Social media seems to be the bad guy all the time, always being blamed for changing society and especially our youth in a negative way.

But could social media really be a social good?

First, let’s look at what social good is: something that generally benefits the largest number of people in the largest possible way. Usually, we think of clean air and water as social goods, because they benefit everyone in a positive way.

I don’t think social media quite fits in as a social good itself, however, it does provide a social good.

Social media provides communication to large amounts of people at a faster pace than any other technology ever has in history.

News now travels much more quickly and gets too many more people than ever before thanks to social media. Alerts about dangerous situations and even traffic hazards get to people in time to save from unnecessary danger and from wasted time.

Despite other flaws, social media has connected us in a way we never thought possible. People meet and communicate from around the world now and we keep up with far more people from our past than before too. While this may have some drawbacks in some situations, overall it’s a positive impact.

Like many things in life social media is a tool and like any tool, it can be used for good or for bad. Let’s all choose to use it for good.