Technology has tremendously impacted the determination of information in society. Gone are the days when one needed a Television set or a copy of one of the dailies to stay updated with the most current events and even information. Nowadays, information is available in a press of a phone button, or a click of a tab on a computer. Social media has apparently been greatly boosted by innovations and inventions in the information and communication sector. Social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Snap and many others have come up as a result of extensive research and innovation in information technology systems. Similarly, a number of social media platforms have been created, with a core objective of maintaining an interactive and updated society through continuous communication on such platforms. As a result, social media platforms have become key components of the entire communication system in the current modern society (Noor, & Hendricks, 2012). Social media has been used by the various users for social interaction, educative reasons and even divulgement of information to the users.
Social media has greatly increased the rate at which information is disseminated in society as well as enhanced the ease of access to information (Saville, 2013). It is approximated that almost two thirds of the total human population of the world have enrolled in either one or multiple social media platforms. For example, Facebook and twitter alone have been estimated to have 3 million and 5 million members. The two social sites are further estimated to have more than one million simultaneous users logging into their portals within a single hour. The sample statistics as indicated above basically imply that any form, of information possessed by one single user will quickly reach over five million people within a single hour. As a result, therefore, a number of people have chosen such sites as the best communication platforms, especially where there is a need to pass over information to as many people as possible. For example, in case of humanitarian causalities and even terrorism, people often opt for Twitter or Facebook to inform as many people as possible within a short span of time. While most people might not be good readers, they often spend numerous hours on social media sites and thus can easily be reached.
Before the emergence of social media platforms, vertical communication was a big challenge in society. Vertical information is a collective term used to refer to communication that involves people in two or more different social or hierarchical classes. Initially, members of society in the lower hierarchical order or lower social class found it hard to freely interact with those in upper social classes. In fact, getting people from the two classes engaged in a social discussion was a rare occurrence. Social media has therefore helped bridge such communication gap and greatly improved inter-hierarchical communication (In Deželan, & In Vobic, 2016). Organization managements largely lauded social media on this issue. On social media, subordinate employees have an opportunity to log in disguise, especially where they fear victimization and engage their senior in constructive talk regarding employee welfare and work place comfort. As if not enough, the personal fear associated with face to face conversations are easily overcome in social media. The freedom of expression as provided on social media has greatly improved workplace wellness, more so in organizations with patronizing managers. Similarly, keen parents can easily pick out certain crucial points and sensitive information relating to children’s upkeep by closely following conversations, updates and trending posts on social media. For example, by closely following trending topics on Twitter, a parent can easily establish some of the emerging trends for adolescents or other categories of children and thus be fully prepared to handle his or her own children should they find themselves in similar situations.
While the major functions of media in society are to inform and educate, social media has added another equally important function of media as far as the dissemination and propagation of information is involved. Social media have largely been embraced for the sake of unity and social ties within members of the society (Duhé, 2007). On twitter, an active in Kenya is free to follow and interact with other user in Germany or even Australia provided they find their common ground. Similarly, on Facebook, a single user can have as many as one million friends, some whom he has never seen or met, but still chat, exchange photos or even make Skype calls. In fact, social media have to a large extent greatly contributed towards embracing globalization, where the major aim is to reduce the entire world into a small technological village. People get to establish networks, make new friends, visit new places and get business acquaintances from social media. In extreme cases, a large number of couples have confessed to having met on social media sites. These are things which were not able or could not be done with conventional communication. Hence, social media have not only improved the spread of information amongst people, but also helped establish strong social links thus contributing towards international unity.
Social media is an important tool for peer education. According to most curriculum developers and education researchers, there are high chances of information retention when one is taught by a peer than when done by a professional instructor or teacher. A number of peer education sessions are conducted on social media (Saville, 2013). For instance, on Whatsap, people of common opinion often regroup into small chat groups where they raise and discuss social issues of concern. Members of such discussion groups are often peers, either working together or age mates affected by a common issue in society. Some of the common issues discussed in social media include business where people talk of potential investment destinations and viable business ideas, clothing fashions and designs as well as other social issues such as marital affairs and entertainment. The good thing with education via social media is that there is total freedom of expression as well unlimited freedom to explore issues in detail, no one limits the amount of information to be shared on a given topic.
As much as we are lauding social media for its significantly evident positive impacts on dissemination of communication in society, it is worth to note that such communication platforms as Twitter and Facebook in particular have largely helped propagate grapevine communication and spread false information. In countries where there is significance complacency on the laws on social media usage, such propagation of false information has greatly threatened national unity and integration as well as aiding in cyber crimes (Noor, & Hendricks, 2012). Social media communication neither insists on the authenticity of the information or the source of such information. As a result, users find it to peddle lies, propaganda and unwarranted hearsay which might either be false or wittily created for individual gains. Most people have fallen victims of such targeted social media propaganda and thus there is every need to see to it that in their near future, innovation must find a way of tracing the source and authenticity of information as posted on social media.
Conclusively, social media has attracted global concern and it’s currently one of the world’s symbols of unity. In fact, a number of organizations and individuals are working around the globe to exploit on further benefits of social media. Initially thought of as a platform for social interaction, social media has from and again evolved into both an educative and informative platform (Duhé, 2007). People long realized that due to engagements in life, a few individuals find to listen to, watch or even read mass media communication pieces. Hence, the convenience that comes along with social media has greatly counted towards its fame and hype. For instance, rather than spend time perusing through newspaper pages or sit down for close to thirty minutes watching a news bulleting, one can easily take three minutes to browse through a given social media platform and get as equal amount of information. However, more stringent laws should be implemented to ensure that social media is not exploited by witty users at the expense of genuine users.
References
Duhé, S. C. (2007). New media and public relations. New York [u.a.: Lang.
In Deželan, T., & In Vobic, I. (2016). (R)evolutionizing political communications through social media.
Noor, A.-D. H. S., & Hendricks, J. A. (2012). Social media: Usage and impact. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books.
Saville, M. S. (2013). Stop! Collaborate and listen: The impact of social media on communication and collaboration among education professionals.
