Introduction to Social Media’s Ubiquity
Society nowadays seems to revolve around social media and all the cool features, it allows people to use. With social media increasing it looks like the users become younger and younger. People have become so accustomed to social media that it is slowly beginning to not even notice what its society to our society.
People may have other comments on social media whether it’s a good or bad thing to have in our lives. Users will say social media is everything we need and others think it has destroyed and has caused many problems for us. As a whole society, we have to decide whether social media stays or leaves forever.
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The Evolution and Expansion of Social Media
The cause of social media expanding its platforms comes from the increase in technology. This increase allows many people access to communicate with others through social media platforms instantly. 'During the past 10 years the rapid development of social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and so on has caused several profound changes in the way people communicate and interact' (Liebert). This statement refers to the past couple of years that people are finding easier ways to interact through their own social media. Staying connected is key to most of society so they can know what's going on with others around them like friends and family. For example, the rise of social media allows people to talk to each other from different countries without having to be there physically. This creates less stress for others and one thing less to worry about.
The Double-Edged Sword: Benefits and Drawbacks
However, many young children are brought into this world growing up with social media around them. They really don't have a choice since social media keeps on increasing as days pass. 'Although computers were developed for adults, adolescents have embraced these technologies for their own social media purposes and typically are the family experts on how to use electronic media and social networking sites (SNSs)' (Shapiro, Margolin). That being said, younger children are growing up with access to social media and they are becoming so good with it they use to their advantage. There's no telling how good they will become with their platforms over time. All parents can stop their children from growing up with it, but they don't see the bigger picture behind social media. This is how adolescents become a master with their personal platforms.
Nowadays, with the cause of social media on the rise, it helps companies grow which helps sell their product and bring in revenue quicker. Companies are relying more on social media to bring immediate results for the company. Suciu states, 'What is notable about Cyber Monday is that it allows smaller online retailers to compete with larger chains, and increasingly social media is playing a significant role not just the one day but throughout the whole of the holiday season' (Suciu). This statement shows us how some companies really depend on social media platforms to expand. Some smaller companies use their platforms to their advantage to get their business and product out to customers. The cause of this gives opportunities to upcoming smaller companies to grow quickly.
Also, the millions of people that have access allows big influencers a chance to build their platforms as time goes on. Influencers, who have millions of followers will often collaborate with others to build each other’s social media. Over time, they tend to see an increase in the number of followers they have. Depending on how well-known the influencers are the gain will vary. For example, famous influencers on YouTube will collaborate with other small or big YouTubers and after a while of uploading, they will see an increase in subscribers. Another example comes from Instagram where artist posts their album cover to spread the word out there that they are coming out with new music. The artist will eventually see an increase in views due to access to social media.
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Social Media’s Influence on Personal and Public Spheres
In addition, people all around the world are able to stay updated instantly with the power of social networking. With all these crazy things that are happening nowadays, people know that platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook allow people to do so. For example, when something big happens we can go on our social media platforms and figure out what happens with great details of the situation. It only takes a couple of seconds maybe even even a few minutes and people will know what’s going on. This is important because it keeps people alert and safe from danger.
Navigating the Challenges: Privacy, Distraction, and Image
As we can see there are many causes of social media that cause a lot of things to occur nowadays. There are also several effects of social media that not everyone is aware of. Our society must be cautious about the effects that society is doing on our generation and future generations.
Social media creates no privacy for people of any age. People who have platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter feel the need to express themselves on it. 'Teenagers will freely give up personal information to join social networks on the Internet ' (Barnes). That being said teenagers give up their 'personal information ' for the whole world to see. This is dangerous because anyone will be able to find out things about one another. It can also then lead to fake accounts, stalking, and haters. People of all ages have to be careful about what we put on our social media. There are some evil people out there that will take advantage of your information.
In addition, social media also tends to lure people away from things that are the most important. It becomes a distraction to not only students but workers and even little kids. Social media becomes their main priority and everything else comes after it. For example, nowadays many students spend time on their phones looking at Instagram and Snapchat instead of doing their homework, which is more important. Social media should be a beneficial thing to people of different ages, not a distraction that causes problems. Social media is only becoming a bigger distraction with all the new things that are being created to expand its platforms. Over time, we will forget what's really more important.
In continuation of, effects of social media many people feel it's necessary to fit in with everyone else out there. Some want to post the best selfie on their social media platforms so others can view that person differently. 'And when we share the right type of content, we gain social currency-our stock goes up' (Seiter). This statement is trying to say that people have to post specific things so they can fit in with others on social media. Users are trying so hard to post pictures that don’t represent themselves they do it for others, not themselves. That being said people are focusing so much on what others think about themselves. Not being able to fit in makes people worry about the simple things that shouldn't even matter at all.
The use of social media also creates an image for the younger the need to become famous. All platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter all help create this bad idea of being famous. For example, young children nowadays go on their platforms and see all these crazy things people are doing and get fame off it. This then makes children want to do the most unnecessary things so they hopefully can gain followers or clout on their social media. If they do get that clout on social media, they become so invested in it and begin to worry about putting more content out there for others to see. In our society we should prevent young children to have access to social media to prevent things like this. Children should use technology/social media for important things like homework and work. Adults should use social media as a resource for their profession whatever that may be.
Also, social media makes people think they are empowered because their voices can be heard by millions of others. “The early days of social media saw the platforms embrace a popular image as absolute defenders of free speech, empowering, the disenfranchised by handing them a global megaphone with which to speak directly to the world” (Leetaru). Being able to say whatever you want to the users of people on social media can be dangerous and harmful to others. This allows anyone the right to put whatever they want without getting in trouble for it. The newspaper “Forbes” also states “As terrorists began to use their platforms to recruit and promote violence” (Leetaru). Social media should restrict certain things people can say for everyone to see. Voices can be heard in many other ways but, social media allows it that’s why people don’t care and let anyone post anything that disturbs other users.
Lastly, why the use of social media? Some people may experience types of bullying in different ways. Due to fact of bullying over time, affects people both mentally and physically. For example, famous celebrities often get a lot of hateful comments or messages on social media. Sometimes it becomes overwhelming over time they decide to leave all social media platforms for a while to get away from bullying. Anyone is vulnerable to getting bullied because most people have their own social media.
Conclusion: The Future of Social Media in Society
In conclusion, social media is slowly taking over the world and it's on the rise with all the new technology being invented. But as a society, we can control what social media does to us and our children. The future is going to be surrounded by technology and social media. We must do something and use social media to help us not destroy us as human beings. There are many other ways to use social media to our advantage.
References
- Barnes, Susan. “A Privacy Paradox: Social networking in the Unites States” Research Gate. April 2006
- Leetaru, Kalev. “Is Social Media Empowering Or Silencing Our Voices?” Forbes. 8 Oct. 2018
- Pantic, Igor. “Online social networking and mental health.”
- Seiter, Courtney. “The Psychology of Social Media: Why We Like, Comment, and Share Online” Buffer Resources
- Shapiro, A. Lauren, Margolin Gayla. “Growing Up Wired: Social networking sites and adolescent psychosocial development”. NCBI
- Suciu, Peter. “Social Media and The Holiday Shopping Season”. Forbes 2 Dec. 2019
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