Introduction
Social Media is a part of our lives today, and it is there to stay. This is a platform that has enabled individuals to have the chance of interacting with each other directly. By the fact that these platforms are fast and precise, they have been accepted readily by the members of the society. These platforms include sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and WeChat just to name but a few. The immediate use of these locations has been influenced by the fact that a huge percentage of individuals have access to smartphones and the internet. As a result, individuals can exchange ideas with each other. Social media has enabled people from all circles directly interact with each other (Kaplan, 2002). These include the political aspirants, companies, authors, and publishers.
However, the impact that social media has on the individuals and circles is mainly dependent on how one uses these sites. By the fact that these sites have given individuals the right to communicate directly to their audience and vice versa, the use of social media may be considered to be the order of the day in the main fields. In the 2016 United States elections where social media played a huge part in the decision-making process and further getting the information to the general public.From a survey carried out, it was realized that a whopping 14% of the American population ended up relying on social media as their primary source of information about these elections (Allcott & Gentzkow, 2017). This means that whatever was tweeted, shared or posted by the aspirants or the general public, 14% of the electorate would believe it and hence this would end up either convincing or in some instances losing supporters.As seen President Trump is fast to speak his mind through tweets and his tweets were in some instances deemed to be reckless whereas some members of the society took them to be desirable actionsthat need to be emulated by the other politicians (Kapko, 2016). The politicians are always considered to be liars who will always be unable to speak their minds since they are afraid they would lose support from the electorate.
However, in some instances, social media has been realized to be a source of fake or rather tailored news whichis meant to work either in favor or against an individual. For instance,analysts found out that Hillary Clinton got the majority vote since President Donald Trump’s reputation was highly tainted in the social platform (Silverman, 2016). The fact that information was readily available in these platforms, the individuals tended to immediately rely and believe this information and they would further use this information during their in-house debates and further in their decision on whom they would vote for. On the contrary, in some cases, the aspirants went ahead and used their social media pages to lie and pass false messages to the general public(Kapko, 2016).
In the academic circles, social media has tended to revolutionize the way individuals can exchange information. Through social media, the authors and publishers have the chance of creating traffic and promoting their works before they are released to the members of the public. As a result, once the works hit the shelves, the residents have the chance of knowing where they can get the book and further have a preview and know if they are going to purchase the books. Also, the members of the public have the chance to interact with the authors about the particular works. Many authors have always provided the general public with the chance of giving their view of that particular piece of work. This criticism will help the author come up with better works. Further, social media has been considered to be a vital source of information. The researchers have come up with questionnaires which have enabled the individuals to collect information from the general public and this, in turn, has allowed the researchers to come up with reports which portray the true nature of the situation.
Conclusively, it shows that the for sure social media plays a vital part in the political and academic circles. By the fact that it has enabled close to direct interaction of the parties, then it has revolutionized the way activities are carried out in these fields (Beenet, 2014). However, it has impacted the various areas differently. This is mainly because it is dependent on how the particular issue is handled.
This paper will address the following research questions;
• Whether social media has an impact on the political circle?
• Whether social media has an impact on the academic circle?
• Whether the impact is positive or negative?
Audience Analysis
This research will mainly target students and the individuals involved in the academic world. This is mainly because they are the primary users of social media. From the various surveys and research, a large percentage of the members of the society are young and rely mostly on technology for their day to day information (Neilsen, 2012). Further, research has been able to show that generation X and Y tend to rely the most on information from the social sites, then it is important that the final research targets them. By the fact that it has been realized that millennial spends an average of 6-9 hours a day on the internet, then this paper will for sure be of use since they are the most affected by the information that is on these sites(Pew Research Center, 2012).
In addition, social media sites and platforms are frequently used to exchange information and ideas.The information that will be put on these platforms will in most cases vary on impact depending on who it reaches. The final paper will, therefore, target individuals who have an academic background since they will always have the chance to openly criticize issues in a more logical and educational manner. Going further, the paper will target individuals with some communication background or members of the society who have some form of understanding of the fundamental aspects of communication. With this backdrop, then they will be able to understand whether communication has been effective or not.
Lastly, once the paper reaches the intended audience, then any form of criticism will be highly welcomed. The final decision will be based on the personal thoughts of the readers. None will be coerced to agree to the stipulations of the final paper. By the fact that most of the readers will have an academic background, then they will have the chance to read and understand the paper and see whether the provisions of the article are true or false. However, the criticism will be faced with a difficulty of predisposed conclusions. This will in most instances reciprocate in bias. In order to battle this barrier, the final paper will significantly rely on the readily available data and further analysis of this data.By the fact that statistics never lie, then it is important that the paper has in place the required information that will act as strong elements.Conclusively, this article will target the individuals who use the social media sites the most and further the members of the society who have an understanding of what is involved in communication.
Scope of the Research
The research will rely significantly rely on data and statistics from various sources. In order to ensure that the information is up to date and further ensure that the research bears the challenge of time, it will rely on sources published not more than ten years ago. The information from these sources will contribute to ensuring that one gets a picture of the society at the precise moment which in turn helps ensure that one gets a better understanding of these communities. By the fact that the research is mainly tailored to show the impact of social media in the socio-political spheres, then the research will significantly be affected by the unfolding in the election of Donald Trump in the United States and further the impact of social media on the issues of ‘Brexit.' Lastly, the research will further explore the impact that the tailored news has in the public social sphere. This is mainly because these ‘fake news’ have been realized to greatly affect the society negatively when it comes to issues of proper communication amongst the members of the community.
Research Methods
The research will be carried out by considering the information from various sources. These include academic databases such as peer-reviewed journals and articles. Further, the research will greatly rely on past studies and surveys about the usage of social media. The study will also consider the available secondary sources in the library and other available platforms.
Keywords
In order to get the information from both the primary and secondary sources, the following keywords will help in the retrieval of the relevant information.
o Social media
o Political
o Impact
o Communication
o Theories
o Studies
o Fake news
o Brexit
o Elections
Issues
This research will try and answer the following items;
• Whether social media has a positive or an adverse effect on the socio-political field?
• Whether the information on these sites change the way members of the society carry out their activities and their attitude of the situation?
References
Bennet, A. (2014). Social Media: Global Perspectives, Applications and Benefits and Dangers. Hauppauge, New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Nielsen, R. K. (2012). Ground Wars: Personalized Communication in Political Campaigns. Princeton: Princeton University Press
Allcott, H., & Gentzkow, M. (2017). Social Media and Fake News in the 2016 Elections. Stanford Journal, 1-40.
Kapko, M. (2016, September 29). How Social Media is Shaping the 2016 Presidential Election. Retrieved January 29, 2017, from CIO: http://www.cio.com/article/3125120/social-networking/how-social-media-is- shaping-the-2016-presidential-election.html
Kaplan, Richard L. 2002. Politics and the American Press: The Rise of Objectivity, 1865- 1920. Cambridge University Press
Pew Research Center. (2012). Teen, Smartphones, and texting. Pew Research Center, 3-22.
Silverman, Craig and Jeremy Singer-Vine. 2016. Most Americans who see fake news believe it, a new survey says. https://www.buzzfeed.com/craigsilverman/fake-news- survey.
