5 Ways Social Media Makes Your Life Better

We’ve all heard it: social media is such a time suck.

Who amongst us doesn’t have friends who refuse to use social media because they “just don’t have time”?  Even those of us who dabble might have that nagging feeling in our guts… couldn’t we be making better use of our time?

I’m here to officially relieve you of your guilt.  Social media is NOT a waste of your time.  In fact, if can be extremely beneficial.  Here are the top 5 ways social media can help you in your daily life:

1. Staying in touch with friends & family.
If you’re like me, many of your friend requests came from people you haven’t seen in years and may never see again. I always told my husband I had virtually no friends in high school, but guess what?  A full third of my Facebook friends are from high school.  I’m surprised to learn that I like many of these people MUCH more now than I ever did in high school!

As for family, social media is such an easy way to stay in touch.  At a recent family wedding, relatives said, “hey, I saw on Facebook you went on a trip recently!”  If you choose to connect with them, your family can easily keep up-to-date on your daily life (and you with them), all because of social media.

2. Staying on top of current news and trends.
Maybe you don’t have time to work, raise a family, exercise, run a household, AND stay on top of current events.  No worries!  Just log onto Twitter to find out what’s happening.  No time (or desire) to watch the VMAs? Social media will quickly clue you in as to why everybody’s talking about Miley Cyrus and “twerking.” Want design, fashion or recipe ideas? Pinterest is a smorgasboard of resources!

Just last month, social media helped my family stay connected during a national tragedy that hit close to home: my brother-in-law worked in the building where the shooting took place at the Washington Navy Yard.  My sister-in-law kept us all up to date on Facebook… thank goodness he was safe!  My husband tweeted about it, was contacted by a reporter, and here is the resulting interview.

3. Your birthday!
Social media birthdays are just the best. My husband (who also works in social media) and I love our birthdays on Facebook!  Honestly, who doesn’t love getting 100+ greetings on your birthday?  Also, it’s a great reminder of other people’s birthdays… so much cheaper than sending greeting cards to 300+ people!

4. Entertainment value
At least once a day, I find myself laughing out loud at something clever on social media.  It might be a meme posted by George Takei (the original Mr. Sulu on Star Trek who has become quite the social media maven).

Or a hilarious YouTube video like this.  Laughing is good for your health and I love getting a good laugh at least once a day. Social media serves it up regularly, nice and hot.

5. Make business contacts.
Even if you don’t have time, or don’t find value in Reasons 1-4, social media can help you connect with business contacts.  I don’t just mean LinkedIn (the ultimate social network for business people). Early on, I got a huge client when a Facebook friend referred me to somebody looking for a social media professional.  Just recently, when I needed to find a business professional with specific expertise, I found an old college friend who fit the bill perfectly on LinkedIn.

Did I convince you?  What are other ways that social media can make your life better?

Karen Naide is the Executive Social Media Producer at Project Social. She absolutely loves working with her clients to help them get their story out to the world, using social media. She also loves blogging about how the social media world affects the rest of us. She lives in Atlanta with her husband Adam and her 2 teenagers.