Social Media and the Society - Essay Example

Social media and the society Introduction The word social media sparks many ideas and thoughts among individuals. Most people think of social media as a means of communicating and meeting people around the world. By definition, social media are channels that enable people to send as well as receive information on a large scale (Bolton et al. 245). Other people perceive social media as the means by which they get updates from their peers while others view it in terms of marketing as a business strategy. Whichever, the meaning an individual adopts, the fact remains that social media has changed the modern society to a greater extent (Kaplan and Michael 60). The way the modern society interacts with social media has profound effects on their lives. For instance, it is easy to connect with a friend through Facebook when he or she is not responding to phone calls or text messages. Furthermore, it is easy to get entertainment by watching videos and listening to music in social media sites. There are many ways through which the modern society interacts with the society thus this essay seeks to find out how the interaction has changed the lifestyle of modern society. The interaction in social media has changed how the society socializes (Kaplan and Michael 60). In the modern society, cases of people lining up for long hours in telephone conversations are rare. To catch up with someone, it only takes a computer to communicate through email or other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. In this scale, social media offer an opportunity to connect with people, make friends, share pictures and contents and exchange ideas or information. Nonetheless, the enhancement of communication between friends implies that social media influences the relationships within a society (Bolton et al. 247). Through social media, people can know their true friends and can count on them as trustworthy. Another influence on how people socialize is the influence that social media has in keeping the society informed. Social media sites are rich sources of information about global issues and local news. Therefore, the manner in which people interact with social media keeps the society informed and abreast of what is happening in the world. Social media have reduced or done away with individual gaps that existed before (Bolton et al. 246). Development of technology for sure provides secure means of communication where individuals can talk to anyone at any time. People work overseas and leave their families behind but still able to talk to them through social media. Channels like Skype enables video conversations thus a family may not feel alienated or delineated when a member is missing or attending to some errands somewhere. In this case, social media is also improving family relationships and is an easy way of uniting them (Kaplan and Michael 63). There are sites that allow the formation of family groups where only members can interact and share contents like pictures and entertaining videos. Therefore, social media have brought a new meaning to family relationships where mothers and sons or fathers and their daughters can talk about issues that traditionally would have been uncomfortable to talk about. Social media have had some impacts on politics and national governance (Shirky 28). Many politicians are opting for social media to boost their campaigns. All countries including US, India, Iran and European countries are using social media in their national campaigns. The politicians must rally people and social media like the internet has the crowd that improves their influence in the society. Nonetheless, the way the public interacts with the social media keeps them abreast with governments projects and strategic decisions. Where the government goes, citizens use social media to air their grievances. In fact, social media have become the new tool for ensuring democracy in the world (Shirky 28). Through social media, citizens speak with a common voice and take the same course of action. For instance, many dictatorship and aristocratic governments ended thanks to social media. Countries like Egypt, Tunisia, and other Asian states were able to use social media to call for national demonstrations against the oppressive governments. Therefore, social media have changed politics and governance of the modern society. Interactions in the social media have also changed the world into a community through globalization (Bolton et al. 249). Many people and origination use this aspect of social media to increase their influence on the society. The social media sites are full of non-governmental organizations and lobby groups. Topics like global warming have received much attention thanks to social media. Social media is, therefore, a platform for discussing crucial issues like conservation of natural resources and sustainable development. Nonetheless, social media like Facebook and Twitter allows for the creation of communities and groups (Shirky 28). The groups and communities have had positive effects on the society by focusing on helping disadvantaged like poor communities, victims of gender violence among others. Conversely, social media has also changed disaster and emergency response. News spread very fast in social media, and this makes the sites useful channels for conveying information and seeking for help during emergencies or disasters. The interaction between people and social media has also changed the face of modern business entities (Kaplan and Michael 59). Development of technology was the birth of social media and modern companies has used the channels to their full advantage. Business operations like marketing now depend heavily on social media. In fact, new concepts like online marketing came into existence owing to the tremendous growth of social media (Bolton et al. 247). There are many social media sites that can help companies to advertize their products and services. On the other hand, companies or business entities can open accounts free of charge in these social media sites and invite people to like them. In turn, the firm creates a forum for communicating with its customers and providing necessary information about their products and services (Kaplan and Michael 63). Nonetheless, the growth of social media has changed certain business operations like purchasing and selling of products. The modern consumer prefers ordering goods at the comfort of his or her home. Conversely, companies have also gotten the opportunity to do sales and other operations online. The implication is that social media have led to the establishment of new business approaches like e-commerce. Despite the positive effects, social media have had some adverse effects on the society one of them being the impacts on social behaviors (Bolton et al. 247). Information flow smoothly in the social media and also free to access. However, children and youths are in danger of social degradation owing to the contents they view in social media. Some social media sites have contents that promote violence while others expose children to pornographic materials. Therefore, the internet is changing behaviors in the society. Nonetheless, most youths and teens develop their behaviors from social media sites. The way social media cover certain issues like drugs, violence, sex, murder among other anti-social behaviors make them seem cool to teenagers (Kaplan and Michael 62). On the other hand, celebrity freedom and influence is because of social media. Many youths lookup on celebrities as their role models but the big question is the behaviors that their icons promote. Therefore, the way the society interacts with social media is leading to social and moral degradation among youths as well as children. Social media are also the reason for increased crime rate in the society (Kaplan and Michael 60). The growth and development of social media are breeding a new cadre of offences like internet harassment and cyber bullying. Internet harassment and cyber bullying target children, women, and young girls. The attacks leave the victims with depression and create tension among in the society. Nonetheless, social media are origin of data privacy issues (Shirky 30). Though the sole purpose of social media is to improve communication between individuals, others see it as an opportunity for committing crimes for personal gains like identity theft. Data and information theft has adverse effects on the productivity and performance of the organization since it reduces the level of trusts that customers have on a firm or a business entity. Though the modern society is living harmoniously with social media, it should a lot about the negative effects it imposes on the social. Conclusion In summary, the interaction with the modern society and social media brings both positive and adverse effects. Social media have improved lives by changing the way people communicate with each other. Besides, social media have become a way of holding governments accountable for their actions. Improved socialization implies that people can connect global and share their views on pressing issues like climate change. Interaction in social media has also improved relationships with friends, families, and community. Nonetheless, social media are the main reason as to why businesses are thriving because they are now adopting e-commerce. On the contrary, social media breeds negative behaviors among children and is blamable for moral degradation. Other issues like privacy and data security are as a result of negative effects of social media. Works cited Bolton, Ruth N., et al. "Understanding Generation Y and their use of social media: a review and research agenda." Journal of Service Management 24.3 (2013): 245-267. Kaplan, Andreas M., and Michael Haenlein. "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media." Business horizons 53.1 (2010): 59-68. Shirky, Clay. "Political Power of Social Media-Technology, the Public Sphere Sphere, and Political Change, The." Foreign Aff. 90.1 (2011): 28-39. Read More