Our social media essay will help shed light on the pros and cons associated with social media and the way it has changed the world. It is a highly debatable topic and thus here’s our view regarding its positive and negative effects on society.
Introduction to Social Media
But first, let’s take a glance at what social media is? Well, social media is a tool that has revolutionized the digital world with its inception.
Social media has grown to be the most influential and important virtual space, where the platform is used not only for social networking but also as a great way to advertise digitally.
Let’s take a look at what makes a social media platform popular and widespread. Many analysts believe it has to do with “active users.” It is a critical factor in determining growth, popularity, and engagement.
This graph depicts all the popular social media platforms in the world as of October 2021 and their number of users in millions.
Source: Statitsta.com
The Top 5 social networking sites and applications, as assessed by Statista, an industry-leading provider of business statistics, are Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook Messenger.
These applications are followed by many others. Facebook, the most popular social network, was the first to cross 1 billion registered accounts and now has over 2.7 billion monthly active members.
Facebook (main platform), WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram are the company’s four largest social media platforms, each with over 1 billion monthly active users.
With such a growing number of users on social media, let’s now understand what the importance of social media is today.
Importance of Social Media
Social media has become an integral part of everyone’s daily lives. With the internet at your fingertips, social media can be used to communicate with anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Especially since covid-19, when everyone was locked in their homes, and unable to get in touch with their friends and family, social media served as an important tool to stay updated about each other and stay connected with your loved ones.
Another emerging importance of social media owing to the pandemic is how it gave opportunities to people to make fun videos and adhere to social media challenges and activities which helped keep people entertained in such testing times.
The importance of social media in the rising growth and scope of digital marketing has also been phenomenal.
It is also a platform where information on a variety of topics is easily accessible. This allows people to learn a lot and stay up to date on news from around the world.
But with every good that comes with something, there’s always a negative side to it. Thus, check out the major advantages and disadvantages of social media in the progressive world of today.
Top 10 Advantages Of Social Media
1. Facilitates Education
In several ways, social media is used as an educational tool. People are able to learn about a lot of topics through the use of social media all from the comfort of their homes.
One classic example would be the Live sessions conducted by Industry experts and speakers on their Instagram and Facebook.
They impart knowledge and educate people on topics outside of their textbooks and curriculum. And these Live sessions can be joined by anyone for free.
Another way to gain knowledge is to join groups on social media that conduct open discussions on various topics and exchange knowledge for free. These are excellent ways to educate yourself.
2. Reduces Communication Barriers
Decades ago, the world relied solely on letters to communicate with people in distant places. Communication was hampered as a result, and relationships suffered greatly.
Now, Social media has enabled us to stay in touch with people both nearby and far away. And, with the rise of social media, distance is no longer an obstacle.
3. Social Impact
NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), fundraisers, etc use social media for a variety of noble purposes.
Generally, it is intended to raise awareness and assist people in discovering numerous changes that can help them improve their life.
This helps create a social impact on a large number of people right from your fingertips.
4. Brand Promotions
Businesses big or small can easily promote their brand effectively and efficiently through the use of social media and receive a massive amount of engagement.
Social media has become an excellent place for advertisement, which helps brands to know the needs of their audience well. This benefits businesses of all sizes greatly.
This has led to an increase in the need for social media marketers. The next point will help you understand more in detail.
5. Employment Opportunities
The increased use of social media as a marketing tool has increased the demand for social media marketers.
Companies want experts who can handle social media for them and carry out marketing activities that bring great results.
If you aspire to become one, here’s an Online Social Media Marketing Course led by top industry professionals to get you started
6. Content Creation
People who love to create content whether it be video, picture, or audio can use social media to share their content with the world.
This allows people with creative skills to flourish in the online industry and also monetize this skill which brings us to our next point.
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Learn about the various career paths available in the field of digital marketing and get an idea about which career opportunity is most suitable for you.
7. Monetization
The rise of social media content creation has resulted in a massive increase in users across multiple platforms.
To entice users to stay and grow, social media firms have used monetization strategies such as adverts, promotions, and more.
Anyone with a love for content creation can use this to promote their brand while also earning money. You can also create content for other brands and charge for the same.
