Positive and Negative Impacts of Social Networking on the Society - Essay Example

Essay Name Institution Professor Course Date Introduction Social networking is termed as the use of social media program which are internet based so as to make and enhance connections with family, friends, clients, customers and other people in ones social circle. Social networking is mainly done for the social purposes or for business purposes. The programs used shows that, association that exists between the individuals and it also facilitates the acquisition of new contacts. Some good examples of such sites are LinkedIn, facebook, whatsup and twitter just to mention a few of them. Though the concept of social networking has existed as long as the societies have existed, the web have facilitated the connections and thus making certain that people recognize and exploit social networking through the use of the web-based groups which are solely established for that purpose. In relation to the concept six degrees of separation, social networking plays an essential role in coming up with interconnected online communities that assist individuals to make contacts with other and these contacts are good to know but they may not have had the chance to meet them if the networks were not present. Social networking has been around for a considerable amount of time to take note of the negative and positive impacts that it offers to the society. This paper therefore sets out to offer a list of the negative and positive impacts of social networking to the society. This will be done through the use of recent events and cases from the last two years. Discussion Negative impacts A major negative impact that is attributed to social media is that it distracts the students more as opposed to helping them in their studies. A considerable percentage of teachers are of the believe that social media does more harm than good to the students in that, it distracts them more than helping them in their academic achievements (Salvation & Adzharuddin 2014). The students are the greatest victims of the social networks than any other group. This is founded on the fact that, as they are studying and conducting research on the web, they are attracted to the various social networking sites so as to kill their boredom while studying and this in a way diverts their attention from their core activity which is studying. This multitasking leads to a reduction of their attention on their studies and eventually causes a reduction on their concentration and academic performance. Additionally, students are currently relying more on the information that they can access through the use of the social media sites as well as through the use of the web. This in a way reduces the research and learning capabilities of the students. Another negative impact of social networking in the society is that, it has lead to the breakup of families as well as straining of relationships within the society. Rooted in these aspects, lawyers have reported that there are a high number clients who are filling for divorce in the courts and in most instances they are armed with social media evidences that proves that their spouses have cheated on them (Almazroul 2015). These arguments have been supported by evidence in Saudi Arabia and also from America. Social media sites and mostly facebook and whatsup tend to play an essential role in the number of divorce cases that are reported in Saudi Arabia. In relation to a report that was reviewed, the number of divorce exceeded 30,000 in the kingdom in a single year and this means that about 82 divorces took place in a day (Ghafour, 2015). The misuse of the internet and other social media sites in most instances triggers distrust and this seems to be common among the new and young couples. In a newspaper article by Almazroui 2015, social media has been blamed for the increase in marital disputes as well as divorce and straining of relationships between friends and families. A high level of social media usage leads to a decreased satisfaction in marriage as couples tend to spend a considerable amount of their time online and thus there is lack of intimacy between them. The researchers also found out that, there is a negative correlation between the quality of a marriage and happiness. At the same time relationships between family members have been found to deteriorate as some of them tend to spend their time on the social media even during times when they can have meaningful conversations with the immediate family members who they are living in close proximity. Anchored on this notion, most people spend their lunch hour or any free time online and thus making other feel neglected. In relation to these, there is the spilt of the family unit. This is anchored on the notion that, what a considerable percentage of individuals are doing today seems to be an extension of what the older generation did in the real world. For instance, a survey which was conducted by Newmarket Holidays which is among the largest UK tour operators, a greater percentage of grandparents are of the view that, the relationship they share with their grandchildren is totally different from what they shared with their grandparents (Tett 2015). In relation to the businesses, though social media helps them in advertising, they also tend to have a major drawback in that they can act as risks for the business in view of the fact that consumers can post negative comments in relation to the products