The Implications of Social Media

Technology's exponential evolution continues, with the affordability, usability, and sophistication of technical capabilities rising by the day. Great strides have been made in terms of networking methods, with message delivery channels expanding in scope to support email, audio, pictorial, and video messaging. The most visible and widely used means of this correspondence is generally referred to as social media. With the number of social media users in the world nearing 3 billion today, a fundamental issue emerges. Is social media advantageous to society, or is it causing harm, or both?

Benefits of Social Media

An evaluation of social media from the perspectives of a college student and the community at large provides significant inclination to the notion that indeed, these platforms are beneficial in today’s societies for several reasons.

Firstly, social media is attributable to greater connectivity than ever before. People from anywhere in the world can connect with their friends, family and loved ones more conveniently. As a foreign student studying in the United States, I appreciate this benefit even more as it is possible to communicate with family and friends at home at any time in a convenient manner (Ngai, Tao and Moon). Additionally, the forms of communication on social media are various, with text, audio, video and even pictures being supported by platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

A second benefit associable with social media relates to education. This benefit is enjoyable by teachers and students alike. For students, it is quite easy to receive knowledge from a plethora of professionals and experts through social media. One can follow teachers and experts of various kinds through the platforms and enhance learning regarding any field (Sahlin). For teachers, these platforms are applicable in communicating remotely with students. For instance, lecturers normally use social media to hand out assignments and give lecture notes, making it convenient to carry out their world regardless of location.

Teamwork is a different aspect of college that I believe benefits from social media. He structure of social media networks allows communication on a one-on-one basis and also group communication, which plays a significant role in assisting students to carry out group assignments or seek help from their peers regarding studies (Kim, Hsu and de Zuniga). These networks can also loop in the lecturer, where possible, thereby maximizing the efficiency of teamwork in college scenarios.

From the perspective of the community, social media has been contributory to the building of the community in a big way. For instance, when there is a calamity in any part of the world, social media platforms not only create awareness regarding the disaster that has befallen a particular community but they also create an avenue on which people can provide assistance to these communities (Kim, Hsu and de Zuniga). Hurricane Maria and Irma, the recent storms that hit parts of South America and the United States, are a testament to how social media is applicable in seeking solutions through then use of teamwork to build a community.

In the world we live in today, it has become crucial to stay up-to-date with relevant information and trends that surround us. Updating oneself on issues in the community is among the issues that allow students in college to connect with the immediate community and society. Social media networks allow students to gain access of facts and different kinds of information on a real-time basis, which is critical to the comprehension of the issues and trends around them (Sahlin). Platforms such as Twitter and Facebook allow individuals to benefit from the acquisition of information in real time, which is not only enlightening but also relevant in the education of students.

Social media plays a critical role in creating awareness on a variety of social issues. In a world where people continue to find means to enrich their lifestyles, social media has been a great positive influence. For example, research suggests that it is increasing the rate of health awareness in our communities today due to the mass exposure of the benefits of leading healthy lifestyles. This plays a critical role for students in college, most of whom have minimal or no supervision from their parents and feel the need to exercise their freedom by way of indulging in unhealthy lifestyles (Korda and Itani). Access to information on positive social issues is beneficial as social media acts as a watchdog for these young individuals.

The world we live in is diverse in terms of the backgrounds, religion, races, ethnicities and sexual orientations of people among others. These differences have been an issue of concern in the past due to the disintegration that they are capable of causing (Sahlin). In college, it is common to find these diversities present and in fact, the same issues that affect the society are present in educational institutions. Nevertheless, social media has been instigating a revolution with regard to how people view these diversities. These networks have been creating a platform on which different people in the world perceive the differences and in fact, one can argue that social media has been largely beneficial in this regard (Sahlin). Now, people understand and appreciate the differences in the global community today and usually learn to accommodate them and actually be proud of them.

Drawbacks of Social Media

Despite the advantages highlighted above relating to social media to the society and to the average college student, several demerits exist relating to these platforms of networking. Like almost every helpful resource on the planet, some people always find ways of manipulating and twisting it for the worst of purposes.

Among the most rampant disadvantages of social media is the issue of cyberbullying. Social media has become the perfect platform for bullies as it has the elements of anonymity and lacks traceability. Intimidation, threats, obscenities and rumors are sent to people across these platforms, with the senders aiming at the creation of chaos in the society and discomfort for individuals and groups alike (Ngai, Tao and Moon). A common form of bullying, known as trolling, is taking a toll on people in the society today, with bullying reaching the extents of instigating suicides. The problem is common in college, and has been among the main reasons for students dropping out of class, or switching schools and even failing their examinations.