A very popular concept is Influencers today. If you have a large follower base and the ability to truthfully influence them, brands will sponsor you to do so.
8. Community building
These days local communities are using social media heavily to stay connected, support each other, and grow together even after lockdown. Social media has connected people with the same interests and perspectives, which has led to the formation of supportive online communities. For example, people who share the same interest in nature and the environment can form or join a community for the same. This can also lead to crisis management, and it might be useful to provide mutual aid for world problems.
9. Skill development
Due to various social media platforms, online classes have gained lots of popularity during the lockdown itself. What’s interesting is these classes are still being run on social media platforms even after the lockdown is over but also gained. People nowadays are constantly taking classes for various courses to upskill themselves for even better jobs and income opportunities.
10. Mental Health Support
People have recognized the problems that social media causes. Platforms like Reddit and Facebook have a community now, which gives a safe space to people who want to share their experiences or seek advice.
Now, let’s glance at the disadvantages of social media and how it has a negative impact on society.
Top 7 Disadvantages of Social Media
The dangers of social media are massive, and despite the fact that it has numerous benefits, the effects of social media can lead to harmful results sometimes.
1. Lack of Security
As social media has become more accessible to anyone with an internet connection, people have become more vulnerable to hacking.
Many users upload important parts of their lives to social media platforms, communicate with people they don’t know and are uneducated about the do and don’ts of having a social media account.
This leads to hackers taking advantage of such people and ending up costing them valuable information.
2. Leads To Addiction
The ability to interact and contact friends and family at any time and from anywhere, along with a great volume of content, has led to social media addiction. We’ve also covered some points on how to beat social media addiction.
People spend more time on social media, communicating with people all over the world, and consuming content, and as a result, they get disconnected from their surroundings.
3. Unrealistic Expectations
What we see on social media is the ‘ideal’ part of a person’s life, and not their insecurities and problems.
When we forget this, we start to compare the negative parts of our lives with the positive parts of the lives of our peers that we see online. In the long run, this damages our self-esteem.
4. Adverse Influence on Children
Children who are addicted to social media spend hours per day watching videos, photos, and other content posted by the accounts they follow.
Other activities, such as schoolwork, sports, study, and other productive routines, are jeopardized by this addiction. In the end, the influence of social media negatively impacts the well-being of children.
It also affects their socializing skills as they find it more comfortable to talk on the phone rather than face the person.
5. Digital Fatigue
After spending so much time on social media, especially during lockdown, many people are now facing the problem of digital fatigue. The constant screentime and virtual interaction can exhaust a human and make them feel lonely
6. Cyberbullying and online harassment
This issue existed before, but it has increased to a greater level as more and more people are using social media. Whether your work is good or excellent, some people will always be there to criticize your content. But cyberbullying and online harassment cases can get worse.
7. Social comparison and mental health issues
Humans always tend to compare their situations with others, and social media has increased this issue of comparison, which makes people feel inadequate and pressure themselves to meet unrealistic standards. This eventually leads to feelings of anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
In conclusion, social media offers both benefits and drawbacks, but it all relies on the individual who uses it.
The information provided can be seen as debatable but our article is not a thesis on social media and is just an accumulation of researched information in a simple and precise format.
Bonus Read: The Next Wave Of Social Media
Social media is still in its infancy and will continue to grow rapidly in the future. From the launch of the first social media platform, Myspace, to the most recent and currently popular social media platform, Facebook.
There are currently around 4.3 Billion social media users around the world.
Every platform that has ever been released has features that are unique and engaging. That has always been the primary goal of any social media platform. From Myspace’s “ranking profile feature” to Instagram’s ‘Reels Insights features’, social media has come a long way.
With the unprecedented growth of digital marketing, social media has grown tremendously too. Almost every digital company now needs a social media team to manage its online presence. Discover how to build a career in social media marketing. Social media has become an important part of a company’s digital marketing strategy.
We hope this post has given you a better understanding of the world of social media.
Social media essays are super important nowadays. They help us understand how platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram affect our lives. We can explore things like how we communicate, our privacy, and how we behave online