Social Media Cultural Influence - Essay Example

Social Media Cultural Influence The increasing accessibility of the Web together with the significant popularization of socialmedia produce significant influence on societies worldwide. The variety of available today social networking has already become an integral part of modern life in a globalized world. The following brought different kinds of interaction to the new level, levelling the influence of time and space on the process of communication. The subsequent outcomes of the change have been the topic of numerous debates with people holding quite opposite opinions on whether social media is a threat or a benefit for a culture. The aim of this paper is to examine some of the popular accusations of social media and explain that the positive consequences of social media for the culture outweigh the suggested threats. At present, the world of social media is broad and presented by the variety of widely available networking sites that provide opportunities for socialization. The most popular among them can be considered Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other actively used by people across generations and social groups. All together they created the new digital arena for maintaining relationships, communicating, making business, or sharing news. (Sawyer, 2011) Obviously, such extensive popularity and influence which social media managed to gain in relatively short period of time could not leave one ignorant of the possible consequences of the tendency to spend time online instead of the real-life alternatives. As a result, the possibility of both positive and negative outcomes of social media is recognized. Both sides have elaborated particular set of arguments that seemingly contain the grain of truth and common sense, therefore, they need to be closely and thoroughly examined in order to formulate a personal position in this regard. The base of arguments of people who are trying to prove that social media represents a destructive force for a culture is the long one, but, to my mind, includes issues that can be prevented by careful use and conscious approach to social media. Among such negative claims can be mentioned disregard of privacy and sharing too much personal information that can be used for inappropriate goals. Also, much is being said about cyberbullying, online harassment that make people feel insecure and treat peace in the society. ("Technology can have,") Apart from that, social media is often blamed for promoting the culture of narcissism – excessive interest in oneself and one’s appearance. ("Technology can have,") All this is said to occur simultaneously with people losing their capacity of real face-to-face communication and becoming more isolated from each other. Yet, the mentioned above fears do not overweigh the list of benefits of social media for a culture and can be avoided. Namely, promoting digital literacy and educating individuals, especially the young ones, about the possible treats of being overly dependent on social media sites and about its rational usage could be an answer to named problems. In contrast, the overall positive influence of social media is that it brought communication to another level. Today, people can connect with each regardless of whether they are separated by long distances or live next door. Social media is easily reached with the help of not only a computer, but today, with the help of tablets and smartphones as well. The range of gadgets and access to the Internet are widely available and accessible. It is no longer a problem to stay in touch with family and friends while moving to another city or country. In any case, meaningful relationships can be maintained and the quality of communication remains similar to face-to-face communication. (Das & Sahoo, 2012) The possibility to share photos, video, communicate via skype will allow that. Thereof, it can be concluded that social media created the tradition of long-term, firm, and meaningful relationships that can be maintained by people regardless of their living in two different parts of the world. Furthermore, the era of online interactions increased the overall awareness to the great extent. It is true that people today spend the significant amount of time in social media, but this fact does not mean that the society is becoming ignorant of what is happening around. Conversely, social media perfectly fulfills its role of being a huge source of information of any kind regarding both global and local issues. (Dwivedi & Pandey, 2013) Reading and sharing news is already a common part of online communication and most often they are found unintentionally. As a result, the population continues becoming more informed and educated about versatile issues. No important national or cultural event is likely to occur without public attention being paid at it. In such a way, individuals have an opportunity to develop their awareness in various aspects of life, such as politics, sports, and international affairs as well as raise competence in social issues. Due to it, the well-being of the country can be improved. At the same time, social media also helps to make new acquaintances and build new relationships. It provides opportunities for associating with people who share interests and occupations, or belong to the same community and culture. The following includes interactions on the ground of hobbies and endeavors which can appear to be helpful for expressing self, gaining important experience, and enhancing development of creative potential (O`Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011) This aspect of social media should not be underestimated since the speed of the modern life often leaves little space for spending time on things apart from work or education. Under such conditions, reading a blog about modern art or asking for a piece of advice while trying a recipe of a French cuisine is fast, helpful, and encourages to continue. Besides, what social media does in this regard, is gives people the feeling of belonging to something. Being a part of something and building meaningful relationships encourages to maintain commitments and realize personal worth. (O`Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011) Among other positive influences of social media, one deserves to be given specific attention – the fact that due to it intercultural relationships are becoming stronger and communication – easy. People got used to exposing their lives through uploading photos and sharing their life events, thoughts, and emotions by means writing twits or commenting blogs and in such a way levelling the importance time and distance on communication. A one evident benefit of it is the promotion of intercultural relationships and development of cultural awareness. It includes the ability to stay conscious of differences and similarities between cultural groups and participating in interactions with individuals of different social backgrounds. Putting it in other words, cultural awareness is what stands for the ability of people from different cultures to interact effectively. (Dwivedi & Pandey, 2013) Raised in different backgrounds and inherited values and traditions, it is common for people to evaluate and interpret things differently. Correspondingly, their attitudes, behavior, and the overall world outlook differ from representatives of other nationalities and cultures. As a result, misunderstandings and conflicts are likely to arise due to the inability to find a common ground. Influential in this context are also maintained prejudices and wrong beliefs that one may hold due to the lack of experience of interacting with a particular group of people. This is likely to become an obstacle for both, a person from a host culture who would be unable to invite and tolerate new comers and vice versa. (Dwivedi & Pandey, 2013) Hence, it becomes clear that social networking sites can fulfill the role of the medium needed to build a bridge between people and facilitate mutual understanding between them. In fact, research proves that people tend to use social media to integrate into the host culture during the time of their adaptation and cope with the culture shock – a distress which is caused by the discrepancy between the native and new social conditions and environment. (Sawyer, 2011) Subsequently, due to social media societies are ready to invite the experiences and new people into it. The culture as a whole is more welcoming and more flexible, which is the result of the improved cultural awareness due to social media influences. The new comers, in their turn, use the benefits of social media to better integrate into the host culture, finding meaningful interactions and learning about the new society via social media. To sum up, although with the development of social media the arguments concerning its negative influences on the culture have been widely expressed, they cannot undermine the scope of benefits produced by social networking. In the global sense, social media can be viewed as a tool used for socialization and conducting active interaction with the diverse force of people. The following includes connecting with people living in the same communities or finding new acquaintances on the basis of shared interests without any distance limits. Moreover, a very important aspect of social media is that it helps to break the wall of misunderstanding between representatives of different cultural backgrounds by means of raising cultural awareness. In this way the new comers can better adapt to the new environment while the host culture becomes more welcoming. References Das, B., & Sahoo, J. (2012.). Social networking sites – a critical analysis of i ts impact on personal and s ocial l ife. International Journal of Business and Social Science , 2(14), 222-228. Retrieved from http://www.ijbssnet.com/journals/Vol._2_No._14;_July_2011/25.pdf Dwivedi, P., & Pandey, I. (2013). 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