Date: Saturday, November 7th 2015

Participants (from 11 countries):

Host: Rick

Moderator: Rick

Teams

Panel PRO: Riya, Zena, Imad, Johny, Sunita, Ayisha, Usman

Panel CON: J, Noorla

Audience: Sara, Masato, Marwa, Esam, Amy, Shelia, Raneesh, Finda, David, Seif, Lala, Rose, Mikhael

Panel PRO:

Social media can enhance communication between people around the world.
It has opened business opportunities.
It offers convenience when talking with other people from your comfortable home.
It has helped in developing and maintaining long distance relationships (friendship for instance).
Sites like YouTube gives people a platform for finding entertainment.
We can find information faster and easier thanks to some informative media.
It helps breaking the boundaries of distance between people whom otherwise would be impossible to communicate with.
Opinions can be shared across the internet and your voice (thoughts) can be heard all over the world thanks to social media.
Companies and entrepreneurs can use it as a place where to exhibit their products and service.
Every now and then, some new advances in medicine are presented to the world, and social media can help spread the news faster and personally.
It helps people to socialize: We can find new friends and we can learn about other people’s culture and country instead of relying on books or newspapers. It is always better to learn things by interacting directly with people than learning about them by reading it elsewhere.
It can be used to share, spread, or promote awareness about diseases, culture, traditions or education.
It offers a cheaper place where entrepreneurs can start their new business online.
People with computer knowledge and skills have a chance to find job inside companies which are in need of people with such skills and supports networking in general.
It offers a platform where companies can help customers by addressing their concerns, questions, complains or with other issues.
It can give an online getaway from a stressful home life.
In a quarrelsome house, social media can prevent people from fighting against one another because they can find themselves engaged online and it will keep them away from picking on each other.
Social media helps to remind us of special occasions like someone's birthday through notification.
People who are socially withdrawn and unconfident can use social media as a way of communicating and keeping in touch with other people.

Panel CON:

Social Media has the potential of actually making us antisocial.
If you are talking through social media you cannot see the other person's facial expression or body language.
A virtual environment does not give the whole social experience like in real life.
Social media hadn’t solved major humanity issues.

Audience summary:

Shelia remained undecided.
Raneesh voted for team A (Pro)
David voted for team A (Pro)
Ayisha joined team A (Pro)
Reneesh voted for team A (Pro)
Sara, Masato, Marwa, Esam and Amy left early
Finda just listened.
Seif voted for team A (Pro)
Lala voted for team A (Pro)

Team A won this debate, congratulations!

We conclude that social media as well as many other tools can be used for good or can be used for bad. It all depends on how people use it.

Thanks everyone for participating. To listen to this debate, click on the links below:

Listen online:

Download:

Social media | Friday November 7th 2015 | Recording file

For people who did not join the live discussion, feel free to contribute the ideas in the comment blanks below.