and services offered by the business if they failed to meet their needs in the most effective way or of they were not up to the expected standards. Additionally, the task of running as well as the constant updating of the social networking sites takes a considerable amount of time as well as dedication and this at times may call for an additional staff to deal with this. It would be essential for businesses to avoid positing posts that are unprofessional because they can ruin the business and it can create a negative reputation for the company. Another negative effect of social media is that they have led to a decreased level of productivity in the workplaces. Though numerous of businesses are making use of the social networking sites as a means to communicate with the current and prospective customers, the sites also seems to be attributed greatly with a high level of distraction for the employees (Ashraf 2014). Some employees tend to spend a considerable amount of time online and they are interested in the posts that are made by their colleagues and friends in other workplace and companies have been found to be on the losing end in term of revenue. This problem is being solved by the existence of new technology that is available to enable the blocking of the various social networking sites but the technology effectiveness is still a matter to be considered and addressed in the near future (Ashraf 2014). Positive Impacts Despite the numerous negative impacts that have been stated above, social networking also tend to have a positive side. In relation o the students, the students are able to attain a number of essential skills through the use of various social networking sites when they are in school. According to Tayseer et al. 2014, distant from being seen as a major cause of the students distraction and as a danger to their academic success, the social networking sites offers the students with the opportunities to navigate the modern technology learn a number of social skills and valuable computer skills and language their proficiency in language. All this skills that they learn helps them and also prepares them for their future careers as they will need them given that they seem to be essential aspects for the modern working people. Despite the profession that one chooses the use of computers seems to be a core skill that one need to have. In the past most educational facilities disregard the importance of technology and the internet given that they saw it as a cause of distraction but with time this aspects seems to have changed and it has been allowed in the schools and it is been used educationally. The classroom learning seems to be competing with the various social networking sites that are available and by coming up with educational sites, the learning institutions are ensuring that students are offered with more opportunities to enhance their learning in that they can get access to the various educational resources that they need irrespective of their location. All this is aimed at helping and making learning easier. Additionally, students have formed educational social networking sites which make their learning more enjoyable and productive as they engage in educational discussion aimed at educating each other (Tayseer et al. 2014). In reference to relationships, far from the notion that it tends to deteriorate the relationship between spouses and close family member, social networking sites play an essential role in that they help in the creation of new friendships and relationships. A huge percentage of the young people who make use of the social networking sites tends to portray and cite that social media sites have positive impacts and mostly on their emotional and social lives as opposed to showing a negative aspect (Bala 2014). In relation to an individual’s point of view, a considerable percentage of people believe that positive aspects of the social media are explicitly displayed in the relationship that exists between individuals. The various social networking sites that are available make it possible for people to interact with a greater number of people on a daily and monthly basis. At the same time, the use of social media opens up new doors for numerous opportunities, ideas as well as resources (Bala 2014). The social networking sites have removed all the interaction and communication barriers and through these people can communicate their perception as well as thoughts in regard to a number of topics. At the same time experts in various fields and students are able to communicate and share their ideas with the like-minded individuals and can also request for opinions as well as input on certain topics. When viewed from this perspective social media seems to bringing up the communication factor back into the relationships. Thus social media plays an essential role in all walks of our lives in that it allows us to connect more with people around us (Bala 2014). Another positive impact relates to the business in that they make use of the sites as a form of advertising. Through the use of this form of advertising businesses are able to reach a large target group given that their reach millions of people from all over the globe and this are enhanced by the technological advancements. This seems to be of great benefit to the business as they tend to use fewer resources in view of the fact that the method of advertisement is inexpensive. Additional, the constant use of the social media keep