Plato's Theory Of Social Media

The world which once was small and condensed has expanded due to social media and its reach is worldwide, the evolution of all forms of online social media has changed the world as it was once known. Media has become instantaneous, what was meant to relieve society may have done the opposite and become detrimental to the strength and stance of this world. Plato a philosopher from ancient Greece has always understood the power and necessity for communication and reason (Straw, 2011, p. 31). If he himself were alive till the day the new medium known as Twitter which has taken the world by storm and has opened a variety of new issues for today’s current society. Plato would agree that Twitter is a social medium that contributes to the downfall …show more content…
With the mediums lack of concept of what is real it is easy to predict the further social change which this medium will have upon society. Plato observed two issues in society which he created a theory known as the “Theory of Forms” to resolve these issues (Branch, 2006). The issues Plato observes consist of firstly “The Ethical Problem” where Plato asks how could humans live a joyful and fulfilling life in a forever changing world where all things can be taken away at any given moment(Branch, 2006). The second is known as “The Problem of Permanence and Change” where Plato ask how is that the world can be both permanent and unchanging, in the way that what we experience through the senses can always change but an individual’s overall perception of worldly objects seem to be permanent. In order to solve these problems Plato created the “Theory of Forms” where there are two worlds (Branch, 2006). The first is known as the Realm of Forms where everything is true, pure and untouched; everything in this world will never change. The second is known as the Material Realm, this is the realm where the Twitter medium exist a world where everything that exist is a copy or form of the realities in the Realm of Forms. For example in the material world, the concept of beauty is continuously changing and mediums such as Twitter in this real can give a part in this. In further detail, within the Realm of Forms the concept of beauty has only one permeant meaning which will never change. The medium of Twitter goes along with Plato’s theory as what is revealed through this medium has no concept of reality. This is true as firstly Twitter is a medium has a medium to “give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers” (“About Twitter, Inc.”, 2014). This means any and