[Institute’s Name]
Introduction:
“Social media is changing the way we communicate and the way we are perceived, both positively and negatively. Every time you post a photo or update your status, you are contributing to your own digital footprint and personal brand” (Martin, n.d). This quotation belongs to Amy Jo Martin, an American author, and speaker, founder, and CEO of Digital Royalty. She is right for 100%, as indeed our life has been changed since social media entered it. It goes without saying that it influences the way we communicate and behave, as today we can be judged not only by our real actions, but by our image and reputation, or our "digital footprint" and "personal brand" we build in the world of social media. No wonder, that today a person can fail to get employment because of his or her reputation in the social media. What is more, it changes our habits, influence on our relationships building, in a way determine our actions, and give a wide range of possibilities. Needless to say, that social media has brought both positive and negative effects to our life.
Definitely, one cannot but agree that today we start our day browsing the latest news in Twitter, Facebook, or checking updates in LinkedIn, for example. I also realized that I can't leave without social media today, as I not only get the information from there but also can find my old or new friends, can share my opinion or support any social campaign. Moreover, I've noticed that when I browse new photos uploaded by my friends in Instagram, it suggests me that I follow this or that account, promoting certain goods or services, which only means that social media has turned into a powerful marketing tool. If we go into details here, we will find out that there are even special applications that allow attracting a certain number of followers per day, thus contributing to the promotion of the brand. However, not everything is so perfect with social media. What surprised me a lot is people that surround me. I often see them stuck into their cell-phone without noticing anything around them or checking their Facebook or Instagram for messages and “likes” every other minute. Moreover, meetings with friends sometimes are not so comfortable and pleasant, as you may found yourself with a smartphone chatting with people, when your friend sits in front of you in the flesh and shares his or her latest news about his or her life, and you already don't hear him or her, making the expected meeting be so uncomfortable. Those facts made me think critically about social media as a complex phenomenon, in particular about its impact and consequences.
With respect to the fact that social media is complex in its nature, this research paper assumes that social media has both positive and negative effects on families and consequences. In this regard, the main goal of the research paper will be to study psychological and social aspects of social media influence. The study will illustrate how different types of social media have already changed our lifestyles and communication and what impact it has on families and communities.
Literature Review
Social media is not new, although it seems like a modern trend, social media represented by Facebook and other well-known social-networking sites are the natural results of quite a long social media development process. Thus, the social media birth goes back to 1800s when the telephone and the radio were invented, allowing to transfer messages for long distances (Hendricks, 2013). Furthermore, social media roots are connected also with the earlier use of telegraph and introduction of post services (Hendricks, 2013). However, the traits of modern social networking sites appeared in 1978 with the creation of the Bulletin Board System, or BBS, which allowed computer users to exchange data with others through the phone lines. It was the first system that offered the possibility of interaction with one another via the internet. In 1994 followed another social networking known as Geocities, allowing the users create and customize their own websites, grouping them into different ‘cities' based on the site's content. In 1997 was born the precursor of modern social networking sites: SixDegrees.com, which gave the users the opportunity to create a profile and chat with friends. Afterward, there were Friendster, Classmates, Hi-5, just to name a few. Then appeared MySpace, that gave more freedom than previous social media sites with music, videos, and a hipper online environment. Another successful site is LikedIn, introduced in 2003 and having the focus to professional contacts. In 2004 Facebook changed the situation with social media sites, surpassing MySpace and Friendster, providing a wider set of customized functions ("History Of Social Networking: How It All Began”).
