This time of the year is the time known for giving thanks. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, a lot of people are showing their thanks to the important things in their lives. What are the important things in your life? Family, friends, pets, school, and a house to live in might be some. What about social media though? We use it everyday! Some people would even agree that it would be hard to live without.

“I think I could live without social media, but I would not be as happy or as smart,” junior Jonathan Petesch said. Many people would agree with Petesch.  Social media has made a huge impact in the world today. Without it, I feel that the world wouldn’t be as evolved as it is right now. Over the years, the online world has evolved quite a bit. Whether or not you are heavy into social media or don’t want anything to do with it, there are multiple reasons to be thankful for it.

The first reason to be thankful for social media is reconnecting. The internet helps people from different parts of the world stay connected and reconnect if they haven’t been able to stay in contact over the years. Lots of people have joined Facebook for that reason, I think. When they found out that they would be able to get in touch with their high school classmates  or family and friends that live clear across the world, Facebook became so popular. But it’s not only Facebook that does this. Instagram, Pinterest, and Google+ are also websites that help stay connected. Because of social media, I have been able to stay connected with friends from my old school and a friend who lives hundreds of miles away. Without this social media I would have lost touch and lost some great people.

The second reason to be thankful for social media today is the news and information. The news is a big part of the world today. People from all around the world go crazy for the news. They want to know what’s going on, right when it’s happening. The web is able to tell people the news they want to hear with a click of a few buttons. This feature has been able to help a lot of people and make life a lot easier in general. Twitter is known for spreading news faster than a lot of other websites. The information part of social media is also really important. Lots of people use the internet to search for anything they need to know. If you need to know how to spell something, the definition of something, or pretty much anything you can ever imagine is on the internet. Social media helps students in school a lot because of this, and it saves a lot of time, too.

Another reason to be thankful for social media and the internet is marketing. Many businesses wouldn’t be able to make it without social media. Companies are able to post things online that usually draw attention to their business. I think that social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest have gave a lot of companies the opportunity to promote their business and have helped them make money.

And last but not least, another reason to be thankful for social media is entertainment. From watching hours of funny YouTube videos when you are bored to scrolling through interesting posts on Facebook and Instagram, social media has provided us with something to do to pass the time. There hasn’t been a morning when somebody hasn’t shown me something helpful or funny from their favorite social media websites.

So as we get closer to the thankful season, think about what social media has done for you, you may be surprised on how much it has helped you!