Social Media Effect on Online Presence - Literature review Example

Social media and impacts on online presence Literature Review Some theorists have proposed two conflicting theories to explain why people opt to use the social media. Two underlying theories include “social compensation” and “rich get richer” (Sheldon 2008; Selfhout et al. 2009). According to Sheldon (2008), individuals who are extraverted and who have already established peer groups tend to use the social networking sites as additional per interaction because of their impacts in strengthening already established friendships and creating a new network of interactions. In contrast, individuals who are less socially skilled tend to use the social networking sites as it provides a platform where they can clandestinely self-disclose and establish interactions (O'Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson 2011). This second group uses the social media for social compensation. A growing body of researches continues to question the validity of these theories since past researches have indicated that less socially capable individuals are more likely to turn to the internet even as findings of current researches contradict with the assumptions. Chung and Henderson (2001), present two contrasting perspectives on how people use the social media, based on their view of the beneficial impacts. The two include the social participation and utilitarian perspectives. Utilitarian perspective postulates that people view the internet as a convenient information source and marketplace. The social participation perspective views the internet as channel of communication that improves social interaction (Chung & Henderson 2001). Based on these two theories, the fundamental impacts of social media on online presence are on health, marketing, social and learning impacts. The diversity and extent of a range of communication methods, such as social media, mobile phones and face-to-face meetings has triggered much controversy among researchers on whether deploying the internet and the social media impacts user's social participation in addition to the psychosocial health benefits through the interactive participation (Chung & Henderson 2001). According to Nef et al. (2013), some optimistic findings suggest that using social networking sites lead to development of new social circle in addition to affectionate and long-lasting social relationships online. A recent study of why students use the social media in preference to face-to-face communication found that the main motive for using social networking sites is because of its impacts in strengthening and maintenance of relationships (Tarantino, McDonough & Hua 2013). The findings are consistent with the “rich get richer” hypothesis and the social participation perspective. Social media has presented opportunities improvement for health information service. In an empirical study of the impacts of social media in sexual health communication among the youth in Australia, Evers at al. (2013) found that social networking sites have revolutionized sexual health communication to the young people. Upon a survey of six rural-and-urban groups, Evers at al. (2013) found that social networking sites present opportunities for sexual health professionals to communicate interactively to the youth who had established online presence. According to Evers at al. (2013), variables such as lack of services, stigma, lack of interest, and denial are among the factors that have inhibited sexual effective health information, which can be effectively overcome by the social media. The findings were consistent with an earlier research by Gold et al. (2012, which concluded that social media platforms has far-reaching impacts on young people, aged between 16 and 22 years, who had established online presence. According to the researchers, combining the social media with sexual health information effectively opened up opportunities to effectively communicate to the young people on matters concerning sexual health education. Social media is effective in establishing social presence. Several studies have examined how social networking sites can impact individuals of different age groups, occupations and social groups online. Results have consistently alluded to the benefits of social media platforms in enhancing intergenerational communication. A systematic by Nef et al. (2013) examined how the social media can benefit the older people with impaired mobility. Findings suggested that the benefits of social media cannot be downplayed as they enhanced social participation and intergenerational communication. According to Nef et al. (2013), the elderly who had established online presence and who actively used social media platforms showed better mental health statuses, as they communicated with family members frequently. Social media have positively impacted social and collaborative learning. Past studies have related social media and collaborative learning as the rationale student and teachers’ willingness to establish online presence. According to Tarantino, McDonough and Hua (2013), students build online communities by working collaboratively in knowledge constructions. The researcher concluded that social networking sites serve as tool for facilitating establishment of the learning communities as they encourage