The history of social media development only shows how it's gradually become incorporated into our everyday life, offering a wide list of new functions and possibilities not only for social component of our life but professional as well. Obviously, with the development of technologies it has occupied quite a great part of our life, having a powerful impact on us and changing the way we communicate and perceive other people, the way how we behave in the family and in the society. Taking into consideration the positive image of social media built during its development history, it should be admitted that social media eases our life, offering entertainment, great tools, being a large source of information, enhancing communication in the families, or uniting communities. For example, the uniting function of social media extremely vivid and works effectively in the situation of tragedy, like a natural disaster, that a certain community faces. Schraeder, based on his own experience, describes in details, how effectively social media works in the above-mentioned situation giving people information about their relatives who might have suffered from the disaster, or about relief and recovery efforts take in the community, or about donation sites and signal about the needs of people suffered during the disaster (Shraeder, 2013). As for social media as a tool, it should be said that it is widely used in the political context, making people more politically-engaged and providing for political actors a platform to promote their activities, encourage people to share their views, and, finally, contributing to their image and reputation. According to some surveys, in the U.S., 35% of social media users have encouraged people to vote via social network sites and Twitter. Rainie, Smith, Schlozman, & Verba provides survey results, stating that almost the same percentage of users posted their own thoughts or comments on political and social issues and reposted content related to political or social issues that were originally posted by someone else (Rainie, Smith, Schlozman, & Verba, 2012). Shurgin O'Koffee, & Klarke-Pearson are sure, that social media serves as sort of platform for socializing and communication, giving access to various types of information (e.g. educational and health care) that parents and children most often need (Shurgin O'Koffee, & Klarke-Pearson, 2011). Bearing in mind the above-mentioned information, it might seem that social media has the only positive influence on both families and communities, giving to people endless opportunities. However, it is not really true, as the conducted research showed that negative effects of social media on families and community exist and they are quite serious and challenging. First of all, it causes dependency. Usually, it is called "Facebook depression", when a person almost transfers his real life to social networking site. What is more, it is considered to be a mental health disorder. The symptoms of this disease are often compared with symptoms that feel those who suffer from addictions of substances or other behaviors (Griffiths, 2013). However, it not only the result of social media excessive usage, as it is rather the result of the development of both social media and technology, which makes the access to social media even wider and its usage even easier with all laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc. Unfortunately, social media has become an effective tool not only for professional activities but for the transformation of bullying into cyber-bullying and bringing other problems to people's lives, affecting them both socially and psychologically.
That’s why it is crucially important to understand the nature of social media and admit that it has not only positive but negative effects and quite dangerous consequences, which illustrates this study. Obviously, negative effects can be eliminated. For example, Shurgin O'Koffee, & Klarke-Pearson see the great role of pediatricians who can work with parents to explain to them how they can teach their children to use social media safely (Shurgin O'Koffee, & Klarke-Pearson, 2011). The other solution is to channel the negative effects into positive ones, like it happened in the situation with Dr, Ring’s (2015) son, helping her son avoid depression and cope with mood disorder with the help positive messaging in the social media (Ring, 2015). Obviously, social media has a great power and influence on the society greatly, which confirms the need in a safe and responsible usage of social networking sites. The above-mentioned examples illustrate that even negative effects can be turned into positive ones. The only thing is to identify the problem on time and find the appropriate solution.
References
6 Ways Social Media Helps People Help People [Web log post]. (2012, April 17). Retrieved from http://blog.hootsuite.com/6-ways-social-helps-people/
Griffiths, M. D. (2013). Social Networking Addiction: Emerging Themes and Issues. Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, 4, e118. Retrieved February 6, 2016, from http://www.omicsonline.org/social-networking-addiction-emerging-themes-and-issues-2155-6105.1000e118.php?aid=22152
Hendricks, D. (2013, May 08). Complete History of Social Media: Then And Now. Retrieved February 22, 2016, from http://smallbiztrends.com/2013/05/the-complete-history-of-social-media-infographic.html
History Of Social Networking: How It All Began. (2016, February 6). Retrieved February 22, 2016, from http://1stwebdesigner.com/history-of-social-networking/
Martin, A.J. (n.d.). BrainyQuote.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016, from BrainyQuote.com Web site: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/amyjomarti529757.html
Rainie, L., Smith, A., Schlozman, K. L., & Verba, S. (2012, October 19). Social Media and Political Engagement (Rep.). Retrieved February 6, 2016, from Pew Research Center website: http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/10/19/social-media-and-political-engagement/
Ring, M. D. (2015, August 6). Teen depression and how social media can help or hurt - CNN.com. Retrieved February 05, 2016, from http://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/05/health/teen-depression-social-media/index.html
Schraeder, T. (2013, November 18). When Social Media Unites. Retrieved February 05, 2016, from http://www.timschraeder.com/2013/11/18/when-social-media-unites/
Shurgin O'Koffee, G., & Klarke-Pearson, K. (2011). The Impact of Social Media on Children, Adolescents, and Families. AAP Gateway, 4 800-804(4), 4 800-804. Retrieved February 6, 2016, from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/4/800..info
