--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Social media is good for collective…" description: "\"“Social media is good for collective sharing, but not always so great for collective building; good for collective destruction, but maybe not so good f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/856/thomas-l-friedman-5270_social-media_social-media-is-good-for-collective-shar_2883129.jpg" --- # Social media is good for collective sharing, but not… ![“Social media is good for collective sharing, but not always so great for collective building; good for collective destruction, but maybe not so good for collective construction; fantastic for generating a flash mob, but not so good at generating a flash consensus on a party platform or a…” quote by Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/856/thomas-l-friedman-5270_social-media_social-media-is-good-for-collective-shar_2883129.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/856/thomas-l-friedman-5270_social-media_social-media-is-good-for-collective-shar_2883129.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/856/thomas-l-friedman-5270_social-media_social-media-is-good-for-collective-shar_2883129.jpg) > ““Social media is good for collective sharing, but not always so great for collective building; good for collective destruction, but maybe not so good for collective construction; fantastic for generating a flash mob, but not so good at generating a flash consensus on a party platform or a constitution.”” [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques social media’s dual nature: it facilitates sharing but hampers collective building and consensus formation. **In simple terms:** Social media spreads ideas but hinders unified action. Key Takeaway Use platforms wisely, fostering constructive collaboration. Themes technology communication society Mood analytical forward‑looking Type media strategic When to use this quote - marketing - political campaigns - community organizing - media strategy Key Concepts collective action digital dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How can we turn sharing into building? - What mechanisms foster genuine consensus? A Different Perspective Risk of echo chambers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Collective Construction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-construction-4007407/) [Collective Sharing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-sharing-4007406/) [Good Collective](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-collective-3379472/) [Media Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/media-good-1447826/) [Social media](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-media/) [Twitter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/twitter/) ## Related quotes > [I think if you want to engage in social media, you must take the good with the bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-seah/i-think-if-you-want-to-engage-in-social-media-you-must-take-the-good/) [Nicole Seah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-seah/) > [The personal stats are good, but the collective is better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylian-mbappe/the-personal-stats-are-good-but-the-collective-is-better/) [Kylian Mbappe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylian-mbappe/) > [When you're someone in the media, the good thing is, I guess, that you can reach a lot of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabatha-coffey/when-you-re-someone-in-the-media-the-good-thing-is-i-guess-that-you/) [Tabatha Coffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabatha-coffey/) > [Whether in print or other media, a good biography is more than a court record or a stringing together of already familiar sources. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-riley-fitch/whether-in-print-or-other-media-a-good-biography-is-more-than-a-court/) [Noel Riley Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-riley-fitch/) > [I think the media has done a good job portraying him being a bad person, when in reality he's not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamont-jordan/i-think-the-media-has-done-a-good-job-portraying-him-being-a-bad/) [LaMont Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamont-jordan/) > [I never take ideas from the headlines. I feel that if a story is good enough, a real story that is, then it's already…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-never-take-ideas-from-the-headlines-i-feel-that-if-a-story-is-good/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If the communications media are a good destined for all humanity, then ever-new means must be found - including recourse to opportune legislative measures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/if-the-communications-media-are-a-good-destined-for-all-humanity-then/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [I think the media could be a very good force for good, and I think Hollywood can, as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-farrell/i-think-the-media-could-be-a-very-good-force-for-good-and-i-think/) [Mike Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-farrell/) > [Being criticized in the media is a good problem to have - most of the time. It means you're doing something that is at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holiday/being-criticized-in-the-media-is-a-good-problem-to-have-most-of-the/) [Ryan Holiday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holiday/) > [I think, ironically, the media's been good for America, but Trump's been good for the media. He's revitalized The New York Times and CNN…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/i-think-ironically-the-media-s-been-good-for-america-but-trump-s-been/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [Social media is good in some ways, for me to Skype my son and grandchildren every day in America is wonderful. But then you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/social-media-is-good-in-some-ways-for-me-to-skype-my-son-and/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [I myself have felt the wrath of the media, but that's part of what a good democracy is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naftali-bennett/i-myself-have-felt-the-wrath-of-the-media-but-that-s-part-of-what-a/) [Naftali Bennett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naftali-bennett/) > [I don't like being in the media. Good, bad or indifferent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordy-nelson/i-don-t-like-being-in-the-media-good-bad-or-indifferent/) [Jordy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordy-nelson/) > [I do have opinions. Fortunately, I neither Twitter nor Facebook. My daughter forbids me to go on social media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-lipman/i-do-have-opinions-fortunately-i-neither-twitter-nor-facebook-my/) [Maureen Lipman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-lipman/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) ## More by Thomas L. Friedman > [“When my dad died suddenly, my widowed mom couldn’t afford my college tuition, so Morrie and his friend Jake Garber, my dad’s boss, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/when-my-dad-died-suddenly-my-widowed-mom-couldn-t-afford-my-college/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“These alliances began with the most basic blood association—the family—and then expanded to the clan, the tribe, and then to other tribes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/these-alliances-began-with-the-most-basic-blood-association-the/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“Social conservatives from the right wing of the Republican party, who do not like globalization or closer integration with the world because it brings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/social-conservatives-from-the-right-wing-of-the-republican-party-who/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“When Muslim radicals and fundamentalists look at the West, they see only the openness that makes us, in their eyes, decadent and promiscuous. