Using Social Media and Changing Social Life - Research Paper Example

ical Argument Introduction Social media or social network is today an integral part of our lives. Social media is more than just sharing of information and ideas. The most common used form of social media includes Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and Blogs. These social sites have facilitated creation and exchange of ideas in a fast rate as compared to the traditional media. The internet has grown at a vast rate into a vast net of services that not only entertains, but also serves as a requisite work aid. Initially, email was the useful internet service for the people. This was followed by the emergence of websites. To date, this great network has grown into a worldwide web accessible to all. This has transformed the internet into a mainstream phenomenon (Sparks 31-35). What has prompted expansion of the internet is growth of devices such laptop, desktop computers, notebooks and Smartphone’s. The use of social site has the potential to change our social lives. This is likely to happen at an interpersonal and community level. Group of the user that mostly relies on the social site is young people. In fact, changes in interactions patterns and social connection are usually evident amongst young people. In summary, social sites have enabled connection between individuals. On a society level, there is increased interaction and sometimes-low transaction cost of finding and connecting with each other. In United States, social sites are part of daily activities of the people especially the youths. However, the usage of social sites is rapidly spreading to old people and other groups. Consequently, there will be social impacts resulting from majority use of these sites. Recently, there have been both positive and negative outcomes because of involvement in online social networking. However, other studies tend to agree that internet communication may supplement traditional social behavior (Australian Psychology Society Web). More studies have indicated that social networking has a positive impact on social interaction and wellbeing (Australian Psychology Society Web). On the other hand, there are negatives that stem from social networking. This paper seeks to delve on positive and negatives of social media, and finally reaffirms that social media negatives impact far outweighs the positive impact. Positive Effects Social media have had a positive effect on society. Firstly, social media have provided an opportunity to know many people in a quick and easy way. Social media has also helped teenagers with social and physical challenge to build a relationship with their friends and families (Tay 1). In fact, children who go overseas to study can still be able to maintain a meaningful contact with their parents at home. In the society, there exists evidence to prove that social media have had a profound influence in today’s society. For example, in United States prior to the general election key presidential candidates relied on social media to propagate their manifestos. In fact, president Obama won the election through the effective use of social media to gain access to million of voters and audience (Tay 1). Tay also notes that his campaign had generated and distributed massive contents and messages that were delivered through various social sites. The most famous advert that was sent through the social media in the campaign was “Because it’s about you” and managed to use the right form of media to reach huge number of people (Tay 1). Obama campaigns had more than five million friends on more than ten social sites (Tay 1). In addition, more than 2000 YouTube videos were posted and watched more than 80 million times (Tay 1). In addition, social media is a good alternative form of communication especially in emergencies. This was evident in Haiti after a devastating earthquake. At this time, there was a communication breakdown. The rest of the world was shielded from the happenings in Haiti. To enhance the sharing of information and overcome the difficulties communication was facing, Social media proved a worth alternative as it was used to report the news about the affected areas on what happened and the attention needed. Various reporters relied on tweets, blogs to report about the rescue mission (Tay 1). There is also an impact on the education sector. Both students and teachers use social media as a tool of communication. For example, some teachers and professors use social site to extend classroom discussions (Cain 1). Others use social media to communicate announcements and information to the students. Likewise, students use social media to share feedback to their teachers. Moreover, social media act as a platform for activism. Judith Donath and Dana Boyd predicted in 2004, “Technologies that expand one’s social network will result in an increase in the available information” (Ellison et al 2). Social activists use it to spread the word about their cause, enlist volunteers, and seek for any form of actions. For example, the Arab Spring became active due to social media. People were mobilized to move to the streets to oust their dictatorial regime (Cain 1). Negative Impacts Despite social media having positive effects in the society, it has resulted to more negative effects than anticipated. The first negative impact is on the work place. Social media has resulted to more time being wasted at the work place for personal gains. This has a devastating consequence to the well being of various organization and companies. For example, a survey carried out in United Kingdom revealed that the cost of the economy due to the use of social media by workers could be over GBP 1.38 billions per year (Tay 1). In fact, many of those interviewed admitted to using social sites for personal gain. The social media also