Social Media and its Impact on Present Day Communication

Social Media and its Impact on Present Day Communication Definition of Social Media There has not been a unanimously agreed definition that describes what social media is.

However, one of the most common definitions of social media is the interaction of either an individual or group with a platform for cultivation, expression or conveyance. This convergence brings together different groups of people and professionals who include journalists, students, teachers, interested collaborators as well as many other players. On his part, Rawn Shah defines social media networking as practice by individuals to examine, analyze, as well as address issues that afflict them in their day to day life.

Social media and its impact on communication Social media networks have made communication to be easy and readily available to almost everybody. Users only require simple details to set up their social network accounts which will make communicating a possibility. The capabilities of the internet enable people to send mail electronically, as well as send such types of data as videos, music, and photos. Even users who cannot afford a computer device will pay less to use this service as compared to the traditional postal service.

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The flexibility of social media networks have also made communication to be regarded as a friendly activity. Palm-held devices like mobile phones and smart phones have the capability of browsing the internet at any location, making it even easier and cheaper to access social networks.

The increased use of social media is having adverse effects, both positive and negative to individuals, businesses as well as the society at large. This paper will analyze in detail the impact of this trend in all the three aspects.

Benefit of social media on individuals Social networks have reduced the geographical distance that exists between different continents and countries of the world. Individuals can log into their media of choice and within no time engage their friends in other parts of the world. They can have a live chat, exchange media like photos, music media, videos as well as mail. All these capabilities are transferred electronically within a short period of time regardless of the distance involved.

Social sites are also good avenues for passing information and news. All the social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube have set aside sections of their web pages where news updates and other relevant information is uploaded. Users therefore have the advantage of reading and watching news items as they go about their business. Information is also passed to individuals through various advertisements that are uploaded on these websites.

The general cost of communicating has also been considerably reduced since the advent of social networking over the internet. Unlike in the past where communication by post or couriers were the only available means of passing correspondence, today the same can be achieved in a split of a second via use of these sites. The fact that a majority of social media

networks never charge users for their services has further made their use to be relatively cheap as compared to other forms of communication.

Negative impact of social media networks on individuals Several individuals using social media networks have been known to use these accounts for purposes other than socializing. Users feign their identity and use the details to unfairly obtain information or commit fraud on the social platform.

Social media networking has been discovered to have the potential of stifling creativity and instead encouraging narrow-mindedness for users who are particularly not careful (Pagliarini para 4). Today, virtually any information that one might require or think of is just a click away.

Students can access the internet and copy answers to assignments given to them by their teachers or instructors without putting in any effort Individuals who often use the social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter are also faced with the risk of eroding their own cultural disposition or beliefs. These sites allow anybody to join for free, from whatever age, religion, nationality or cultural background. These members communicate with each other, exchanging ideas as they tackle topical issues in their daily activities. As a result, there are higher chances that such individuals will develop a fondness or inclination towards other cultural practices where their friends in the social network platform hail from.

Similarly, individuals are transforming their behaviors and their general way of doing things through constant use of social media networks. Violent topics and other negative social ideas have the potential of negatively impacting on the behavior of users. For instance, members who join blogs or discussion communities about such subjects as lesbianism and drug use have a high probability of condoning such behavior

Benefits of social media on businesses Businesses today have enormously profited from use of social media network in dispensing their activities. Operation costs have tremendously been reduced since more companies are using social media to interact directly with their clientele. Such traditional company operations as customer care is being revolutionized, where only few staff members can man the entire division as they reach a wider customer base. Customers also do not need to be too formal while communicating with their product manufacturers or service providers.

Many companies are also abandoning physical branch offices and instead embracing virtual existence. Services are provided through the use of emails and other virtual communication means. This has in turn eliminated the existence of such traditional costs as office rents, electricity and water bills, maintenance costs as well other overhead costs. This trend is also proving to be productive as more customers are able to be served at the same time through the use of social networks.

Businesses have also improved their service provision as a result of the existence of social media networks. Firms are engaging in more proactive approaches of monitoring these social websites with the intention of scrutinizing any negative information published by users about their products or services. This is aided by special software that can scan any negative comments on different social sites and eventually cause the company to take necessary actions before it is too late (Bryce para 6-8).

Social media network have also made it easy and possible for most firms to carry out advertisement and creation of awareness. By posting an advertisement on a social media website, companies have the advantage of reaching a huge potential market that is not bound by the existence of national boundaries and boarders. It is therefore possible, for instance, for an

American company to advertise in Europe or Asia without necessarily paying existing license fees in individual countries.

Businesses have also embraced a new trend of scanning social sites before they embark on recruitment of employees. The information gathered helps the management to settle on a workforce that is credible enough and which has positive attitude towards the company.

