DNTO: Social media #thegoodthebadtheugly

We've all experienced it -- the awesome and sometimes ugly truth about social media. It can be a force for incredible good, but it can also bring out the worst in us.

On DNTO, we explore some of the places we can go, in the click of a key, the snap of a photo or the slide of a thumb.

​Obaid Maqsood is a twelve year old boy from Winnipeg. Like most kids his age, he is very engaged on social media. Obaid is our DNTO junior reporter this week. He interviewed his friends about their thoughts on everything from twitter to snapchat.

Stephanie Domet has written two novels and she hosts CBC Radio's afternoon show in Halifax called Mainstreet. But she's probably most famous for a tweet that took her a milli-second to compose but caused a social media storm.

​Lily Ames is really active on social media. She especially likes to test the limits of how we can use - and manipulate the online world. So last year when she developed a taste for ketchup flavoured Doritos, she decided she wanted a years' supply of the chips -- and Twitter was going to help her get it.

Video game designer Navid Khavari knows the importance of analytics. So when he ventured into the world of online dating, he went with a company that would match him with the most compatible person. But on his first date with his 94% match, he was surprised to discover that what she most liked about him had nothing to do with his online survey, but involved a much more personal connection. 

Stephen Fearing got reconnected with his guitar through social media. Find out what got him disconnected.

​When Lisa Charleyboy was ten, she discovered glossy magazines. Fast forward to today and she now works as a fashion blogger, First Nations journalist and social entrepreneur. Huffington Post calls her 'one of three Aboriginal Millennials to watch'. The Indigenous advocate launched Urban Native Girl to celebrate success stories and inspire Indigenous youth. Naturally, she uses social media to get her message out to the world.

​When Lucas Crawford became a finalist in a potato chip contest, his photo went viral. Random people felt the need to comment on his size and gender. That's when Canada's tiny but vocal transgender community chimed in.

​These days online dating is about as common as it gets, but in 1991 finding love online was unheard of! Literally -- because hardly anyone had heard of the Internet. At Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, then 19 year old Sage Tyrtle​ was a computer lab assistant and she was about to log on to her very first chat room. 

As a CBC Radio Host, Lana Gay interacts with many people on social media regularly, though she hasn't met many of them in person. After making plans online during a trip to Tennessee, Lana started to have second thoughts after she realized she had agreed to get into a black SUV with a total stranger.    

A sexist poster, a single tweet and an angry backlash. Ben Wickstrom felt the wrath of social media. He explains why he thinks it could have been much worse. 

This week's Playlist

Chvrches - "The Mother We Share" *you can read Lauren Mayberry's essay about her experience with social media (warning: explicit language)
Neek - "Electrical Wires"
Ingrid Michaelson - "Twitter Song"
Arcade Fire - "We Used to Wait"
Len - "Steal My Sunshine"         
Stephen Fearing - "This Guitar"
Kathryn Calder - "Take a Little Time"
Little Jimmy Dickens - "I'm Little But I'm Loud"
Tegan and Sara - "I'm Not Your Hero"
Johnny Cash - "I Walk the Line"