Effects of Facebook Mobile Advertising on Australian Teenagers Social Life - Research Paper Example

How Does Facebook Mobile Advertising Influence Australian Teenager’s Social Life Recently? Name Institution Date Abstract Facebook mobile advertising has various effects in the social life of teenagers not only in Australia, but from all around the world. These effects are both positive and negative. This research will delve into this matter in a way that there will be research not only in as far as Australian teenagers are concerned but also a brief exploration from other states. This is because the effects of Facebook mobile advertising are almost similar all around the world. Similarly, Facebook has rapidly spread everywhere across the globe. The research also tries to explore on the reasons as to why this has been so. These reasons as to why Facebook has rapidly spread among the teenagers range from: relieving boredom, social interaction, search for information and search for new experiences among others. As a result, these reasons determine what effects Facebook mobile advertising has in the social life of teenagers in Australia and worldwide. These effects are from findings from in depth interviews and focus groups carried out among teenagers in Australia. In brief, they are connected to captivity by Facebook whereby these teenagers will tend to exempt themselves from “normal world” into the “online world. It is however important to note that teenagers easily fall into this trap than their older counterparts due to various reasons such as: the fact that teenagers are not easily pissed off by advertisements on Facebook unlike their older counterparts who also have Facebook accounts, curiosity among others. How Does Facebook Mobile Advertising Influence Australian Teenager’s Social Life Recently? Introduction According to Sinclair (2008) by the end of 2015 advertising on social networking websites will have hit $50 million in Australia. This has been brought about by the rapid growth of social networking sites that has brought a new meaning to the internet in terms of functions and uses. Facebook for example is one social networking site that can be accessed from anywhere around the world. It is the most common social networking site in Australia with over 3 million users. It is this wide coverage and network that has rung something into the minds of marketers so that they are now using it as a medium for advertising (Sinclair 2008). Facebook has grown at an alarming rate such that even very young teenagers have their own accounts. This is because it is considered as areas where people can build friendships or even groom relationships in additions to expressing their ideas to the outside world despite the fact that they are considered as personal. In addition, Facebook helps one in becoming creative in one way or the other since there are very many things that one is able to learn from it. But one explicit aspect that comes out about Facebook is the privacy and the fact that one is able to control however can access their accounts or view their information (Barnes, 2006). It is critical to note that Facebook is also use as a medium of advertisement mostly targeting those who are signed in Facebook and ought to support advertisers if this is to carry on in future. Research Questions 1. What are the reasons that encourage you to visit Facebook and how long do you spend in Facebook in a day? 2. Do you pay attention to the advertisements posted on Facebook? If yes, what kind of advertisements are they? 3. Do the Facebook fans on various Facebook advertisement pages have an influence on how often you visit such pages? 4. Do Facebook advertisements affect the way you socialize with others? 5. Do you meet and make new friends while commenting and sharing ideas regarding various advertisements on Facebook? Research Methods The research methods in the literature that was used to collect secondary data included both qualitative and quantitative research methods. In any particular research that involves people, one has to apply qualitative and quantitative methods. In applying these two aspects, the intention was to come up with the best and most risk-free solutions. In as far as quantitative analysis is concerned, statistical analysis was used. Of equal importance to note is that although numbers are good for any research and in particular this research, they alone will not be serve the whole purpose of this research hence the need for a qualitative research that helped to uncover, explore and understand the data. In these researches, the tools that were employed for qualitative research included questionnaires and interviews. On the other hand, quantitative research involves measurement and testing of spontaneous connections between variables by collecting numerical or statistical data so that it is measured and analyzed for purposes of determining if it would be ideal to form an opinion that generalizes the whole populace. The use of these two approaches definitely reduced weaknesses and enhanced accuracy and strengths (Corbetta, 2003). Conclusions were drawn after the analysis of survey results with a combination of statistical applications. The research employed survey to analyze the results. This is because it is both