Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networks - Essay Example

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SOCIAL MEDIA AMONG THE TEENAGERS Student’s Name Course Professor University Date INTRODUCTION With internet invention in the early 1970’s, it led to the start of social media. The first social media website was started in 1997 and was called Six Degrees which allowed users to create profiles and then form friends. Social media mainly involves the use of computers which were invented in the early 1950’s. The computers mediate information transfer from one person to another. Social media is interactive and the content is user generated. The young people especially the teenagers and young adults are among the highest users of social media. Most young people admit to the fact that they acquire information on topics they cannot discuss with parents online such as sex and drug abuse. Another use of social media for the young generation is acquisition of information on health, diet as well as physical fitness. For the young adults, they are able to acquire information on politics while the teenagers are able to get news regarding the celebrities. The young adults and teenagers all over the world are the most likely to be online either on facebook, instagram or whatsup. It is because of this reason that most families with teenagers and young adults have adopted the installation of broadband internet access in their homes. Consequently, it is also notable that internet access is dependent on race, educational level as well as the household income. The educated children are the ones most likely to be exposed to social media while more affluent families can afford to provide their children with gadgets such as mp3 players, phones, tablets and computers. This literature review will therefore explore the major advantages and disadvantages of teenagers’ use of social media. The main advantages include: socialization, creation of connections, medium for education, promotion of businesses, creation of awareness and dissemination of information. The disadvantages of social media use are: cyber bullying, hacking of personal information, addiction, relationship scandals as well as fraud scams. In this discussion I will start the review with the main advantages of social media amongst the teenagers. Socialization Naturally human beings are social creatures, before the modern era of social media people used to live in groups and communicate around the fire place. Social media has change the way people communicate since it allows instant access to millions of people through digital communication. The younger generation has the advantage of having online social joints whereby they interact with people from all over the world. Socialization is important because it gives teenagers the platform to build and nature relationships with people from all walks of life. Socialization is broad because it gives connections to the young people as well as provides them with information and access to knowledge. Socialization is a basic need for human beings because they are interactive beings and no man can survive alone. Through social media and socialization with other people, it is possible to get meaningful friendships that last. It is a trend with the young people to prefer online friendships other than real friends who require more time to build. However, the online friends can be a bad influence to the teenagers. Connectivity In the present age and time social media is a very important means of communication, it connects people with similar interest. Social media has greatly reduced the geographical barriers and communication is no longer limited geographically. People can now interact, comment and debate through social media applications despite their location. Social media is very crucial to the teenagers because it creates connections bringing people with similar goals together for example soccer players, volunteers, poets and debaters. The people with like minds are able to form groups on social media where they interact and connect with their likes all over the world. The connections enable users to learn while at the same time share their ideas. Education Information is constantly required so as to improve personal knowledge. Technology has enhanced learning by increasing flexibility in delivery of information in regards to place, time and space. Technology has changed how educational material is disseminated such as digital images, audio, video files and information transfer in a shorter period. Social media applications enable people to connect at no cost and facilitate sharing of information in different formats. With the upcoming technologies students are able to share their daily learning on different topics. Social media is a source of education whereby the students and teachers are able to learn as well as teach without paying for it. Students are able to acquire information regarding their field of study from the various e-books, articles and journals online. The availability of study material makes it easy for scholars. On the other hand, teachers are able to disseminate assignments and learning materials online. Social media has therefore eased the process of acquiring education among the teenagers in school at the current age according to (Tayouri 2015). Education can be in different fields because counselors are also able to educate the young generation against vices such as drug abuse and premarital sex. Education is also available regarding physical fitness and health. The teenagers and the young adults are therefore advantaged based on the fact that educational materials are readily available for their use online (Tayouri 2015). Promotion of business The other advantage of social media is that businesses are able to promote their products as well as sell them online. This translates to the fact that the young people are able to buy products online. Generally, the young people are lazy and prefer having things delivered to their doorstep. The major fast foods such as McDonalds have come to realize that and have therefore customized their services to delivery of foods at their clients’ doorsteps. The clothe stores have also started up the online shopping which has gained popularity over the years. The businesses therefore use social media to promote and sell their products to the young people as indicated by (Georgescu and Popscul 2015). When social media is integrated into an organizations strategic communication plan, communication not only addresses existing and potential customers but also employees, suppliers, investors, shareholders and competitors. Use of social media within an organization improves communication as it facilitates information flow. Information and updates The social media also comes in handy when it comes to provision of updates and information regarding certain personalities and topics. Most teenagers worship celebrities such as musicians, soccer players as well as athletes. Therefore, they follow them on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram so as to get updates on their day to day activities. The teenagers also make use of social media to get updates on what is happening all over the world by following certain pages such as CNN and BBC. It is therefore evident that social media has many advantages among the teenagers. However, social media is associated with certain vices as discussed below. Cyber bullying Cyber bullying has been an act prominent in the current generation whereby some individuals create fake accounts on social media platforms such as facebook and twitter. After creating those fake accounts, they then use them to spread rumors, threaten and intimidate others (Carter 2013). Cyber bullying has led to destruction of reputation of others. The victims at times end up committing suicide when they feel they cannot take up the pressure anymore. The suicides mostly occur among the teenagers who are weak and cannot handle the pressure and ridicule from the peers. A study conducted by ( Li 2010) reveals that in about 9 out of 10 major high schools, a quarter of the middle graders have been victims of cyber bullying. In the same study, most students believe that what