the existing and new customers talking and discussion about the business. Additionally, through the comments offered by the consumers companies can make use of such kind of information and make use of it by making improvements to their products and services (Abuhashesh 2014). The various social media sites also helps companies to inform their customers, followers as well as friends of any upcoming promotions and also acts as a way of making easy sales and in a quick manner. Additionally, through the posts made by the customers the reputation of the company can be improved and this seems to be a great way of gaining new and loyal customers who will essential for the existence of the business in the future. Additionally, all the social networking sites tens to offer simple and fast ways for the consumers to keep in touch with company and make queries and complain. Businesses can benefit greatly by using social networking sites because the use of these sites to promote one’s business do not call for high level of skills (Abuhashesh 2014). Another benefit that is closely associated with the social networking sites is that it tends to facilitate the community, belonging and connectedness. The opportunity and a person ability to express themselves in a creative manner, experiment and explore their identity production in addition to consumption on the online content seems to be a major way in which the social networking sites builds and strengthens the communities (Shabir, Hameed, Safdar & Gilani 2014). People tend to make use of the services due to the experiences they get from there. Additionally, the sites have appositive impact in that they create a sense of belonging as well as collective identity. Social networking sites play essential roles when it comes to the formation of new and advanced forms of collective identity. It is believed that through the use of the social networking sites, the young people who are diverse can meet up with others and learn from each other, thus in a way creates a sense of belonging to the broader community. This means that the sense of belonging as well as acceptance that is created in the social networking sites can be of great benefit to the young people who may be vulnerable to isolation, for example, individuals suffering from the various forms of disabilities and chronic illnesses and they remain members the communities even after their initial thrust is long gone (Shabir, Hameed, Safdar & Gilani 2014). The sense of collective identity and belongingness is enhanced further by the sharing of the visual, written and audio content that tend to portray or represent the community or an individual’s experience inviting other to relate and engage with each other in the online community. Conclusion The above discussion shows that there are a number of positive as well as negative impacts social networking. Thus it is upon an individual to choose whether they want to make a negative or a positive impact with their use of social media. Therefore, social media can be viewed as being a personal responsibility, either to use it properly or improperly given that in the long run, our use of the various social networking sites will determine if we benefit from them or not. The above discussion shows that despite the fact that the various social networking sites tends to have a number of negative aspects, the positive ones tends to outweigh the negative ones. Thus the positive aspects of social media should not be clouded or overlooked by the negative ones. Thus, everyone need to make use of the social networking sites but to use them in a positive way and acknowledge the fact that what others may use to cause harm can be used for as a benefit to at an individual and at a community level. References Abuhashesh, M 2014, ‘Integration of Social Media in Business’, International Journal of Business and Social Scince vol. 5, no. 8, pp. 202-209. Almazroul, A 2015, ‘Blaming social media for divorce so shortsighted’, The National Opinion, 25 August, viewed 26 May 2016, http://www.thenational.ae/opinion/comment/blaming-social-media-for-divorce-is-shortsighted Ashraf, N 2014, ‘Impact of Social Networking on Employee Performance’, Business Management and Strategy vol. 5, no. 2. Bala, K 2014, ‘Social media and Changing communication patterns’, Global Media Journal-Indian edition vol. 5, no. 1, viewed 26 May 2016, http://www.caluniv.ac.in/global-mdia-journal/ARTICLE-JUNE-2014/A_3.pdf Ghafour, A 2015, ‘Saudi divorce rate high: the ‘message’ is clear-stop abusing social media’, Arab News, 9 May, viewed 26 May 2016, http://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/news/744426 Salvation, M & Adzharuddin, N 2014, ‘The Influence of Social Network Sites (SNS) upon Academic Performance of Malaysian Students’, International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, vol. 4, no. 10, pp. 131-137. Shabir, G., Hameed, Y., Safdar, G & Gilani, S 2014, ‘The Impact of Social Media on Youth: A Case study of Bahawalpur City’, Asian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities vol. 3, no.4 Tayser, M, Zoghieb, F, Alcheikh, I & Awadallah, N 2014, ‘Social Network: Academic and Social Impact on college students, viewed 26 May 2016, http://www.asee.org/documents/zones/zone1/2014/Student/PDFs/185.pdf Tett, G 2015, ‘How social media split the family’, FT Magazine, 2 January, viewed 26 May 2016, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/282775a8-8a1d-11e4-9b5f-00144feabdc0.html Read More