Negative impact of social media networks on businesses Companies are facing the daunting task of protecting their databanks from encroachment by outsiders. The use of such data protective measures as passwords are proving fruitless particularly owing to the fact that information technology is one area that is constantly developing. Hacking of information has become a real threat even as companies intend to optimize their intelligence for growth purposes. Once this information is leaked to a competitor firm, then a company faces risk of loosing their clients.

Businesses are being compelled to hire information technology experts who will manage the IT solutions so as to optimize on the benefits of social media networks. The risk of loosing important data to competitors has adverse repercussions to organizations in the long run. It is against the backdrop of this reality that firms are forced to maintain these experts, which is proving to be costly for organizations especially given the fact that information technology is quite a dynamic area. Companies are also constantly organizing training sessions, workshops and seminars for their IT specialists in order to adequately equip them with the latest developments in information technology.

Benefits of social media networks on society Social media networks have been the power behind many revolutions that continue to be witnessed around the globe. One such revolution is currently taking place in the Arab world that

begun in early 2011. Youths in countries such as Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Syria used social media networks to mobilize each other against bad governance and leadership. It is worth noting that this revolution managed to achieve its objective in most of these countries where the incumbent presidents together with their governments were replaced.

The development of social media network has also occasioned the introduction and integration of new education syllabi in the field of information technology. There is need for societies to develop a population which understands how to use information technology.

Governments of different countries are setting up resource centers with the intention of carrying out research in the expansive field of information technology.

Social media websites are also impacting positively on government performance and delivery of services to the society. Governments constantly monitor these sites, analyzing views of people who are dissatisfied with its performance with the aim of improving on areas where performance is noted to be below par. This interactive nature between government and its subjects also helps to foster unity.

Negative impact of social media networks on society Societies are facing an upsurge of complex and organized crime as a result of use of social media networks. It is easy for users with bad intentions to plan, organize themselves and execute heinous acts through use of such networks and committing criminal acts without being detected by the authorities.

Use of social media networks is also having a negative impact on societal values and culture. New cultures are imported into society by users while the indigenous cultures are eroded.

The general cost incurred by society to educate their members in the field of information technology is very expensive. Information Technology (IT) components such as computers and the internet itself which make it possible for users to access social media networks are relatively expensive to procure and maintain.

Moral and ethical implications arising from use of social media Social media pages have been targeted unfairly and information contained in them used to commit unethical acts. For instance, it is now common practice for attorneys to carry out surveys on individual accounts of parties and witnesses with the intent of making discoveries.

These users could be trained to put photos or posts that portray false claims about injuries or disability (Wilkinson para 2).

Attempts to craft an agreeable law as concerns issues dealing with social media websites is still a huge legal challenge. It is still argued that the idea of attorneys mining social websites in search of details about parties to litigation could still be open to foul play.

There are other unethical practices that continue to be practiced unabatedly by legal practitioners who particularly represent companies in legal tussles. According to a research carried out in San Diego, it was concluded that attorneys or paralegals requesting to be friends on a social network with a personal injury claimant were actually acting in a deceptive manner. It was resolved that such a lawyer was contrarily acting to the interest of the other party (Wilkinson para 4-5).

Questions have also been raised about the idea of potential employers searching social website accounts of their target employees before hiring them. This is viewed as an intrusion to the privacy of individuals. However, those in support of this practice have argued that it is easy to determine one’s attitude by looking at what they write. Although this is a fact, social websites

are free platforms where people should exercise their freedom to air their views without having the fear of being penalized.

Majority of the authorities are also battling with the challenge of determining the appropriate minimum age for allowing minors to access social media networks. Some of these sites contain information which is considered sensitive for people of certain ages, particularly minors.

Works Cited Bryce, Alison. Posting to social media sites could bring rather unwelcome responses.

Scotsman.com. 2010 Spetember 1. Web. 12 December 2011 http://www.scotsman.com/news/posting_to_social_media_sites_could_bring_rather_unwel come_responses_1_808588 Pagliarini, Robert. “Is social networking bad for you?” CBS News, 6 April 2009. Web. 13 December 2011 http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-37440136/is-socialnetworking-bad-for-you/ Scott, David Meerman. “Social media debate.” EContent Magazine. 2007, Novemeber 15. Web. 13 December http://www.econtentmag.com/Articles/Column/After-Thought/SocialMedia-Debate-40186.htm Shah, Rawn. Social Networking for business: choosing the right tools and resources to fit your needs. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.

Wilkinson, G. Thomas. United States: Ethical implications of social media mining.

Mondaq.com. 2011 July 12. Web. 12 December 2011 http://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/x/138620/Ethical+Implications+of+Social+Media+ Mining