SOCIAL MEDIA- The Big Thing in OUR LIVES!

SOCIAL MEDIA-

The Big Thing in OUR LIVES!

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDBWaTkMbXQ

It’s been a while that I have been contemplating a proper answer to this question and finally, I’m ready to define it ---“What is social media? What is it actually? Is it a huge unpredictable world of name, fame, and madness?” For teenagers like me –It is a hangout zone where I get to know what others are up to.

The contemporary world is overloaded with various information. Its impact on humans are huge and can be either positive or negative. There are many informative online sites which allow communication thanks to comments, picture sharing, dialoguing, and even the statistics of likes and dislikes shows people’s attitudes towards many things.

Today people use social media not only used for personal communication and to share some information but also for business and propaganda. The communications network plays a great role in a person’s self-development and self-realization. Networking helps people improve communicative skills and have abilities to solve a great number of life problems.

Highlighting some of the facts regarding social media are some popular social media websites- Facebook, Instagram, Snap chat, Twitter, WhatsApp, etc. have more than 10 crore registered users. Facebook adds 5,00,000 new users every day, 6 new profiles every second. Additionally, 76% of Facebook users check their accounts every day!!!

Social media and social networking seem to play an imperative part in people's lives around the world. There are some who debate whether it is improving or crippling communication skills. Sitting behind a computer communicating with cyber friends can be easy and fun but can weaken a person’s verbal communication skills. I will not only focus on the negative impacts on communication because there are some positive impacts on communication through social media. I will explore how social media and networking strengthens and weakens communication.

I am interested in the role social media plays in communication because I use some form every day and notice that it is becoming a rising trend. I have found myself checking my Facebook page without even thinking about it. I have also noticed that some friends post frequently and tell everything they are doing via status updates. The social network, Twitter, appears to be one of their first choices with celebrities’ tweets being the topic of many news discussions. At the bottom of nearly every commercial, there is a Facebook/Twitter link.

Social networks like Facebook and Twitter have always encouraged their subscribers to come up with an online persona. They then build a personal network of friends that connects to an open worldwide community. Information is now shared freely between the two. These parties can communicate either publicly (writing on ‘walls’) or via the more discrete personal messages.

Apart from connecting to a network of friends, a subscriber can join community groups with a specific interest. Here, the subscribers discuss different issues touching on that interest. Often, events are created where physical meetings are arranged. Briggs found out that an average Facebook user is connected to around 80 community groups. Most of these groups encourage the subscribers to give suggestions on how they should be run and to engage in debates. They also provide a social forum for members to interact with each other and with the leaders of the groups.

While highlighting several benefits of using them are simply endless, though, have a quick overview...

Positive Effects

With social media has made the world stronger and a better place to live in. Just the other day I read about a person requiring blood immediately and just because of social media, within a few seconds, this message went viral, and finally someone was present to help. All thanks to social media. This benefit has touched my heart. Social media creates highly interactive platforms, through which individuals, communities, and organizations can share, co-create, discuss, and modify user-generated content or pre-made content posted online.

When I open my Facebook page, I could see loads of advertisements around the home page. That too many a time those adds are very close to my choices. For instance, the kind of mobile phones I like, kind of chocolates or toys. This shows how effective social media can change the business communication.

Social media changes the way individuals and large organizations communicate. It has made a huge impact on the world. Social networks help businesses in a variety of ways. Traditional marketing mediums such as the radio, TV commercials and print ads are completely outdated now and demand lakhs of rupees for advertising. While with social media the businesses can connect with their targeted customers for free (with some paid advertisements), the only major cost is time, energy, and some level of creativity. Through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other social site one can lower the marketing cost to a significant level. 65.8% of US companies with 100+ employees use Twitter for marketing. Isn’t that amazing?

In addition, the increasing popularity of social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, social networks have gained attention as the most viable communication choice for bloggers, article writers, content creators, and small businesses.

Not only this, these social networking sites have opened the opportunity for all the writers and bloggers to connect with their tech-savvy clients to share their creativity and articles. The audience will further share those articles, blog or expertise in their social circle which further enhances the networks of the followers.

Additionally, social networks have removed all the communication and interaction barriers, and now one can communicate one’s thoughts and opinions over a variety of topics. Let us take the example of Donald Trump, the current President of the United States, the heavily relies on social media. His tweets directly connect his thoughts to the entire global community.

Never could we have this level of 1to 1 communication with someone in such an impactful position. Our very own Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, also known as “Twitter-in-Chief” uses Twitter to share his views with the nation as well as the global community of India around the world.

Political figures and celebrities also used social media to spread a message for social causes. For example, one of Modi’s most popular Facebook post included a ‘before’ picture of him sweeping a street and an ‘after’ snap showing the same spot looking sparklingly clean. He posted the pictures as part of his Swachh Bharat, or Clean India, mission. The post got 2.4 million likes and more than 141,000 shares.

It unites people on a huge platform for the achievement of some specific objective. Students and experts can share and communicate with like-minded people and can ask for input and opinion on a topic. This is very important to bring a positive change in society. For instance –I Clean Team in Bhopal, Save Sparrow Club, etc.

I think social media is a controversial topic today. Some people think that it destroys human interaction and real-life human relationships. While others think that it is a blessing to humanity. I think social media has made a big difference in the whole world. Just because of this great invention, no matter how far or where you stay in this world yet, it is possible to be in touch with one another. Isn’t that amazing? Just think about it.

According to you, what do you feel about Social Media, Share your views...

“It takes discipline not to let social media steal your time.”

“Don’t use social media to impress people, use it to bring an impact on other people’s life.”

“Focus on how to be social, not on how to do social."