happens online should not be brought to the real life however, according to (Fischer 2006) believes that in the current generation, cyberspace cannot be separated from the real life because they are closely connected. Therefore, it is evident that cyber harassment is very prominent among the teenagers and it is the duty of guardians to make them understand that they should be responsible with the use of technology at an early age and should be ready to face the consequences that are associated with its use. Hacking The other major disadvantage of use of social media is hacking of personal information. The teenagers and young adults have gained the mastery of technology use and computer programs that can hack personal information. For example some of the naughty youngsters can hack into others personal social media platforms and use them to post vulgar and abusive material online. Hacking has also gone to the level of hacking the bank systems to enable thieves to steal money from people’s personal bank accounts. In February 2016 there was a story run by Fox News about a 16 year old boy from Britain identified as ‘Hacka’ who was arrested for hacking into private information of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and homeland securities databases and then leaking the information online. The information released was sensitive about the employees (Barrett 2016). The young people have developed the tendency of hacking other people’s private information and using them to destroy reputations. People have lost personal lives as well as finances in the hands of the hackers. Addiction Just like drugs, use of social media is addictive to the users. The teenagers become extensively involved with the social media to the extent that they are not active in productive activities, they appear not to be part of the society because they are always online. The addiction has affected relationships with friends and family as one is always alienated from the rest of the community. In the world today, there is a lot of poverty and financial constraints. Children from families affected tend to distract themselves from the misery by use of social media. Secondly, shyness amongst teenagers prompts them to result into social media where they are not judged based on their shyness but are instead able to interact online with others without making face to face conversations. Continuous use of the internet and social media sites results into addiction (Luciana 2010). The addiction is associated with serious repercussions such as recurrent headaches, back pains, sleeplessness which leads to fatigue. Weight fluctuations are also likely to occur as either weight gain or loss. Most internet addicts end up with depression and mental illnesses ( Luciana 2010). Fraud and Scams Social media fraud has increased rapidly in the recent past to be among the most common forms of crimes involving computers. Social media fraud is commonly known as internet fraud, which refers to any form of fraud schemes that uses the internet to enhance a crime. Such components include but not limited to chat room, websites and message boards. Most fraud activities take place in form of identity theft, whereby people create pseudo accounts and rob off people. Social media sites are at high risk of abuse because most sites require sensitive information when users are creating accounts, information on date of birth, marital status, full names which can be used against the users in different malicious ways (Fasanmi, Kaburuk and Ariyo 2015). Status updates posted on instagram, twitter, facebook and many other social media cites can be used by fraudsters’, if a user post on the social media they out on vacation, the said opens up for burglary. Also false profiles are created for defamation a character. Best practice users should be careful on what they share and to whom they share with on social media and that way they reduce their risks of being targets for criminals. Cheating and relationship issues Often people have used social media as a platform to search for a soul mate. Dating has changed significantly in this era of instagram, twitter and facebook addicted world. Social media has put a lot of stress on relationship incase such when your significant other is inappropriately liking photos on instagram or is flirting with others on social media sites. When partners became too much private about their social media account, that they don’t want to disclose anything about their activities on facebook, twitter or instagram. It raises a red flag that the partner is dishonest as there is a part of their life they are hiding. Social media can adversely a relationship if a partner becomes an addict. Social media becomes a great problem once it takes over your partner’s life, as communication becomes difficult. It’s very irritating when you out on a date with your significant other and you are talking to them only to find they are busy on phone. Conclusion As discussed above social media activities bring about more advantages than disadvantages. Social media has actually improved the way people socialize by making the world a global village, where one can interact with someone who is miles away on a real time through instant messaging or chat rooms. It has also enhanced the mode of education in schools and sharing of information, students are able to access more educational material. On the flip side some ill motive people are using social for the wrong reasons, thereby bringing about disadvantages such hacking, cyber bullying, fraud & scams. Social media itself doesn’t have any disadvantage; issues are brought by users who don’t have the right morals. As the old saying too much anything is poisonous thus the same applies if you always on social media platforms one becomes an addicted which affects one’s life. References Tayouri, D. (2015) ‘The human factor in the social media security – combining education and technology to reduce social engineering risks and damages’, Procedia Manufacturing, 3, pp. 1096–1100. doi: 10.1016/j.promfg.2015.07.181. Luciana, R.P. (2010) ‘One minute more: Adolescent addiction for virtual world’, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), pp. 3706–3710. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.576. Carter, M.A. (2013) ‘Protecting oneself from Cyber bullying on social media sites – a study of undergraduate students’, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93, pp. 1229–1235. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.10.020. Miniawi, H.E. and Brenjekjy, A. (2015) ‘Educational technology, potentials, expectations and challenges’, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 174, pp. 1474–1480. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.01.777. Li, Q. (2010) ‘Cyberbullying in high schools: A study of students’ behaviors and beliefs about this new phenomenon’, Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 19(4), pp. 372–392. doi: 10.1080/10926771003788979. Fischer, H. and Mullins, R., (2006). Digital shock: Confronting the new reality. McGill-Queen's University Press. Fasanmi, S.S., Kaburuk, D.S. and Ariyo, A.B. (2015) ‘Influence of Psycho-social factors on youths’ attitude towards Internet fraud in Nigeria’, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 182, pp. 110–115. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.04.745. Georgescu, M. and Popescul, D. (2015) ‘Social media – the new paradigm of collaboration and communication for business environment’, Procedia Economics and Finance, 20, pp. 277–282. doi: 10.1016/s2212-5671(15)00075-1. Barrett, D.M. (2016) ‘JFK, FBI, and CIA: Playing hardball over an intelligence leak to the New York times’, Intelligence and National Security, 32(1), pp. 37–53. doi: 10.1080/02684527.2016.1192888. Ali, M., Yaacob, R.A.I.B.R., Al-Amin Bin Endut, M.N. and Langove, N.U. (2016) ‘Strengthening the academic usage of social media: An exploratory study’, Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences, . doi: 10.1016/j.jksuci.2016.10.002. Badea, M. (2014) ‘Social media and organizational communication’, Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 149, pp. 70–75. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.08.192. Read More

