The international integration has contributed to the development of cultural and trade interaction. Social media refer to the usage of modern technology, especially through mobile applications to enhance social interaction. Technological advancement has enhanced the growth of social media industry; people have ventured into the industry due to the increased opportunities. The virtual immediate response, time, and hogging space have been useful in fostering the social media development (Adams para 1). It is crucial to assess the history, development, pros, cons, and impact of social media in the modern society.
Communication development has encountered various changes as various technologies evolved through the history. The social media have encountered several innovations over the last forty years. Technological development has enabled people to collect information, socialize, and network through the digital media (Adams para 1). The evolution of new websites has created a platform to interact, share videos, photographs, and update their personal information. Some of the popular online social media networks include twitter and facebook.
The ancient forms of communication included smoke signals, beating of drums and lighting of a fire in regions, such as, Greece and China (Adams para 1). According to studies, Ancient Iran gave rise to the first postal services; the horses' wagons carried mails to the respective destinations. The 18th century experienced significant economic growth, as government authorities used the postal services to relay information to different sectors of the economy. The evolution of social media began with the introduction of platforms, such as, Internet-Relay chats and telegraph. People focus on improving the sites to enhance efficiency ion the communication process. The globalization aspect has been influential in developing the social media aspects in the modern society. Most networks make various changes and improvements frequently to match up with the emerging development.
The evolution of radio, telegraph, and telephone services in the 19th century laid the foundation for the digital media services (Adams para 4). The 20th century marked the evolution of platforms, such as, email, bloggers, and Instant Relay messages. Wikipedia emerged during the new millennium; the site contributed to the development of information collection and shared across the globe. Other sites, for instance, MySpace, facebook, twitter, and linked have then emerged and attained a wide market share. The number of users in the social media sites increases with time; the developers attain huge profit margins from the subscription fees. The development of modern traits in the economy is likely to influence the evolution of social media sites.
Effects of Social Media
Advantages
Social media platforms allow an individual to communicate with more people than they would have been able to, in case he sites did not exist. Effective communication channels enable people from different parts of the globe to share ideas.
The current community has embarked on running online business operations (Dube para 1). People today tend to use social media as an advertising platform has enhanced their marketing strategies. Business people can effectively communicate with their targeted clientele, which allows them to tailor the goods in accordance with the customer demands. The information derived from the clients' feedback helps organizations to improve on product development. Customer satisfaction is a crucial aspect in the modern business world (Jackson para 2). The competitive nature of the current firms requires innovative marketing approaches, and the social media provide the comprehensive strategies. The dissemination of information has improved due to the existence of various social media sites. People can organize events and share the relevant news with the families and events; this measure enables them to minimize advertising costs. According to Mercer (para 2), creating a MySpace page for the upcoming event or placing the function on Facebook can notify many people simultaneously.
The websites, for instance, twitter and facebook, create a suitable for individuals to reveal how they would like to be under different situations, which is different from their real personalities. People create virtual relationships based on the illusions of the perfect personalities, rather than their actual selves. An individual may hide them negative aspects and aim at revealing the attractive side to attract a significant wide audience. According to studies, online platforms have played a role in creating bonds and a sense of understanding among people. The virtual nature of online interaction enables individuals to learn about other people's characters without necessarily meeting them physically. Individuals develop a sense of uniqueness, especially when they attain extensive attention from the online friends. According to the human nature, people tend to achieve suitable self-esteem and improve their productivity when others admire or recognize their efforts.
The use of videos, photographs, and updates preferences as a mode of expression helps individuals to develop their interaction measures. The modern technology allows people to edit their pictures, which enhance their looks. A person can attain self-enhancement by setting limits that are accepted by other people. Individuals improve their characters when they present their desired selves, and make them valid and accepted by the online community. The communication process enables people to disclose their feelings; this measure prevents the occurrence of stressful moments. The lifestyles level improves due to the development of behavior, dressing mannerisms, and self-attractiveness traits within the social media platforms. The anonymity of social media platforms helps in disclosing information, which would otherwise not be shared. A person may feel free to share certain information with a virtual partner on social media, rather than disclosing the same knowledge with a physical friend. The online platform prevents people from judging others, which enhance efficiency in the interaction process.
