What do you think the role of social media will be in major social change shifts? Any? Here is a short article by the author of The Tipping Point and Blink to get your wheels turning.

http://nyr.kr/bYKeLq

Please share your thoughts

updated by @ron-dwyer-voss: 10/24/16 04:45:35PM

I don't know what it will be...but I can imagine a couple of things of what it could be. As a tool I think social media could do a couple of things...1) it could provide doorways into deeper and stronger relationships - it could remind people or show people where others are around them who care about the same thing - or who are getting together around the same activities - what they do with it will depend upon them - but taking gladwell's point that it is 'weak-tie' relationships...it could perhaps do that; 2) it could function for those who are already "connected" more deeply to keep each other's lives more in contact with each other - more likely to call and follow up - because someone has moved their relationship status from "in a relationship" to "it's complicated" - or someone could post that they were at the er with their young son and you could run by the hospital and see how folks are doing...something like that. Perhaps this didn't even get close to answering your question about major social change shifts - but I would think that one possibility is that people could "feel" like they are more connected, but not really be more connected - and so the major social change shift would be a negative one, where the appearance of a relationship (one an inch deep) stands in for a deep, meaningful relationship...which could lead to more fracturing.Unfortunately I don't really see it leading an initiative to offer to have your neighbor who struggles with isolation over for dinner every night (which Wendell Berry does with a neighbor of his...)...mike