to not use it? It tells you what restaurants are bad and which aren’t.
With the use of smartphones and the internet becoming more and more prominent within our society today, the access to social media sites become increasingly easy. People around the world use social media for everything, whether it be for basic chatting amongst friends and family, to connecting with fans and work, even when doing something as simple as looking for a place to eat. Most people would whip out their smartphones and “Yelp” a restaurant to see how many ratings it received or to see the menu, rather than to go inside and just ask for one.
This article, here, states “People favor instant messaging over face-to-face conversation these days”. Social media is causing people stay at home more, telling people to take the “safe” option to things when there would be a minor inconvenience otherwise. Social media itself is not a bad thing, in fact I believe that it is great. However, it shouldn’t replace visits to a friend’s house or cause you to check reviews about everything. Using Facebook or Twitter or whatever it is you use in moderation would go a long way.
applesvsbananas 
Social media has indeed become a big part of our lives as more people are using it as a platform for advertisements. I vouch for these advertisements as I bought my USA Olympic Trials tickets after they posted a link and a password to buy the single session tickets before they are released to the public. (I ‘liked’ the page of 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics so that’s how I get updates.)
Agreed. It’s amazing how the social media is taking over the globe. However, I have comment on your last point. Personally, Yelp saved me a lot of time and money in choosing the right place to eat. It increases my chances of experiencing a “happy hour” with less costs and much less time. When I use it to look up some restaurant, I, personally, go there to satisfy my own desire. However, I would “check-in” the place to keep track of them for myself and to share the happy experience I had with my friends. Technology meant to make our life easier. Whomever thinks it should back off, should know that they do not have to use it. G ahead.. throw that phone away, and smash that laptop after you delete your facebook profile. While I would rather turn off my phone for the weekend and leave my laptop at home after I google “best backpacking trips nearby” and get lost in nature for a couple of days. And in the end, I think it’s a matter of “how do you use it?”.
Good job!
I relate to your feelings that social media is keeping people from trying new things that are not “safe” or “highly rated.” I too have experienced this when deciding between two restaurants with my friend the other day. I whipped out my phone to check which one is better. They both were not good ha. Good article.