Social Media and how It Affects Society - Research Paper Example

Module Social Media and how it Affects Society INTRODUCTION It is estimated that people under 30 years old make up more than 50% of the world’s population. Of this number, more than 70% are well acquainted with social media use. Since the creation of sites such as ‘Facebook’, the social media has been used for different operations across the world. Whether to fulfill organizational functions, or serve as a forum for discussion, social media sites have taken over people’s lives in a way that would not have been believed to be possible in the past. The rampant use social media in all continents has literarily resulted in changes being observed in human habits as well as behaviors in homes as well as work organizations. There are both positive and negative effects that result from the extensive use of social media. On the positive side, the social media provides a forum for people from different geographical areas in the world to communicate with each other. For celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, who are said to have larger fan followings across the world than the populations of nations such as Greece and Sweden, the social media is probably more responsible for their fame than even their individual talents. However, the social media also encourages the development of anti-social behaviors in people. For instance, the avid fans of sites such as Face Book will tend to be engrossed with commenting on various subjects or communicating with individuals they have ‘friended’ instead of participating in ordinary outdoor activities. The Benefits and Disadvantages of Social Media Networking The main purpose of social media sites is to aid and support communication between people in different geographical localities. The social media has changed the way people interact as well as communicate with each other. Traditional communication methods which supported personal or face to face interactions are slowly being replaced. People today are able to extend their social circles, and even meet new people through social media sites. People are no longer limited to communicating with people in places that can only be reached by telephone (Qualman, 61). Adults are also able to communicate with each other about different issues, thus further assisting their friendships. One of the most important ways in which the social media has benefitted people is by supporting work-based structures in organizations. It also challenged the governing styles that were selected by governments all over the world. The emergence of such a fast form of communication completely changed how people created, and then spread ideas concerning workplace functions (Boyd and Ellison, 220). News about various occurrences in the world could now reach people all over the world in record time. In the past, information about factors that took place one side of the world would take days, months, or even years to reach the other side of the world (Smith, 68). Countless government rulers also sustained their power by closely controlling the spread of different ideas in the population. The information that people got was also controlled. The existence of the social media has made it impossible for governments all over the world to continue with this form of control. Today, people have access to information without having to pay exorbitant prices for his privilege. Information is freely distributed to the masses in all, but a few nations that are dictatorships. This means that the social media has inadvertently set free entire populations that were previously under the firm control of repressive regimes. For instance, just two years ago, many nations in the Middle East experienced serious revolutions that were actually spurred through the social media sites (Smith, 67). The dictators of nations in the Middle East, such as Libya, were overthrown, because they had no way of controlling the internet. The social media was also used to support the presidential campaign of a junior, and untested, American senator from Illinois to become the most powerful man in the world. His opponent in the presidential race probably did not even consider the social media as a viable method of reaching out to voters in 2008 (Constantinides and Stagno, 21). Apart from the transformation of governments through the dissemination of radical ideas, the social media also provides a medium for people to be able to discuss new products that are being formed by organizations in different parts of the world. Business organizations which have well-frequented websites, also create media sites in social media sites like FriendFeed, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, where they give their consumers a forum in which they can discuss different aspects about their products. This is important because it allows companies to advertise their products to potential consumers from nations around the world. Social media sites have also helped by greatly reducing the organizational expenses that are associated with creating content, discovering methods of advertising, and distributing products to customers. Social sites allow business organizations to be able to format an online presence economically and effortlessly. This presence could then generate a considerable following that would be dependent on the interest that is exhibited by in the content by the information that is distributed or shared by others. In the 21st century, every business organization dreams of having a large following in social media sites because this means that there will be increased numbers of interested customers (Potter, 23). In 2008, the corporate marketing teams of business organizations all around the world began to use social media platforms to communicate with customers, and even discuss new products (Dryer, 19). Digital marketing teams became an accepted facility in almost all organizations in developed nations. Business corporations had begun to realize that social media sites were an important medium that was slowly transforming the world. The power that is wielded by social media sites comes from crowd-sourced societies that make it possible for people to instantly share information with others about mutual interests. Many organizations, though, are surprised at the effect that social site communities have on the structure of their internal functions. Social media sites have brought a lot of challenge to business organizations. The revolution that they have inspired has left even the business community at a loss as to how to make the most of it, while also changing with the times. According to Dryer, the information environment outside business corporations experiences serious changes at a faster rate than the information environment within businesses. What this means is that the clients, rivals, workers, prospects, and partners of a business can have access to information in ways that corporate security, policies, infrastructure, and culture prohibits (Dryer, 20). In reality, most recently created business corporations in the IT sector have not been able to keep up with the latest social media functions; leave alone taking advantage of them, or responding to them. For instance, the role of social media cannot just be presumed to concern only the marketing departments of various business establishments. The workers of business organizations today are encouraged to communicate with colleagues, customers, and suppliers who they may have ‘friended’ through different social media sites. They then can share their impressions of a particular product, as well as experiences in using it, and various expectations of future products. Business organizations, like governments, can no longer actively control the dissemination of information about their products and services. It is no longer what a business wishes to reveal to the public that is disseminated to the public; but the positive, as well as negative views and opinions of customers, workers, and contractors. This, in many ways, unforeseen change in power has transformed business organizations on different levels. When this reality was first made public, many business organizations