Culture has been affected by technology since the beginning of mankind. The internet has impacted our behavior, our tradition, our language, faster than ever imaginable. Technology has irreversibly changed the dynamic of communication, affecting society in both negative and positive ways. Social media, more specifically, is an integral part in almost everybody's life. These advances have allowed us to connect with people on levels unimaginable in the past, while also profoundly disconnecting us on emotional levels. .
Recent advances have brought about one of the most influential forms of media to date, namely, Social Media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram are a few social media sites that have completely changed the modern day definition of staying connected. Media sites like MeetUp give groups of people a platform to discover other people in their area with similar interests, allowing an opportunity to meet friends you may not have met otherwise. These sites have many positive effects. These platforms allow the users to share their photos and ideas with friends and family, communicate with people all over the world, and have instant access to the news and other media outlets. One of the most profound things about the development of social media is that it has become a platform to voice one's ideas, opinions, feelings, and connect all of them together in a single space. Relating to the idea of the internet as a platform for human connectivity is similar to what James Gleick, in his article Meme Pool, would describe as a meme. A meme is essentially an idea with the potential to travel from one individual to another. Gleick quotes in his article, "When I muse about memes, I often find myself picturing an ephemeral flickering pattern of sparks leaping from brain to brain screaming 'Me, me!'"(Hofstadter,555). Gleick also states "Ideas cause ideas and help evolve new ideas.