The modern society requires people to have adequate knowledge regarding the emerging information. The government authorities may create awareness on various issues affecting people through the social media networks. The increasing health and security concerns have forced various government bodies to promote positive causes on social media. Educating the youths on platforms that they are familiar enables them to utilize the attained knowledge in a responsible manner. Obama's election, for instance, was influenced by the response to the articles that his supporters posted on social media sites.
An individual increases the knowledge base by accessing social media networks. The modern technology has influenced the creation of employment opportunities, especially among the young people. The current events on the global scene provide opportunities for the young people; accessing social platforms enable people attain relevant knowledge on how to implement various development projects. The exposure portrayed by blogs and other social media networks play a role in improving people's personalities. Nowadays, employers require competent employees with sufficient knowledge of current affairs; social media have been influential in developing both the personal and professional traits among potential employees.
Disadvantages of Social Media
Social media have influenced the increase of drug abuse, especially among the young people in the modern society. The lack of monitoring on several sites has encouraged illicit drug dealers to market their products online, which has led to an extensive abuse of drugs. According to a recent survey, the time spent on browsing in social sites has influenced teenagers to increase their alcohol drinking and smoking habits. Studies reveal that 70% of American teenagers spend more than one hour in Facebook or twitter (O’toole para 1). The exposure of social sites to people aged between 12 and 17 years has influenced their attitudes and tendencies to abuse drugs.
Social media pose security risks to users, as an individual is forced to provide personal information before using. The information may create safety risks in case unauthorized people access it; people may embark on identity theft while conducting criminal and other related illegal activities. Lack of privacy in the social platforms hinders their efficiency; people lack the ability to limit the number of users who accesses their profiles. Nowadays employers have embarked on viewing their potential employees' profiles on social sites; some people have lost their job opportunities due to the images that they portray on social media.
Social media limits the number of users an individual interacts with, as people tend to form interactive groups depending on the ideas that they share. Theoretically, the social networks should increase the number of users a person can interact with; the cultural, political, and ethnic diversities have contributed to the divergence of opinions, which limits the socialization scopes. An individual may attain a few real friends despite interacting with thousands of users due to the creation of groups with similar views.
According to Naughton (para 1), Narcissism and vanity characters develop when people attain extensive attention from their online friends. The need to prove to other users that a person has a perfect personality contributes to the development of inappropriate relationships. It is difficult to ascertain whether an online relation is sincere or not. The idealized virtual characters force individuals to portray traits that do not reflect their true selves. It is imperative to focus on establishing real personal habits and relationships physically rather than relying on social media platforms to fake identities.
The shallow relationships created on social media platforms have a significant impact on people's behavior. The relations and interactions determine a person's likeability bo other friends on the online platforms. The failure to attain attention despite updating attractive profiles and uploading photographs may induce an adverse effect on an individual's self-confidence. Some users may become desperate in pursuit of media attention; this inhibits people from participating in constructive activities, which are useful for personal development. The desperation for attention may lure people to engage in unethical practices, such as, posting revealing pictures or expressing immoral comments. The limitation of information describing the online friends inhibits the establishment of healthy and genuine relationships (Naughton para 2). Individuals on online sites may express their ideas freely; this aspect changes once they get on a physical platform, which indicates the unrealistic nature of social media operations.
Social media have evolved for the past centuries, and the development stages are continuous since they are subject to technological advancement. Social media platforms have enabled people to expand their interaction measures, which have increased their knowledge scopes. People have enhanced the globalization aspect due to the evolution of social media. It, however, is imperative to consider the negative effects of social media development, for instance, it has contributed to insecurity risks the development of narcissism and vanity characters among people. Teenagers are exposed to drug and crime related activities due to overreliance on social media for information.
Works Cited
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