We spend multiple hours out of our day on social media, checking our Facebook pages or Twitter or Instagram. We are consumed by being online. Normally I would say that spending so much time online is a bad thing, however, when it comes to spreading news, there is no faster way than using social media.

Tong Shao, an Iowa State student, was found dead in the trunk of her car on Sept. 29 in Iowa City. Before she was found, however, I saw her face pasted on every social media website I checked. This went on for weeks, and I am so glad it did. 

It was a good feeling to get on my Facebook and Twitter accounts and see that there was more than just a cute dog video that had been shared 500 times by every girl I knew, but rather people were sharing photos and stories of Shao — about when she went missing and where she had been seen last. This was a perfect opportunity to use social media for the greater good.

Social media is the fastest way to get the word out when it needs to happen. So many times, we log on to the internet and mindlessly plug in funny videos or check our notifications and leave. However, when there was something major happening, such as a student going missing, we students and community members acted quickly to help spread the search of the Shao.

Social media is used to keep relationships with friends that you cannot see everyday and to share photos and feelings. When major things happen on campus, however, our school does a very good job about spreading the news around.

Students, keep up the good work. We may have been a large help in getting the word out about where Shao might have been located and a hand in helping the police department find her body.

Local police departments in the area, such as the Ames Police Department and ISU Police Department, do a great job of using social media when there are cases such as a missing person or when there has been an accident in the area. When we spread the word of the police to our friends, they can move the information around the state and even around the nation.

There are over 34,000 students on this campus. If even half of the people on this campus shared the information, we would easily be able to reach people in every state, perhaps even every country.

The power of social media has moved well past the power of word of mouth. If we had not had Facebook and Twitter or any other social media accounts, the police may not have found Shao in such a timely manner. They may have not even found her at all.