Sociology by Martin Phan (Essay Sample)

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Social Media
The article written by Martin Phan, one of our avid readers tries to highlight the positive and negative impacts of social media. Social media are tools, availed through mobile or web based that enable people to share information, socialize, and even engage in discussions. These type of media enables users to participate and connect from whichever part of the globe they are in. There are different forms of social media. These include social networks such as twitter and Facebook, blogs, wikis such as Wikipedia, podcasts, forums and content communities such as YouTube to highlight just a few. Social networking sites are the most popular having millions of members and thousand new members joining daily. These social networking sites allow users to create a profile, create with other users and then connect (Boyd & Ellison 216).
As stated in the previous paragraph, social media has both advantages and disadvantages. We look at both the positive and negative implications because of social media. On the positive side, social media has had on society. The power to connect billions of people around the world is one positive impact. Social media has broken distance barriers and enabled people who are miles apart to have a real-time conversation. This promotes connectedness and a sense of belonging. Many people have been able to connect with their friends and families who live overseas through the power of social media (Dewing 3).
Social media has also contributed to economic growth. Due to the massive reach available in these platforms, individuals and businesses have been able to advertise on these platforms. This has enabled them to reach millions of customers who also make purchases online without having to meet physically. Businesses have been able to experience massive growth thanks to social media. People have also been able to access job opportunities through such forums. For example if an employee in organization knows about a vacant position, he or she will spread the word through her circle of social networks and a qualified candidate may get hold of such information.
Social media has also encouraged civic engagement and political participation. Political leaders are using the social medial platforms to reach out to their supports. As such, they are able to engage in discussions and mobilise their supporters. Politicians also share their daily activities in these platforms to maintain a closer connection with people and to remain relevant. Gone are the days when leaders only used to engage the citizens through gatherings. Politicians have also gone a step ahead to hire a public relations individual to manage their social media profiles. This shows how important social media is in shaping the future of the political field. The current United States president heavily relied on social media to win votes when he first ran for the presidency (Collin et al 19).
Social media have also boosted education and learning. School projects, meetings and even online discussions posted in these forums also promote education. Students in any part of the world can engage in discussions with their counterparts without having to travel or meet physically. The exchange of information is fast enabling learning varying content within a short span of time. Spending time online is also enabling young people to acquire knowledge and technical expertise required to operate in today’s technology driven world.
As much as social media has driven change, there are negative impacts it had on society. Those most affected by the negative impacts of social media are young people since they spend most of their time online as compared to adults. Research has indicated that spending too much online has led a break down in human relationships. People no longer have the time to communicate verbally with their friends and prefer to do it online. Interpersonal face-to-face communications no longer exist. The ability to have face to face conversations has been taken away and replaced by gadgets that we communicate with to pass the message. This has led to a breakdown in human relationship and erasing the need to communicate with each other.
Cyber bullying is another negative impact contributed by social media. Many so...