endeavored to use this power shift to turn the power of social media in their favor (Hathi, 9). A good example of a corporation that was able to successfully use the power shift is the Southwest Airlines. This airline quickly empowered its workers so that they could respond to the complaints as well as comments of customers, which were made through the social media. The organization learnt the power of the social media by default, after suffering from a backlash after a famous overweight passenger, with millions of social site followers, took to the social media sites to express his anger at being forced out of the plane because of his size. Southwest Airlines diligently responded to not just the disgruntled passenger, but to his followers, and expressed regret for the incident. This amazing response showed customers that Southwest Airlines would not refuse to address its shortcomings, and was more interested in ensuring that its customers got the best services it could offer. This type of transparency is vital in social media communications. In most organizations in developing nations, many managers, as well as workers, are still learning about how to best conduct themselves in order not to jeopardize their company’s image. For instance, workers in many organizations are still coming to terms with the fact that they form an integral part of the corporation; and that their words and actions, even when they leave their work premises, still reflects on the organization. The social media has even been successfully used to lure tourists to various destinations around the world. Iceland, for instance, generated a social media campaign that has attracted tourists from all over the world to see the nation’s unique physical features. Labeling its campaign as ‘Iceland wants to be your Friend’, the glacial nation addressed many potential customers by their first names, and proceeded to engage them in a uniquely surprising way. According to Weber, Iceland is, at present, one of the most preferred tourist destinations. Disadvantages For the most part, social media sites function best when used as a means of communicating about household products, and services, or even political aspirations. When it is used by people who wish to create real personal relationships with virtual strangers, it can fail. Many social media users today have actually substituted real relationships with virtual relationships. This can be dangerous because people who are seeking real life friends or partners through the internet tend to present themselves in a different way from what they really are like. For instance, in sites such as Facebook, users are invited to create pages which will represent them in different ways. The user can then use his or her Facebook account to post personal pictures, which will then be commented on by acquaintances and friends (Dunne, Lawlor, and Rowley, 51). While this idea appears to be quite innocent, it actually has different meanings, depending on the age of the poster. According to Van, adults are usually much more mature in making decision about what they post on their Facebook or Twitter pages, as well as how they communicate online. Adults are more likely to post information on their pages about places they visited, or things they have learnt (Van, 73). This is quite reasonable because it does not allow the poster to give too much personal information online. For vulnerable teenagers, though, the internet, and specifically the social media, has proved to be a double edged sword. Teenagers typically care a lot about impressing their colleagues and schoolmates. They are therefore more likely to include dangerously personal information on their pages so as to be able to impress (Dunne, Lawlor, and Rowley, 50). In many cases, isolated teenagers will reach out to people through social sites. This is quite dangerous because it leaves them vulnerable. For instance, they will leave provocative images of themselves on social sites in order to catch the attention of others. This means that, for them, any comments that are left on their pages about the pictures that they have posted are not going to be merely considered to be the opinions of others. The teenager will want friends; and so will take any comments or suggestions very seriously. Many teenagers post pictures of themselves consuming alcohol or taking drugs. They o this with no thought of what this act will result in, in the near future. They do not consider that they may be contacted by law enforcement authorities. In addition, they do not consider that these pictures may be seen by their employers when they finally graduate and go looking for jobs. At the moment, they are merely seeking to impress their ‘radical’ peers. Teenagers have also been known to post seductive and inappropriate pictures which then expose them to stalking, or even attacks from complete strangers. In many cases, such pictures also earn them the scorn of their colleagues, which then means that their reputations are damaged. It is also quite common for teenagers to bully each other on social media sites. In some cases, this has resulted in suicides (Weber, 54). This is because, while bullying is a painful thing to endure in public, the internet makes it even worse. People lose their inhibitions on internet forums because it they cannot be seen and post their comments using usernames. This means that they can post any type of invective about someone they are envious of, and will not be penalized for it because nobody knows who they are. The individual who receives this type of abuse has no way to stop it or fight back apart from disabling his or her account. For vulnerable teenagers who yearn for any kind of attention, even if from virtual strangers, enduring this type of faceless abuse is extremely disturbing. In many cases, depraved people like pedophiles even find ways of connecting with impressionable teenagers in social media sites. There have been a number of cases in the past that involved teenage victims who met their murderers through social media sites. CONCLUSION Social media sites are, undoubtedly, an important discovery that brings great benefit to communications in the 21st century. Sites such as Facebook have numerous advantages that can be used by individuals as well as organizations. However, it is also important for them to be used in moderation, when the user is seeking to establish personal relationships. There are many more risks, when an individual seeks to reach out to potential partners, or friends through social media sites. However, with the constant improvements that mark the information technology sector, it is probable that there will be other checks installed in the near future to ensure that social media sites are not continuously misused. Works Cited Boyd, Danah, and Nicole Ellison. “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and scholarship.” Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13. 1 (2008): 210-230. Constantinides, Efthymios, and Mark Stagno. “Potential of the Social Media as Instruments of Higher Education Marketing: A Segmentation Study.” Journal of Marketing for Higher Education 21.1 (2011): 7-24. Dryer, Randy. “Advising Your Clients (and You!) in the New World of Social Media: What Every Lawyer Should Know About Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, & Wikis.” Utah Bar Journal 3.23(2010):16-21. Dunne, Margaret, Anne Lawlor, and Jennifer Rowley. “Young People’s Use of Online Social Networking Sites –A Uses and Gratifications Perspective.” Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing 1.4 (2010): 46-58. Hathi, Sonia. “Study Reveals Social Media Use.” Strategic Communication Management 11.3 (2007): 9. Smith, Tom. “The social media revolution.” International Journal of Market Research 13.1(2009): 65-78. Potter, James. Media Literacy, 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2008. Qualman, Erik. Socialnomics. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2009. Van, Jan. The Network Society: Social Aspects of New Media. London: Sage Publication, 2006. Weber, Larry. Marketing To The Social Web: How Digital Customer Communities Build Your Business. New Jersey: John Willey & Sons Inc, 2009. Read More