The Influence of Social Network in Our Social Life - Essay Example

Research study on the influence of social network in our social life Introduction A social network can be described as a social structure that is mad up of individuals or an organization that referred to as nodes that are connected by a type of interdependency such as kinship, common interest, sexual relationships or friendship. Views on social network analysis are done through looking at the existing relationships in the network theory which is composed of ties and nodes which are also known as the links or the connections between different individuals in the society (Andrew, 2004). Nodes can be described as the individual actors that are within a given network while ties are the existing relationship between these actors. If a graph is drawn for this result it appears to have very complex structures since there can be very many different kinds of ties and nodes in the society or within a given graph. Social networks operate on very many different levels in the society starting from the family level to a national level and this is very important since it plays a big role on how problems are solved in the society, how organizations are operated and the level in which individuals get to achieve their personal goals (Betsy, 2008). In different fields of study, research proves that social networks are very influential in many levels of interaction of people in the society since in social networks one can categorize individuals that they communicate with in terms of how they relate to each other. if an individual wants to find it easy to communicate with people that are in his list of contacts in a social site like Facebook or any other, he can categorize them according to how they relate to each other like work mates, friends or family members and this makes the networking even more effective (Andrew, 2004). In a simpler form, a social network can also be viewed as a map with specified ties that bring people together in the society such as friendship existing between different nodes that are studied in the modern world. The nodes that connect people are the ones referred to as an individual’s social contacts and this is where the contacts of his friends, family members or work mates can be found anytime he wants to communicate with them. These social networks can also be used to add a social capital to an individual in the society and this can be referred to as the value that an individual gets from a social network. When being displayed on a diagram, the ties are shown as the lines while the nodes are represented as the pointing arrows. Ties and Nodes Representation Network Theory Network analysis which is strongly related to theories of networks has turned out to be one of the main technique in the modern world and has gained a lot of significance in different fields of study such as biology, organizational studies, sociolinguistics, social psychology and communication studies among other studies and it has become a very common topic of study and speculation. The idea of social network has been used by people in the society for a very long time in order to connote the complex sets of existing relationships between different groups of people in the social system at different scales starting from interpersonal level to international (Stanley, 1995). This idea has been developing over a long period of time because in the traditional day’s people still used to look for ways of communicating and socializing with other individuals from the neighboring villages. Some of the ways that people used to communicate with their neighbors in the traditional years especially in the African continent was through beating drums, through sending a messenger who could run a long distance, through lighting fire and letting smokes go up and how neighbors would be able to interpret the signs for themselves and know what could be happening and so many ways. All these were efforts of creating a social network since communication is very important factor in human life. The term social network was started by Barnes back in the year 1954 in order to denote the patterns of ties that encompassed the concepts that were used traditionally by the public and others that were being used by scientists. The concepts were used to describe the relationship between families and tribes and social categories of people in the society such as their gender or ethnicity and so on. Analyzing social network has been one of the most effective approach used towards categorizing different ways in which people relate and associate with each other in the society and this approach ahs been very effective because it has helped people gain more information on how different people around the world can easily communicate with each other and how they can relate to each other in the modern society. The approach has developed from being a mere suggestive metaphor to an approach that is analytic with theoretical statements and methods that can be argued over by critical researchers and come to a mutual conclusion or conviction. Social network analysis does not only look at how people relate with each other in the society but it also looks at the attitudes of individuals and their behavior in the society because it either they entail specified relations in a population that is well defined or some egocentric networks. These are network ties that individuals have like their personalized communities and this is where they start their operations from before expanding into working with bigger companies in the world. The social network system of an organization or a company should not only entail people working in the same company but it can also have consultants who come to that company and are non-company and since some of them play important roles in these companies, they can also be viewed as part of the social working system (Stanley, 1995). More value can be added to the network after examining the whole network even with those members that play an important role in the activities of the company such non-company consultants who are not identified in the company formally since this is also part of the social network that contributes to the success of the company. The social network theory has made a big impact on the lives of many people in the modern society because it is possible for them to communicate and socialize farther with more people in their social networking system like their families, friends and work mates and so on. The analysis that the social network theory has also helped simplified information that is being through the social network sites in the modern world and this is very important as far as communication is concerned in the modern world. Influence of Social Networking Social networks make a very big impact in the society because