communication and collaboration. Tarantino, McDonough and Hua (2013) explained that the social media platforms support collaborative learning that in turn strengthens creative learning processes. According to the researchers, collaborative learning involves student connection and interaction with course content. To this end, a review of Tarantino, McDonough and Hua’s (2013) findings implies that social media presents an opportunity for students to expand their learning environment, since only a part of learning happens within the classroom setting. In respect to the impacts of social media on student social life, studies have indicated that students who have established online presence through the social media feel more connected to their peers as compared to those who have not established the online presence (Jackson 2011; Junco et al. 2010). In a related study by Tarantino, McDonough and Hua’s (2013), the researchers found that the connections that students make with their classmates have a great impact on the learning environment created. The researchers concluded that student participation in social media created more communicative and collaborative learning environment as it provides opportunities for interaction and discussions with the peers (Tarantino, McDonough and Hua 2013). Some recent studies have explored the relevance of social theories on the impact of social media. Mir (2012) examined the validity of social impact theory, which hypotheses that as the number of people increases, the impact on the target audience of individual’s behaviour and attitudes is improved. This theory relates to the social participation perspective. According to the theory, when other individuals are the originators of the impact and the person is the target, the impact would be a multiplicative function of the immediacy, strength and the number of individuals. Hence, if the number of people increases on a social networking site, the impact is on the target person’s behaviour and attitude. Basing on this theory, Mir (2012) established that as the number of users of a social networking site who share their experiences and information about a product or brand increases, the impact on the target user who is searching for information on a brand increases. Mir’s (2012) underlying assumption is that information is a vital motivation for individuals to buy brand-related social media content. Basing on the social impact theory, it is clear that social media positively impacts brand loyalty and customer relationship management (CRM) (Laroche et al. 2013; Malthouse et al. 2013). To this end, it is clear that a growing body of researches is continuing to show interest over the impact of social media on marketing. Taking into perspective earlier findings that established a correlation between brand community building and customer loyalty and trust due to social media influence elements of customer-centric model and brand loyalty, Laroche et al. (2013) found that social media provides unique opportunity for growth of brands online and strengthening relationship with the customers. This followed an empirical study of 441 respondents. The researchers further established that brand trust has a mediating role in transforming the relationships of users of social networking into brand loyalty. The findings relate to a study by Malthouse et al. (2013), which found that social media can empower and connect customers. Based on the findings, Malthouse et al. (2013) suggested that the social media provided a tool for CRM. To conclude, the impacts of social media are related to its significance as a convenient information source and marketplace and its capability to improve social interaction. References Evers, C, Albury, K & Byron, P 2013, "Young People, Social Media, Social Network Sites and Sexual Health Communication in Australia: “This is Funny, You Should Watch It," International Journal of Communication vol. 7, 263–280 Gold, J, Pedrana, A, Stoove, M, Chang, S, Howard, S, Asselin, J, et al. 2012). Developing health promotion interventions on social networking sites: Recommendations from the FaceSpace Project. Journal of Medical Internet Research, vol. 14 no. 1, p.30 Jackson, C 2011, “Your students love social media ... and so can you,” Teaching Tolerance, vol. 39, 38-41. Junco, R, Heibert, G & Loken, E 2010, "The effect of Twitter on college student engagement and grades," Journal of Computer Assisted Learning p.1-13 Laroche, M, Reza, M & Richard, M 2013, "To be or not to be in social media: How brand loyalty is affected by social media?" International Journal of Information Management vol. 33, pp.76–82 Mir, I 2012, “Verification Of Social Impact Theory Claims In Social Media Context.” Journal of Internet Banking and Commerce, vol. 17, no. 1, pp.2-13 Malthouse, E, Haenlein, M & Skiera, B, Wege, E & Zhang, M 2013, "Managing Customer Relationships in the Social Media Era: Introducing the Social CRM House," Journal of Interactive Marketing vol. 27, pp.270–280 Nef, T, Ganeam R, Muri, R & Mosimann, U 2013, "Social networking sites and older users – a systematic review," International Psychogeriatric, p.1-11 Chung, W & Henderson, J 2001, "Americans on the Internet: Utilitarian and Social Participation Perspectives," Case Western Reserve University, USA . 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