affects children. Most children have become vulnerable to criminals on the social media. In United States, it was found that most of those convicted of child abuse had multiple accounts on social media (Pernisco 13). Moreover, children are exposed to the sites some that have adult contents. This happens because most of these sites have no limitation to those who should have access. This makes children becoming morally decadent at a very tender age. Moreover, as people spend a considerable amount of their time online inside social networks, there has been emergence of spammers. This has led to publication of private information at a worrying rate. Conmen are able to use such information to come up with frauds that appears believable. For example, some celebrities information is leaked over the internet especially them being in a compromising situation (Pernisco 5). Friends of such people are the most likely prey of such swindles as such information would seem to originate from a trusted friend. Secondly, the use of social media has led to the invasion of personal privacy. Pernisco further notes that, “everything you put online becomes a part of everyone’s world” (8). Some recruiting agencies are increasingly using social networks to profile candidates seeking for employment opportunities. For example, a recent Microsoft survey noted that 79% of employers use social site to evaluate employees (Pernisco 13). The respondent in a survey carried out complained of unwanted contact while other complained of people posting inappropriate or upsetting information about them (Australian Psychology Society Web). In fact, 28% of the respondent reported having had a negative experience online, with 60 percent of those aged below 30 likely to report this (Australian Psychology Society Web). Lastly, health experts have warned over the rise of psychological and medical syndrome due to overuse of social media. In addition, some people can use the social media to settle scores or tarnish people reputation. This is possible because most of these sites have no limitation on who should have access to the information of a particular individual. In fact, it is possible for your enemies or foes to access your information without knowledge. In some schools, websites have been blocked to limit information accessed by the students to avoid such scenario. For example, in some high schools students have used the social media to tarnish the reputation of other students and even facilitators (Pernisco 5). This happened in terms of comments and opinions during class session. Moreover, some people have managed to create social site that are fake for people. They manage to act as impostor or representative of such people. For example, a student managed to create a MySpace account for the school principal and he ended up being sued for injuring another person’s reputation (Pernisco 5). This is a true representation of dangers posed by social site to the society. The use of social media also has health effects. Research carried out shows there is a likelihood of developing psychological and medical syndromes (Tay 1). This will be in the form of depression resulting from lack of quality relationship (Tay 1). This is because such sites have altered the mindset of its user that it is a new social creature (Tay 1). In fact, spending more hours on these sites does not translate into social skills. People tend to rely on technology forgetting how to socialize. In fact, the online personality of the person may be different from the physical presence. This is obvious from people who tend to base their relationship online. For example, most profile of the people on the social sites is not a true depiction of real life character. Therefore, most of these relationships are bound to fail with severe emotional and physiological consequences. Lastly, social media act as an avenue for harassment and crime. The information posted on the social media sometimes gets to unintended people. Such people get a way in which they can use such information to blackmail people. In fact, such information can be used in illegal trade, hijackings and even soliciting for sex. For example, a thirteen-year-old girl was harassed on MySpace when a group of girls from her school set up a hate page against the girl (Pernisco 7). Conclusion The influence of social media to the society is unprecedented. The positive effects range from easing communication and increasing contact. The negatives range from health problems, invasion of privacy, to increased vulnerability of children amongst others. However, the negative aspect of social media seems to outweigh the positive. The problems created by social sites are much more prevalent as many people have gotten capability of creating danger amongst million of internet users. Lastly, the use of social media in the society needs to be controlled to avoid such negatives. Works Cited Australian Psychology Society. “The Social and Psychological Impact of Online Social Networking.” Psychology.org. Web 30 November 2012. < http://www.psychology.org.au/publications/inpsych/2010/december/social/> Cain, Kevin. “The Negative Effects of Facebook on Communication.” Socialmedia today. Web 30 November 2012. < http://socialmediatoday.com/node/568836> Ellison, Nicole, Lampe, Cliff and Steinfield, Charles. “Social Network Sites and Society.” msu.edu. Web 30 November 2012. Mackey, Robert. The Health Effects of Social Networking. Nytimes. Web 30 November 2012. Pernisco, Nick. “Social Media Impact and Implications on Society.” Student Journal of Media Literacy Education, 1(1), (2010): 1-17. Print Sparks, Glenn. “Media Effects Research.” New York: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print Tay, Raymond. “Impact of Social Media on Society.”< http://ezinearticles.com/?Impact-of-Social-Media-on-Society&id=5378885>   Read More