through it a lot is bound to be achieved. Communication is the building block of the society and through social networks such as Facebook and others it is possible for people who are far apart in the world to communicate as though they are near each other. The efforts that was put in the traditional days towards improving the level of communication between different groups of people in the society has been updated and are more developed through social network sites in the modern world (Betsy, 2008). One of the positive impacts of social network sites in the modern world is that it ensures that people are not viewed as discrete members in the society because it tries as much as possible to be extended throughout the world so that everyone is bound to be reached. Social networks ensures that everyone in the society is able to expand his or her space of communication and that is why it has many gadgets such as calling online and text messages options in the social networks among other forms. How the structure of different ties in the society and the manner in which it affects the relationship of individuals also matter a lot and all this is taken care of by social networks. Socialization in modern norms is determined by the behavior of different people in the society and how their social networks is structured because when the structures are good and effective then the ties become affected positively. When the norms are positively affected then it is evident that social networks are making a positive on the society and in the social life of individuals and groups of people in the modern society (Andrew, 2004). The shape given to a social network also matters a lot because this is what can be used to determine how useful it is or it can be to the individuals utilizing it in the modern society since this is also what can be used to determine the impact that it can make on the lives or individuals or a group of people in the modern society. Networks that are smaller and tighter have a lower tendency of reaching many people in the networks and hence have limited connections. Open networks are also very influential in the society because they ensure that there is flow of new ideas and opportunities that can be incorporated in its operation to its members. Social networks also become very influential when a group of people get connected to networks that have a wider connection since this also ensures that there is more information that can be accessed in the modern world. Social network sites in the modern world operate beyond the ideas that were being used in traditional scientific methods of communication because the modern networks does not focus so much on the language that is being used in the social networks, it only ensures that the information that is passed across can be translated into the most basic languages spoken in the world and others can learn more on their own (Stanley, 1995). This approach of ensuring that the language used in the social networks are interpreted in the most commonly spoken languages in the modern world is very influential because other people are also forced to get to learn an additional language which gives them an added advantage in the modern social networking. Social networks ensure that there interpersonal relationship between people from different parts of the world and this makes it possible for people to connect with their former classmates, friends and relatives who could be living far away from them. Everyone in the modern world wants to know that there is someone out there who cares about them or someone out there recognizes the fact that they exist thus through networks people are able to communicate and connect themselves with other people whom they want to be associated with. A person could have added another one as a friend on Facebook as a friend simply because they a common interest such as playing Travian online thus social network sites becomes a place where people create and develop virtual and interpersonal relationships. An interpersonal relationship that can be developed through social networking sites such as Facebook can become a long-term friendship which could end up developing a mutual benefiting outcome in the future. Social network systems and sites can also be used for job promotions and employment because there could be a company that wants to hire some people who certain qualifications and through giving details on Facebook one could easily get employed (Betsy, 2008). A person could be chatting with a manger of a certain company on Facebook and through such interactions a job opportunity could crop up for him or her especially after having the manager convinced through the business chat. Social networks are also used to verify how different organizations in the modern world interact with each other through characterizing their different informal connections that brings the executives together and also through how individualized employees and organizations interact with each other. Social networking sites in the modern world also make a very impact on modern politics and one of the best examples of how it impacts modern politics is how the president of the United States Barrack Obama used Facebook to gain votes and do raise some funds. Social networks have really influenced the lives of human beings in the modern world because through it a lot of discoveries that greatly contribute to development have been made. Gathering information in modern companies has been made easy through social networking sites and this is also very important because it ensures that the companies are able to survive in a competitive environment in the modern world. Conclusion Finally, social network sites such as Facebook and others that do not have strong ties encourages people to have a wider connection as compared face to face connections that have stronger ties that cannot have wider connections since people cannot afford to keep in touch with a big number of people. The development of social network in the modern society is one of the best discoveries of the 21st century because through this is how the modern world has greatly developed. Through social networking in the modern world different communities are bound to interact more with each other there will also be better and more improved interpersonal interaction between people in the society as people get to share cultural more improved cultural behaviors. References Andrew, P (2004).The hidden power of social networks: understanding how work really gets done in organizations. Publisher Harvard Business Press Betsy, D (2008). How social networks influence attitudes: Social and informational effects of attitude heterogeneity and arguments. Pro Quest, 2008 Stanley, W (1995). Social network analysis: methods and applications. Cambridge University Press Read More