A mother silently waited to receive a message on Facebook from her daughter who lives over a thousand miles away in Kentucky. This had become a routine for the retired woman at age 65, waiting for the mother of four to pick up her phone and send back message. It was the only way for the two to connect without the passports or suitcases. Even with the distance between the two they were able to stay close. This mother and daughter are my own mother and my grandmother. My grandmother passed away at age 66, and my mother holds the conversations via Facebook close to her heart. Even though my mother and grandmother withstood the barrier of distance and continued to have a great relationship, I still hear complaints of the lack of communication between people due to social media. And I am puzzled for a number of reasons. Technology has changed the way humans live and helped people from all around the world. Social media has overall improved the way we communicate by bringing groups of people together for common causes without the issue of distance.
        

One of the main uses of social media is the information of current events. The spread of stories or events is seen throughout the internet such as Facebook or Twitter.  In the article “I Knew You Before I Met You: How Social Media Has Changed the Way We Communicate”, author Jennifer Brannock Cox speaks of cancer survivor Miles Scott who “wanted nothing more than to ride with the cape crusader, Batman,” and with the help of social media the Make-A-Wish foundation was able to spread his story and able to gather a large mass of people “to transform San Francisco into Gothem City”.   Stories such as this are able to spread throughout social media which brings people together allowing the story to gain popularity. There are those are fearful of Isis spreading their own false news or promises hoping to recruit those using the internet. But in fact, social media has enabled those to spread support against Isis. Especially after the attacks on Paris, France. Millions of Parisians gathered after many hopeful and supporting messages spreading across social media and “united in song” proving they were not afraid of the terrorists Ed Payne, Journalist of CNN, states. The song they had been singing was the French national anthem.
     

Another important use of social media is its ability to organize political revolutions that had been long needed. Egypt had used Facebook and Twitter to tell of activities and acts of the revolution, spreading news of the uprising. Journalist Roland Banks, author of "Smartphones and social media: driving political revolution" explains that technology has led many countries to rise against unjust government and “have enabled anyone to engage in political protests and uprisings” even those who wouldn’t dare before social media. Banks continues to explain how Egypt was able to spread  word and support for the revolution via technology. Before social media, people were afraid to rise against any source of large power, but today people have spoken their minds to even the most powerful people. There are those that believe that if anything political revolutions have been hurt by the internet and social media. Gregg Satell, manager of media businesses, explains that before the advanced technology the population has today political revolutions were in slow motion especially those “Eastern Bloc had before the fall of the Berlin Wall” but even then “fax machines were immensely powerful” helping get the message out of the rebellions.
   

In conclusion, social media has increased people's communication by its ability to join people together by its speed and ease of group coordination. The world has been greatly shocked by the powerful tool that is a smartphone or computer, the way we communicate is at its peak. The spread of news and ideas along with the disperse of political revolutions are only some aspects of social media. Those who say that social media has affected people's communications negatively, must have not seen the great acts that it has done for the world. Taking this in, the reader needs to understand that social media isn't only used for games and apps. Social media can change the world and all it takes is one post.