The clothe stores have also started up the online shopping which has gained popularity over the years. The businesses therefore use social media to promote and sell their products to the young people as indicated by (Georgescu and Popscul 2015). When social media is integrated into an organizations strategic communication plan, communication not only addresses existing and potential customers but also employees, suppliers, investors, shareholders and competitors. Use of social media within an organization improves communication as it facilitates information flow.

Information and updates The social media also comes in handy when it comes to provision of updates and information regarding certain personalities and topics. Most teenagers worship celebrities such as musicians, soccer players as well as athletes. Therefore, they follow them on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram so as to get updates on their day to day activities. The teenagers also make use of social media to get updates on what is happening all over the world by following certain pages such as CNN and BBC.

It is therefore evident that social media has many advantages among the teenagers. However, social media is associated with certain vices as discussed below. Cyber bullying Cyber bullying has been an act prominent in the current generation whereby some individuals create fake accounts on social media platforms such as facebook and twitter. After creating those fake accounts, they then use them to spread rumors, threaten and intimidate others (Carter 2013). Cyber bullying has led to destruction of reputation of others.

The victims at times end up committing suicide when they feel they cannot take up the pressure anymore. The suicides mostly occur among the teenagers who are weak and cannot handle the pressure and ridicule from the peers. A study conducted by ( Li 2010) reveals that in about 9 out of 10 major high schools, a quarter of the middle graders have been victims of cyber bullying. In the same study, most students believe that what happens online should not be brought to the real life however, according to (Fischer 2006) believes that in the current generation, cyberspace cannot be separated from the real life because they are closely connected.

Therefore, it is evident that cyber harassment is very prominent among the teenagers and it is the duty of guardians to make them understand that they should be responsible with the use of technology at an early age and should be ready to face the consequences that are associated with its use. Hacking The other major disadvantage of use of social media is hacking of personal information. The teenagers and young adults have gained the mastery of technology use and computer programs that can hack personal information.

For example some of the naughty youngsters can hack into others personal social media platforms and use them to post vulgar and abusive material online. Hacking has also gone to the level of hacking the bank systems to enable thieves to steal money from people’s personal bank accounts. In February 2016 there was a story run by Fox News about a 16 year old boy from Britain identified as ‘Hacka’ who was arrested for hacking into private information of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and homeland securities databases and then leaking the information online.

The information released was sensitive about the employees (Barrett 2016). The young people have developed the tendency of hacking other people’s private information and using them to destroy reputations. People have lost personal lives as well as finances in the hands of the hackers. Addiction Just like drugs, use of social media is addictive to the users. The teenagers become extensively involved with the social media to the extent that they are not active in productive activities, they appear not to be part of the society because they are always online.

The addiction has affected relationships with friends and family as one is always alienated from the rest of the community.

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