A different negative attribute associable with social media platforms is the problem of hacking. In spite of the many and complex security measures that social media platforms have, hackers have always been able to find ways to gain unauthorized access to these networks, wreaking havoc and disarray to the personal and professional lives of people (Sahlin). With the prevalence of hacking increasing in social media networks these days, everyone is at risk of losing their privacy and confidentiality of personal information. In addition, identity theft has also increased with the existence of these platforms, which has often culminated in financial loss as well. Ironically, most of the hackers begin their vice while in college, and in most cases, they are usually students who have been taught on how best to protect the privacy of their information and that of others in the community.

Addiction is also a disadvantage of social media networks in our societies today. With the scope and application of these platforms increasing each day, people continue to increase their reliance on social media, to the extent of infatuation, obsession and total dependence on them. In fact, it is common for people to lose contact with the real world entirely, as they feel that they have all that they need in social media networks (Sahlin). Addiction to social media also has a severe impact on the educational development of students in college, where some prioritize it over studies and thus fail to achieve their educational goals. The reason for this is that it can waste valuable individual time, which could otherwise have been used to perform productive activities ad tasks.

In spite of creating awareness on social issues such as leading health lifestyles, social media has also been pivotal in the deterioration of health for many avid users. The disconnection of many addicts of social media from the world results in them being indoors most of the time and the failure to exercise has detrimental implications on their health (Korda and Itani). Additionally, spending most of one’s time staring at miniature phone screens or computer screens can cause issues with eyesight, as well as back problems. In most cases, these adverse health effects are long lasting and have a detrimental effect on the quality of life of people.

It is important to note that social media glamorizes alcohol and drugs more than it should in the society. It is common to see posts of the wealthy and famous indulging in alcohol and drug use and actually bragging about it in videos and other messages (Moreno and Whitehill). When people follow such individuals on social media sites, they often get the inspiration to follow suit, without consideration of the many implications of the practice. This problem is particularly significant in college, where students attempt to emulate the lifestyles of actors and music artists who frequently indulge in drug and alcohol abuse (Moreno and Whitehill). As a result, it is not surprising to see a good kid enroll in college but come out at the end of the program being an addict of alcohol and drugs.

Discussion

As illustrated, the benefits and drawbacks of social media are numerous and far reaching. There are those who consider it a gem in their lives, while others perceive it as a tool of evil. Due to the relatively equivalent nature of its importance and injurious effects, it would be grossly unfair to merely pick a side. Both perspectives of social media have critically valid points, but in essence, none has sufficient weight to weigh down the other on the scale of appraisal. Due to this quagmire, I believe that only time is capable of tipping one side of the scale in the long haul. As technology continues to evolve, and people find new ways of utilizing these resources, the negative attributes of social media may recede or become even worse than before. However, it is my belief that with time, the negative aspects of social media will reduce or be eliminated entire

Conclusion

Social media is among the greatest technological breakthroughs that the world has been fortunate to experience. The opportunities and ideas that these platforms provide have been revolutionizing the way people communicate and share information. The benefits of social media are numerous and significant, but so are the limitations and drawbacks. There is need for additional research to be carried out with the objective of reducing the prevalence and magnitude of the adverse implications of social media in the society. This way, this crucial resource can continue to be advantageous in our communities, with no negative repercussions being attributable to social media.











References

Kim, Y., S. H. Hsu and H. G. de Zuniga. "Influence of social media use on discussion network heterogeneity and civic engagement: The moderating role of personality traits." Journal of Communication 63.3 (2013): 498-516. Document.

Korda, H. and Z. Itani. "Harnessing social media for health promotion and behavior change." Health promotion practice 14.1 (2013): 15-23. Document.

Moreno, M. A. and J. M. Whitehill. "Influence of social media on alcohol use in adolescents and young adults." Alcohol research: current reviews 36.1 (2014): 91. Document.

Ngai, E. W., S. S. Tao and K. K. Moon. "Social media research: Theories, constructs, and conceptual frameworks." International Journal of Information Management 35.1 (2015): 33-44. Document.

Sahlin, John P. Social Media and the Transformation of Interaction in Society. Hershey: IGI Global, 2015. Document.

Vaterlaus, J. M., et al. "Gettinghealthy: The perceived influence of social media on young adult health behaviors." Computers in Human Behavior 45 (2015): 151-157. Document.