Business
Social-media are the applications based on virtual space that facilitate interaction among people all over the globe by creating, sharing and / or exchanging information and ideas. Social-media sites are generally social bookmarking sites, social news sites, social photo and video sharing and Wikis that interact by adding articles and editing existing articles. There are social networking sites that enable its users to add friends, comment on their profiles, join groups and have discussions. In addition to these, any website that is highly interactive with the users/ visitors falls into the definition of social media.
Irrespective of the age and location, people use social media for different purposes, from business to work, for news and information to entertainment. Facebook is the most suitable example of a social media that is least anonymous in the cyber world, to support this fact. Though this social networking site is a recent phenomenon and the world on a whole is still learning to use the platform, so far it has had tremendous impact on human relations and community as a whole.
Positive impacts of Facebook
The younger generations are much more likely to report the positive impacts of Facebook on their social and emotional lives. It helps the socially isolated or shy people to connect with others. When Facebook is used as an educational platform, the reserved students can voice their doubts or questions, thus it becomes a medium for empowering the community through education and personality development.
Facebook can reconnect with long lost friends, family and others who are geographically separated. It can provide news as quick as the online newspapers, pass information and help regarding financial, medical, business and other supports, act as an online store for broad range of products, encourage the individuals to learn new things, develop their personality, art and literary skills, by engaging them with a wide range of audience and constructive, meaningful discussions. This in turn enriches the community by influencing its culture and thinking process.
Negative impacts of Facebook
Many researches have found that using Facebook can reduce young adults' sense of satisfaction with life, leading to depression, low self-esteem, low academic performance, etc. This often stems from social comparison of one’s life or situations with others’ they see on Facebook. These feelings ultimately spoil even the real world relationships between Facebook friends and other personal and familial bonds.
It is an alarming experience that people who witness an accident are more interested to take a picture and post it in their Facebook page than trying to help the victims. When deprived of Facebook, many people exhibit ‘disconnect anxiety’, which shows that social media influences their well being and self worth in a tangible way. This socially unacceptable trend among the young community is to be addressed properly.
Many of the people who depend on Facebook for news and information at times receive unreliable and untruthful news which are posted by unverified sources. The huge number of anonymous profiles also pause a threat to healthy human relationships.
Conclusion
It is an observed fact that social media like Facebook, has quickly become the atom of cultural media; intertwined with our familial and cultural bonds. The machines and technology are tools, they cannot and or do not control us. All social media can be a boon or bane based on how we perceive them and use them in our day-to-day life.
