Social Media Innovation Can Meet People’s Need for Belongingness

The latest breakthrough on technology has brought a remarkable change in media innovation. And this noteworthy change has caused a significant turn on how people communicate with one another. Ancient ways of communicating used to be so slow, limited, and a whole lot expensive. But try to look at what is happening now, the world seems to become smaller and smaller each passing day. Today, distance is no longer a problem because different forms of media have invaded the air and they continue to bring us the freshest of news, information, and most accessible forms of communications and entertainment.

Today’s technology has also brought a new face at the way people connect with each other. With the discovery of the Internet, connecting to people either for plain friendship or for a more serious relationship leading to long term commitments has become easier like never before. The traditional way of getting to know a man or woman from the other side of the globe was through snail mail. And they call each other pen pals  because they write their messages with pens on papers. But now, doing so is more comfortable, highly sophisticated, and yields more efficient results. Social networking is the name. This online connection with as many people as you can using some of the popular social network sites on the Internet is free, thus they attract more and more subscribers daily.

Another sophistication in media innovation that was brought about by the advancement of technology is the way dating is done. Dating in the past was usually confined at a place where both parties (man and woman) are present and they enjoy a wonderful time of getting to know each other, exploring their relationship over dinner or something else. But now, dating can be online, meaning it can be done through the Internet via a computer with a web camera, a headphone, and a microphone attached to it. Your date can be someone on the other part of the globe located at a place that has a different time zone from yours.

While all social networking sites are free, most online dating sites charge a minimal monthly or yearly subscription fees to members in order to avail of all the features they provide. This is because most online dating sites  integrate some new twists on their services like helping you find your perfect match, leading you to groups with the same interests, backgrounds, and religious orientation as yours, linking your profile to other dating networks, and other services you cannot avail at free online social networks.

As the latest media innovation, social networking and online dating sites are increasingly becoming more and more in demand to people from different walks of life. Young and old alike, especially those who are hungry for relationship and whose need for belongingness are not yet met. Many people who failed in their past relationships are trying to find their best luck here. And just like any other innovations, media innovation can also be  an avenue for abuse and misuse, thus extra care and proper discernment must be applied.