The world has witnessed technology transition and unraveled revolutions

from its primitive foundations to its most intricate and complex versions yet
i.e. the birth of social media. Who would have thought that Zuckerbergs
thesis project, Facebook, would create a network engaging 1.5 billion people
in this world to actually digitalize real life events from personal moments to
occurrences affecting every country across the globe? The real world has
seen much of everything in the digital world. So were left to ask, what is
there to offer? What does creating a world within a world contribute to
common good? Change. Where the greatest power resides to move humanity
is the best avenue for positive change to be incited.

Lets take for example how social media changed the life of a nine-year old
boy forever. His name is Daniel Cabrera. Daniel was just squatting on the cold
hard pavement outside McDonalds in Mandaue doing his what-supposed-to-
be homework on a wooden chair and then a stranger took a picture of the
oblivious boy and posted it online. Then guess what happened next? The post
did not only get flooded with thousands of likes and shares but at the same
time the boy got flooded with massive donations and help all over the world.
The next thing you know, he gets a full scholarship for college and life-long
financial support for his family. The light from the fast food store that has
been shed to the young boy for him to gain a clearer vision of his homework
was the same light that shed hope and inspiration to the world. This is a clear
manifestation of how powerful social media can be. It serves its purpose to
expose unheard stories, unveil the social realities and reveal truths that
matter to the world. But more than that, it can transform lives in an instant.
We, in JCI, as young active citizens of the world, how do we really become
ambassadors in the age of social media? Simple, we make ourselves relevant
to the world. If we envision ourselves to be the leading global network, then
we shall be in the forefront of empowering change makers in social media.
These people who liked, who shared, who sympathized and empathized with
Daniel Cabrera, these may be people stuck in social media but they are
actually active citizens who care. You give a man a fish, he will live for a day.
You teach a man how to finish, he will live for a lifetime. But posting on social
media about this mans situation, and thousands of people flock to give fish
to this man in a few time span, its basically the same thing, you have
changed the mans life. Plus you have transformed these people to be active
citizens of the world and one step ahead from realizing their full potentials to
be change makers.

This is our age. This is the satirical age of something invisible such as the
digital technology could either make or break this generation. As JCI
ambassadors, as catalysts of change, heres the hard truth: social media isnt
just a mere convenience of our cause but rather a big ass challenge. Marcos
revisionists, black propaganda for 2016 presidentiables, even hoax news can
be a leverage to mislead people. Just like the natural world, evil lives in the
digital world.
Social media has revolutionized the way people connect with each other from
the traditional word-of-mouth to a world of mouth, and in that time, weve seen
the good, the bad, and the ugly results of this immediate and constant
connectivity. Despite the negative inputs this destructive technology has to offer,
social media actually can be used as a formidable force of social good. Here is
where JCI comes into picture.