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/when-muslim-radicals-and-fundamentalists-look-at-the-west-they-see/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“Men grant and withdraw their love according to their whims, but fear is a hand that rests on their shoulders in a way they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/men-grant-and-withdraw-their-love-according-to-their-whims-but-fear/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“But the question that tugged at me, and I asked over and over was: What was that “it” that was being sustained? I needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/but-the-question-that-tugged-at-me-and-i-asked-over-and-over-was-what/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“It is fun to be around really, really creative makers in the second half of the chessboard, to see what they can do, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/it-is-fun-to-be-around-really-really-creative-makers-in-the-second/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“Today more than ever, the traditional boundaries between politics, culture, technology, finance, national security and ecology are disappearing. You often cannot explain one without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/today-more-than-ever-the-traditional-boundaries-between-politics/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“Second, in the desert there was no outside mediator or government to enforce laws or to adjudicate disputes in a neutral way between tribes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/second-in-the-desert-there-was-no-outside-mediator-or-government-to/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“NAZ was founded in 2008 in Minneapolis, and is modeled on Geoffrey Canada’s Harlem Children’s Zone. It uses a holistic web of family coaches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/naz-was-founded-in-2008-in-minneapolis-and-is-modeled-on-geoffrey/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“I got to see with my own eyes the boundaries of men’s compassion alongside their unfathomable brutality, their ingenuity alongside astounding folly, their insanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/i-got-to-see-with-my-own-eyes-the-boundaries-of-men-s-compassion/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“While their parents knew a different life and would never really feel at home again without it, their kids had never known anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/while-their-parents-knew-a-different-life-and-would-never-really-feel/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“The resulting article—an almost hour-by-hour reconstruction of the massacre—was published across four full pages of The New York Times on September 26, 1982; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/the-resulting-article-an-almost-hour-by-hour-reconstruction-of-the/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“LinkedIn was barely known and most people thought it was a prison,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/linkedin-was-barely-known-and-most-people-thought-it-was-a-prison/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) > [“Goods are traded, but services are consumed and produced in the same place. And you cannot export a haircut. But we are coming close…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-l-friedman/goods-are-traded-but-services-are-consumed-and-produced-in-the-same/) [Thomas L. Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) [Explore all 63 Thomas L. Friedman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-l-friedman/) ## More Social media quotes > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [I do have opinions. Fortunately, I neither Twitter nor Facebook. My daughter forbids me to go on social media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-lipman/i-do-have-opinions-fortunately-i-neither-twitter-nor-facebook-my/) [Maureen Lipman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-lipman/) > [“I would have been trying to pitch a concept about my community to someone that most likely was not a part of that community.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-tyler/i-would-have-been-trying-to-pitch-a-concept-about-my-community-to/) [Lamar Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-tyler/) > [I'm so scared of social media and if I could delete my pages I would, and I think I will one day. But one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenna-ortega/i-m-so-scared-of-social-media-and-if-i-could-delete-my-pages-i-would/) [Jenna Ortega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenna-ortega/) > [The one thing I absolutely hate about social media are the people who abuse it. Whenever I see a person who constantly posts negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/the-one-thing-i-absolutely-hate-about-social-media-are-the-people-who/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [“No Hate Speech Online is a social media netiquette rule. Return hate in kind (ness) for proper netiquette. Love Muslims alike.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-chiles/no-hate-speech-online-is-a-social-media-netiquette-rule-return-hate/) [David Chiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-chiles/) > [Social media has become a dark place, and the sites need to clean up their act if they want people to keep using them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-reid/social-media-has-become-a-dark-place-and-the-sites-need-to-clean-up/) [Susanna Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-reid/) > [I don't like social media. I hate it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mallika-sherawat/i-don-t-like-social-media-i-hate-it/) [Mallika Sherawat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mallika-sherawat/) > [“DIGITAL TRUTH DIGITAL LIES • Searches • Social media posts • Views • Social media likes • Clicks • Dating profiles • Swipes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-stephens-davidowitz/digital-truth-digital-lies-searches-social-media-posts-views-social/) [Seth Stephens-Davidowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-stephens-davidowitz/) > [ I don't feel the need to brand myself in that way \[social media\]. But as a means to share information and raise awareness of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-johansson/i-don-t-feel-the-need-to-brand-myself-in-that-way-social-media-but-as/) [Scarlett Johansson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-johansson/) > [Quite a lot has been written, including by me, about the effect of social media on politics, and in particular the way in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/quite-a-lot-has-been-written-including-by-me-about-the-effect-of/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [Social media is not just another way to connect feminist and activist voices - it amplifies our messages as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/social-media-is-not-just-another-way-to-connect-feminist-and-activist/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [I'm not on any social media; I don't even know what things are. I'm so behind the times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemarie-dewitt/i-m-not-on-any-social-media-i-don-t-even-know-what-things-are-i-m-so/) [Rosemarie DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemarie-dewitt/) [Browse all 3,256 Social media quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-media/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Social media is good for collective sharing, but not always so great for collective building; good for collective destruction, but maybe not so good for collective construction; fantastic for generating a flash mob, but not so good at generating a flash consensus on a party platform or a constitution.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas L. 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