Social media is an online platform with a large population of users that share information that can critique, sometimes interact with, or publish useful information and news. The essay will define some of the key social media terms. The use of social media has evolved and has resulted in a rapid increase in social and commercial factors. The modern commonly used forms of social media include Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Snapchat, Instagram, and Tik Tok. From the use of Desktops and Laptops, technology has evolved to the use of mobile and tablets that have been converted into smartphones. People can easily share information or access news from any part of the world. Many have embraced the development and have used the information to their advantage and disadvantage to others. Definition of the key social media terms such Direct message, involves a message sent to recipient private inbox. Disappearing content, on the other hand, is the type of message that fades at a specific period normally set by the user. Feed is the type of content posted by other social media users (Keles et al., 2020). Lastly, engagement rate is the statistics that show how many people have been motivated by a particular post.
Some of the recent social media developments have been a result of increased community engagements and experience. Human interactions have increased on different social media platforms as a result of the covid 19 pandemic. Authentic influencers have emerged that push real topics to spread or expose an activity such as the Black Lives Matter campaign (Keles et al., 2020). Different organizations have as well used social media to advocate for justice against violation of certain rights.
Rhetorically the evolution of social media has its negative and positive impacts. Many young individuals have been affected in many ways. Due to peer pressure, they have been impacted to live part of their lives on social showcasing what they have acquired. Because everyone using social media is exposing their lifestyle, many people have been forced to do things they would not have done without the influence of social media. Businesses have faced backlash in the promotion of their different products on social media. The platforms have not been created to accept not only positive feedback but also negative feedback as well. Negative feedback shared on the platforms by different people may influence consumers negatively, which may lead to loss of customers and hence losses to the business. Education is one of the sectors affected by Social media, as it has experienced decreased learning and research activities. Students who use the platforms to interact have become highly dependable on the brief information shared on the pages to help do assignments (Bekalu et al., 2019). Low grades have been attained as a result of time wastage as well as a decreased number of innovations.
Social media interactions have resulted in reduced human interactions, especially among students. They spend most of their time having online interactions rather than physical and face-to-face contact. The effects have resulted in reduced networking experiences that have impacted many graduates in the job market as they lack physical relationship character. People have been victims of cyber-related crimes because of social media. Personal and conflicting messages have been shared on various platforms to terrorize or blackmail individuals in exchange for money. Hacking is one of the effects that have resulted from the use of social media. Personal information has been accessed without the consent of the owner (Keles et al., 2020). Social media accounts have been hacked and, in the end, negatively affect the lives of individuals.
Social media has impacted social life and behavior positively. It has transformed the interactions between parents and their kids, peer groups, and how they use technology. It has assisted young professionals to market their products as well as seek business opportunities. Health is one of the sectors that has benefited from the use of social media. Doctors have shared prescriptions with colleagues and relatives; they have been able to conduct online consultations online, making medical services easily accessible. Increased awareness of diseases and access to data such as covid 19 has been made available to as many people as possible (Huang et al., 2019). It has helped to increase the level of socializing which has resulted in many ways of learning new ways of doing things.
Information can be shared online, which has increased the knowledge of individuals in society. Businesses have benefited as they can promote the entire world. Companies have managed to get access to information about their competitors hence developing new ways of branding. Online networking has helped businesses expand beyond rivals, and with market insights, they provide rich customer experiences. People can connect regardless of time, distance or location and learn and share life experiences (Bekalu et al., 2019). Teachers and students are beneficiaries of social media as they can interact with other professionals and experts. ‘
From a fallacy point of view, there has been an increase in cyber-related crime activities, people should not shy away from the use of social media. Because of the many advantages, it has as compared to the disadvantages, people should be courageous enough to report any incidences of cyber-crimes. Governments should tighten the laws around cyber-crimes activities to ensure individuals are punishable and help create free and open social media interactions. It is understood that the lives of people have been impacted when their social accounts are hacked. They should seek medical advice as well as seek more information on how to use social media with their passwords protected safely. Despite social media causing problems in many marriages and relationships due to most time spent on electronic gadgets, it should be encouraged to help maintain long-distance relationships. Distant couples can share images expressing how they are progressing and also share their thoughts and feelings (Hemsley et al., 2018). The actions may result in a long-lasting and healthy relationship.
False information has been shared on social platforms to misguide a particular group or individuals. But, at the same time, social media has been used to influence positive campaigns to improve human life. Social media aided cases such as Civil Rights Movement in the United States as well as the Black Lives Matter to reach out to the world in a few hours. Through images shared on the media, many people were convinced to join the fight against racism. The perpetrators were sentenced; hence justice was served. Covid 19 pandemic information was mainly shared via social media, which first increased the awareness of the disease as well as gathered statistics. Many people got informed of the importance of wearing masks, they were able to identify the symptoms and also reported to the healthcare facilities of any unusual behaviors. Human Life has improved due to the evolution of social media (Appel et al., 2020). Information about anything can be easily accessible, and news, whether negative or positive, can quickly be shared.
In conclusion, despite the challenges faced when using social media, it is evident that it has played an important role in improving human communications. Distant couples and lovers can maintain their families and share personal messages and images that help to keep them connected throughout life. The use of social has increased the knowledge of individuals about what is happening in the world. Particularly it was vital in the spread of useful information about Covid 19, the Civil Rights Movement, as well as the Black, Lives Matter.
References
Appel, G., Grewal, L., Hadi, R., & Stephen, A. T. (2020). The future of social media in marketing. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 48(1), 79–95.
Bekalu, M. A., McCloud, R. F., & Viswanath, K. (2019). Association of social media use with social well-being, positive mental health, and self-rated health: Disentangling routine use from emotional connection to use. Health Education & Behavior: The Official Publication of the Society for Public Health Education, 46(2), 69–80.
Hemsley, J., Jacobson, J., Gruzd, A., & Mai, P. (2018). Social Media for social good or evil: An introduction. Social Media + Society, 4(3), 205630511878671.
Keles, B., McCrae, N., & Grealish, A. (2020). A systematic review: the influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 79–93.
Huang, L., Clarke, A., Heldsinger, N., & Tian, W. (2019). The communication role of social media in social marketing: a study of the community sustainability knowledge dissemination on LinkedIn and Twitter. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 7(2), 64–75.