Have you ever felt guilty about spending too much time on Facebook? Are you posting too many photos on Instagram? Perhaps you find that others have an unhealthy addiction to “telling” details of their lives on Twitter. Some people think that social networking sites are a waste of time. That they harm social relations in “real life”. But these platforms are much more than just entertainment gateways. They have a more profound impact on our society than some people want to admit. Like everything in life, they have their pros and cons, but the pros of social media far outweigh the latter. Research shows that social media does more good than harm to society because it spreads information faster than any other medium, sparks political change, and helps socially isolated people connect with others. The first argument for why social media is more beneficial to us More than harmful, it spreads information faster than any other media. Natural disasters, the death of a famous person or other shocking news; it only takes a few seconds before a friend posts it on their social media page, with their opinion or reaction. With this in mind, as we live in the information age, the abundance of data we are exposed to can easily cause fatigue (Kelly, 2010). Not all news interests everyone. Depending on your life experience, personality, preferences and several other factors, some news will have more impact and meaning for you than others. Filtering certain news stories based on your preferences can save you time and be more efficient than reading through multiple headlines until you find one that interests you. It turns out that social media does this in a fantastic way. Because social media is made up of friends...... middle of paper ......w Research Center. (2012). What Facebook and Twitter mean for news. Retrieved from http://stateofthemedia.org/: http://stateofthemedia.org/2012/mobile-devices-and-news-consumption-some-good-signs-for-journalism/what-facebook-and-twitter-mean -for current events/Rosenstiel, T. and Mitchell, A. (2011). The State of the News Media 2011. Pew Research Center. Wasserman, T. (October 27, 2011). The architect of #OccupyWallStreet praises the power of magical hashtags. Retrieved from Mashable.com: http://mashable.com/2011/10/27/occupy-wall-street-adbusters/Wilks, M. (nd). Effect of online social networks on adolescents' social networks. Retrieved from http://www.eckerd.edu/: http://www.eckerd.edu/academics/ford/files/11/Mary_Wilks.pdf Wolak, J., Mitchell, KL, & Finkelhor, D. (2002 ). Adolescence, Vol. 37, no. 147. Close online relationships in a national sample of adolescents., pp.. 441-455.