Social media has impacted various aspects of human life and it has a great influence on communication and human interactions. Social media refers to all internet sites and applications used to make and share different forms of content or engage others in social networking. The world is currently characterized by fast access to large quantities of information regardless of one’s location for those who can access the internet.
Interpersonal communication has changed to an extent where people depend on digital gadgets to access social media at the expense of face-to-face communication. In addition to personal use, social media plays a crucial role as a marketing tool. Companies depend on social media platforms to run targeted advertisements and collect information that can be used to improve customer experience.
Businesses utilize social media to appeal to wide audiences globally by spending less money compared to conventional methods such as print media and radio. A tweet by a government official about the need to get vaccinated can be reached by millions of people across the world provided that they have a smartphone to access Twitter. Knowledge and information spread by professionals, parents, and peers group enable constant and efficient communication between different people in all parts of the world. In addition to the positive influences of social media, users may encounter undesirable effects. Users may experience dejection, cyberbullying, and social anxiety (Hemsley et al., 2018).
They may become addicted to social media, while others may be victims of blackmailing or peer pressure. Social media benefits many people because millions of them use it for research, entertainment, and communication. The paper aims to explore how social media has improved human interactions with a special focus on positive and negative impacts.
References
Hemsley, J., Jacobson, J., Gruzd, A., & Mai, P. (2018). Social media for social good or evil: An introduction. Social Media + Society, 4(3), 205630511878671. Web.