descriptive and analytical at the same time (Corbetta, 2003). Results and Discussion The key findings on how Facebook mobile advertising influences Australian teenager’s social life is that there were both positive and negative impacts. According to Larry (2011) Facebook has enabled some sort of growth of an essential understanding on the teenagers that actually affected friends' dispositions in a positive manner, and made them to be more concerned and compassionate in their everyday lives. The respondents approved the fact that they held the Facebook accounts for purposes of recognition. Most of the teenagers enjoy all the attention that comes along in Facebook. All of them were in agreement that they loved it when someone else commented or liked their status. The need for recognition is generally a motivator for use of online social networking use (Larry, 2011). Facebook ensures that even the shy teenagers in Australia are able to socialize. The urge and will to be in a certain class or social interaction; from the interviews, most of the teenagers were forced to have a Facebook account for social interaction. This sense of belonging is normally brought about by their participation and reaction towards some of the advertisements on Facebook. They view Facebook as an important part of social interaction. This, according to Larry (2011) may be a good training ground for the actual face-to-face interactions. Facebook mobile advertising has a positive impact in regard to the self-esteem of the teenager in addition to allowing them to develop their self-identity. It was also found that most teenagers believed that their Facebook appearance is a picture of who they actually are. Similarly, they would get into a conversation with an acquaintance that they would end up building friendship. Things such liking or disliking comments as well as choosing a profile photo ensure that teenagers to become more self-aware. These two findings are related to the social life of the teenager. It can be summed by stating that the social identity of these teenagers is highly influenced by their experience on Facebook (Larry, 2011). However, there were also findings that were negative in regard to how Facebook mobile advertising influenced an Australian teenager’s social life. One of the impacts is that it may lead to teenagers becoming selfish. They will be possessed with what is on Facebook and the advertisements there that they have no time for anything else. They are only concerned with Facebook and the adverts (Cahill, 2012). Another impact of Facebook mobile advertising on the Australian teenager’s social life is that it may lead to online conflicts. Some teenagers may like certain advertisements while others may not. Once they start posting comments about those advertisement different comments will be posted which may raise emotions. According to Cahill (2012) these teenagers will be expressing their different feelings, something that might lead to online conflicts. White (2010) provides that Facebook mobile advertisements have led to something of an overdose of Facebook. Most of the respondents have only started using it for a year yet it has a very integral role on their day to day activities. This may be attributed to the fact that Facebook sheds away boredom. They have become addicted to Facebook since some want to quit but find it very hard to do so. The teenagers could use their mobile phones at the comfort of their homes or bedrooms to talk to their associates. This, some of them claimed that it was even more comfortable than meeting them in person. These teenagers perceive Facebook as a link between them and the outside world. It is also a source of entertainment. In the hunt for information, teenagers are also motivated to use Facebook and the advertising in it (White, 2010). However, most of them were categorical that Facebook was not for any commercial dealing. Normally, when they visit a link that relates to movies or music, they will open it without delay having no second thoughts about the credibility of these links. However, one might argue that this is attributed to the fact that the quest for information is a drive behind the use of internet (Grant 2005). Grant however notes that this quest may turn out to be negative so that the teenager will feel more anxious and depressed. Barnes (2006) explains that Facebook has now ensured that people and other organisations are able to connect and interact freely. A person becomes part of an international community in one way or the other so that he or she can share opinions with each other or to a larger community. Facebook is funded by the sale of adverts that target a particular person in addition to selling statistical data that is collected from the profiles of the users of Facebook (Barnes, 2006). There are various things that one has to look at when gauging a certain advertising message. The perception, believability and attitudes towards these messages are the parameters. The more the consumer believes or trusts the medium the more likely they are to believe the information that has been offered there. In the same way, if the consumer does not trust the medium, he or she is more likely to pay little or no attention at all to it. Psychological variables related to attitudes towards