The Emergence of New Media Such as Social Media

The emergence of new media has had a tremendous impact on the way we communicate What we used to consider as new media has today evolved into what we call social media Websites such as Facebook and Twitter, as well as text messaging and Skype, have enabled people to connect from distant locations at a speed unimaginable to generations passed These innovations in social communication are fundamentally changing the way businesses and governments operate, but they are also impacting our personal lives. By transforming our world into a “small village”, social media is increasing our global awareness and breaking down the barriers of nations, religions, and ethnic groups In many ways these developments have been positive As cultural awareness and familiarity increases, prejudice and mistrust seems to simultaneously decrease Unfortunately, improvements in the realms of convenience and understanding have come at the expense of our ability to effectively communicate in person In other words, applications such as Facebook, Twitter, and text- messaging, could potentially damage our ability to communicate effectively It is therefore important to understand and analyze all the different aspects of the new social media before coming to a conclusion regarding their utility in our society

With over 600 million users, Facebook was not the first, but it is certainly the largest of the social networking sites As the blockbuster film “Social Network” reveals, Face book started as a website aimed primarily at college students but has now become popular among junior high and high school students, as well as adults Facebook has re-united friends and families through its search mechanism Facebook has also have been of great utility to businesses that are trying to get a better understanding of who their potential customers are The “Like” button has been the key to a world of valuable consumer information

Facebook is obviously increasing the amount of time that people communicate