Positive Effects of Social Media

What would your life be like if you couldn’t connect with people you know on Facebook? Are people influenced by tweets they see on twitter? What if there was no YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram or Pinterest? Would people’s lives be dramatically different without these simple websites? The answer is clearly a yes, but the main question is, would people’s lives be different for the better or for the worse? The 21st century is known for the dozens of communication systems that we know to be “social media networks” that people can’t get enough of. People of all ages are constantly on their smart phones or computers checking for updates on their favorite media network. When people are asked whether they think social networking is a positive or negative thing, most people’s initial answer would be negative. Social media is linked with distractions, inappropriate content, unhealthy lifestyles, and a disturbance to education. However, people don’t remember the positive things that come out of all social networks. There are 3 main functions of social media. Communication, content of the network, and occasionally business purposes are essentially why people use these networks. Overall, I believe that social networks are more of a positive influence rather than negative.
The most obviously thing I think that social media networks are best for is communication. On websites such as Facebook and Twitter, you can find somebody by simply searching their name, clicking “Follow” or “Friend Request”, and you are instantly reconnected with somebody who could be located across the world. On Social Networking ProCon, the pros and cons of social media is compared. One of the points the stuck out to me was that “Social networking sites offer teachers a platform for collaboration with other teachers and communication with students outside the classroom” (“Social Networking ProCon”) I am familiar with many teachers who have an account on a network specifically for their students to be able to submit assignments or ask questions and connect with the teacher. This makes it convenient and easy for students to interact with the teacher even outside of the classroom.
On the other hand, some people think that social networking is a poor way of communication. Since it is not face to face communication, it is not as genuine of conversation as if you were actually with the person. There has also been controversy about identity fraud and fake profiles. Technically, you can be anybody you want on the Internet. It is easy to create a page using anybody’s name, picture, and information, and simply become that person behind the screen. Some people are afraid to try to connect and chat over the Internet because of how easily they can be fooled. Also, parents are afraid of their children talking to strangers over the Internet. However, those negatives thoughts are not always necessarily true. Although it is true that being face to face is much different, technology and social networks have given us the ability to be able to webcam which is a step up from chatting with just text. Also, the aspect of identity theft and talking to strangers can easily be avoided by being smart and Internet savvy.
Secondly, an arguable part of social media is the actual content that the website contains. When most adults or parents think of what social media is composed of, they think of almost everything negative. Inappropriate content including graphic images, violence, drug and alcohol related visuals, or porn. They also think of it being a distraction from a job or education. Although those things are completely true, they fail to recognize the outstanding benefits the Internet and its networks provide. Social networking provides an incredible amount of educational resources. The main two sites that provide the best content for learning in my opinion are Pinterest and Youtube. According to Youtube’s official statistic page, there are 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute, which means it’s nearly impossible to come up with a count of total videos (“Youtube Statistics”).One can learn something new from a majority of the videos they come on. You can find almost anything on Youtube, from instructions on how to work a product, how to cook a recipe, how to fix something, or how to play an instrument. There are also rare clips of historical footage or news clips that a large amount of teachers now utilize in their lessons. Pinterest goes the same way, however it is not in video form. Common lessons you can learn on Pinterest range from DIY projects, recipes, how to live a healthy lifestyle, and other miscellaneous statistics and facts found on something they refer to as an “infographic”. Additionally, a more obvious aspect to social media content is entertainment. An infinite amount of entertainment can be found on all social sites. Entertainment through social media is a positive factor to our lives for many reasons, but the main one in my opinion is cost. Most social networks are free to use, so as long as one can afford to pay for Internet service, they get unlimited sources of entertainment like games, chatting with friends, videos and movies, blogging, or just aimlessly browsing what’s out there. An Internet subscription for the month is probably way cheaper than going to the movies or a video game console.
Lastly, businesses and marketing utilize social media networks of all kinds. Stores and companies survive off of advertisements and social media is one of the biggest influential factors of marketing and advertising in our society today. Instagram, one of the biggest picture sharing networks out there, contains millions of unintentional advertisments. Someone will post a picture of their meal from a restaurant or an outfit to show their friends. However, that company or brand who produced that product is being recognized as well. Personally, I have went out and bought something I have seen on either Instagram or Tumblr, so that company gain my business through an advertisement they did not even put out. Although companies can get free advertising and marketing through social media, it can also be extremely dangerous for a brand. One bad review on a product or company will spread across social media and it will be exposed to millions of people. Whether that comment is true or not, the company will definitely be effected in one way or another. On the other hand, business also intentionally advertise on social media as well. Sites like Twitter and Tumblr have promotional posts, meaning the company pays to have their advertisement shown on everyone’s activity feed. Over all, social media seems to be benefiting business and marketing immensely, as long as the right message is being communicated to the viewers.
The possibilities of social networking are endless, and as our technological society continues to grow, the world of social media will increase. Whether somebody perceives these networks as a positive or negative part of life with always be changing, especially depending on what the network has to offer. However, as an avid user of all social networks, I believe they can be extremely useful in so many different ways. Since I have started using social networking, I believe it has changed my daily life in a positive manner.