advertising, show that the young generation is more susceptible to liking advertisements as compared to the older generation. They would not feel offended by advertisements unlike the older generation that have the belief that advertising tends to be less informative but more scheming. In addition, the older generation tends to perceive advertised products being less or not matching what had been put on an advertisement. The fact that the younger generation does not feel offended by these advertisements will give them an advantage in terms of message remembrance (Shavitt, 1998). Lenhart & Madden (2007) argues that there are several reasons why the young generation joins Facebook. They range from exploring, discovering, the need to be creative, the urge to have relationships and sex to achieving a certain goal which may be even recognition. This has led them to sharing some personal information on Facebook. However, this is despite the fact that these teenagers are aware of the risks that come along with giving too much information on Facebook. More than half of those teenagers that were interviewed said that signing up in Facebook was driven by the urge to meet new friends. Of those who had been contacted by their ‘friends’ in Facebook who they did not recognize, majority admitted to being uncomfortable and scared. Further, the interviews found that boys mostly posted their last names, the town that they are from and their mobile numbers in their profiles. However, girls mostly posted their photos and those of their friends (Lenhart & Madden, 2007). From this, it is evident that teenagers of Facebook are paying little or no attention at all to their privacy since they have very little understanding of the privacy issues and policies of Facebook. Similarly, one can deduce that teenagers in Australia trust Facebook so much. In fact all of those who were interviewed were of the opinion that they would rather have their Facebook appearance and information known to anyone else other than their parents. Facebook has developed a world where there are no boundaries for these teenagers to access anything. The advertisements posted on Facebook are of all manners ranging from very good to very bad. The reason why I am talking of very bad is due to the fact that it is possible to access pornography through links posted on Facebook. This therefore means that they are comfortable doing maybe bad things as long as their parents are not aware. This is for example watching pornography through advertisements posted on Facebook (Dwyer et al., 2007). Conclusion There has been a lot of Facebook mobile advertising on Australian teenager’s social life in recent times. As an advertising medium, Facebook has various characteristics that will suite it as a medium of advertisement. It is possible for advertisements to be in a very good position to reach target markets through Facebook, based on an account owner’s personal interests or demographic profiles. This aspect of targetability is what connects most of the advertisements on Facebook to the teenagers. The fact that teenagers are not easily irritated by advertisements on Facebook unlike their older counterparts who also have Facebook accounts means that they are more likely to get interested in the advertisement. However, it is important to note that most teenagers perceive Facebook as a personal space. They think that Facebook is at times a waste of time which renders even the advertisements on it a waste of time. It is however important to note that whichever advertisement is posted on Facebook should be relevant to the user. A teenager will most definitely give interest to something that concerns him rather than that which does not. Some teenagers are fond of cancelling every message that pops up on their Facebook pages with the belief that it could be spam. In the same way, most of the teenagers tend to give a look at advertisements that may have games or movies. The main objective of this study was to explore on the impact of Facebook mobile advertising on Australian teenager’s social life in recent times. What is evident from the research is that the impact of Facebook mobile advertising on Australian teenager’s social life has been both positive and negative. There are both advantages and disadvantages that come along. The teenager gets to learn a lot when seeking for information. However, this might be either positive or negative. References Barnes, S. B. (2006). A Privacy Paradox. Social Networking in Australia. Sociology Journal.11(9). Cahill D. R. (2012). Facebook and Social Behaviour. Sidney: Fontaine Publishing Group. Christakis, DA. (2009). Trapped in the net: will internet addiction become a 21st-century epidemic? , Sidney: Fontaine Publishing Group. Cho, C. H & H. J. Cheon. (2004). Why do people avoid advertising on the internet? Corbetta, P. (2003). Social Research: Theory, Method and Techniques. London: Sage. Dwyer, C et al (2007). Trust and privacy concern in Facebook. In Thirteenth Americas Conference on Information Systems. Colorado: Keystone. Grant, I. C. (2005). Young People’s Relationships with Online Marketing Practices: an Intrusion Too Far? Journal of Marketing Management. 21 (5): 607-623. Shavitt et al. (1998). 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