Social media promotes inclusivity in a positive way

The United States is a melting pot of different cultures that have changed and evolved through the decades. With so many ethnicities, races and lifestyles represented, it is virtually impossible to know and understand all of them. However, social media has come to the rescue and allowed people to showcase the uniqueness of their culture by sharing a wide variety of information - from photos to blogs to recipes. Social media promotes inclusivity in a positive way.

A great example of this is on the social media app TikTok. Creators who make recipe videos of food from their culture share it with a wide audience - and if the right people see it, aspiring culinary artists all around the world will soon be making the recipe featured in the video. One example of this is when a recipe for birria tacos went viral. According to blog.amigofoods.com, birria tacos are a traditional Mexican dish that is a meat stew made into tacos. I did not know what birria tacos were - and before the viral recipe videos - not that many people knew what they were either. The viral recipe video was able to highlight traditional Mexican culture and share it with thousands of people.

Another one of these circumstances is how fast information is able to travel on social media. This information can be anything from religious holidays and customs to just an overview of what something means. People can gain knowledge of other cultures through the network of fast-spreading information on social media. For example, I celebrate a religious holiday called Diwali; in my experience, only a few people knew about it. Now, with social media information, people are able to access resources that inform them. Being able to gain knowledge of other cultures helps include other cultures that do not celebrate what people are used to.

Finally, social media helps inclusivity by allowing users to express themselves. For example, on Instagram, users can put their preferred pronouns next to their names. By making this possible, people on social media are becoming more inclusive of other people's personal preferences. Another example is fashion. There is a TikToker I watch that makes fashion videos that go with her religious beliefs. By seeing her do that, I can understand and appreciate how her religious beliefs affect her fashion and learn about her culture and style.

Without social media, understanding other cultures in a not-so-diverse environment can be difficult. I think that social media has changed how people view things they don't know about and has made people want to engage in other cultures. Overall, social media has made society more inclusive and supportive of other cultures.

Opinion by Sri Nattam