Research Paper Example about Social Media

The advent of social media has dramatically changed human interaction. People can now connect with friends, family members, strangers, and even celebrities through any number of engaging platforms. With a simple post, like, or retweet, thoughts and opinions can be shared across the world in a matter of seconds. Social media has created opportunities that did not exist previously, including newfound “social media celebrities” who are famous merely because of what they post to their Instagram accounts. While many benefits exist with the ability to share information among millions of other people, there are downfalls as well.

Starting with a not so good note, While social media activism brings an increased awareness about societal issues, questions remain as to whether this awareness is translating into real change. Some argue that social sharing has encouraged people to use computers and mobile phones to express their concerns on social issues without actually having to engage actively with campaigns in real life. Their support is limited to pressing the ‘Like’ button or sharing content. Social media has been blamed for promoting social ills such as:

Cyberbullying: Teenagers need to fit in, to be popular, and to outdo others. This process was challenging long before the advent of social media. Add Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram into the mix, and you suddenly have teenagers subjected to feeling pressure to grow up too fast in an online world. The Cyberbullying Institute’s 2019 survey of U.S. middle and high school students found that over 36 percent report having been cyberbullied at some point in their life, with 30 percent having been victimized twice or more. It also found that almost 15 percent admitted to having cyberbullied someone at least once, and nearly 11 percent admitting to doing it two or more times. Teenagers can misuse social media platforms to spread rumors, share videos aimed at destroying reputations, and to blackmail others. Stalking, identity theft, personal attacks, and misuse of information are some of the threats faced by social media users. Most of the time, the users themselves are to blame as they share content that should not be in the public eye. The confusion arises from a lack of understanding of how the private and public elements of an online profile actually work. Unfortunately, by the time private content is deleted, it’s usually too late. and the content can cause problems in people’s personal and professional lives. One of the effects of social media is encouraging people to form and cherish "social media friendships" over actual friendships. The term 'friend' as used on social media is a weak shadow of traditional friendship. Real friends actually know each other, frequently interact face to face, and have a personal bond.

And to end on a positive note, Thanks to the internet, Social media enables you to: Communicate and stay up to date with family and friends around the world. Find new friends and communities; network with other people who share similar interests or ambitions. Join or promote worthwhile causes; raise awareness on important issues.each person with marginal views can see that he’s not alone. And when these people find one another via social media, they can do things — create memes, publications, and entire online worlds that bolster their worldview, and then break into the mainstream. Without social media, social, ethical, environmental, and political ills would have minimal visibility. Increased visibility of issues has shifted the balance of power from the hands of a few to the masses. The rise of social media means it’s unusual to find an organization that does not reach its customers and prospects through one social media platform or another. Companies see the importance of using social media to connect with customers and build revenue. Businesses have realized they can use social media to generate insights, stimulate demand, and create targeted product offerings. These functions are important in traditional brick-and-mortar businesses and, obviously, in the world of e-commerce.

While the world would be a much slower place without social media, it’s caused harm as well as good. However, the positive impact of social media is astronomical and far surpasses the ills associated with sharing. Ultimately, sharing is about getting people to see and respond to content. As long as the content is still relevant and the need for information still exists, it’s always worthwhile for any organization to use social media to keep publishing.