Social Media’s Effect on Our Life
Tahmid Khan
Abstract: social media has changed the scope of our lives in many ways, changing everything from the scope of how we do everything to our main news source and how we communicate with everybody in our daily lives. Now, it’s happened so quick, individuals have failed to realize how significantly it impacts their daily lives. Our formerly tiny social and work networks have now grown to unthinkable sizes, and our once separate personal and professional worlds are now linked and within arm’s reach. In the realm of social media, there are many positive and bad aspects, just as there are in any revolution or time of expansion. The world of social media is complicated and far from its apex. It’s thrilling to imagine where it will lead us in the future
Since the introduction of social media, our communication has accelerated dramatically. It has made it simpler to communicate with individuals from all across the country, and the world, for that matter. By increasing the size of our social networks, social media has made finding a date easier to some extent. People with similar interests may connect and chat through social media. It makes networking easier than ever before for professionals. Businesses may use social media to advertise for free and appear more personal to customers. It also makes it possible for developing firms to run cost-effective campaigns and initiatives. It may also be used to attract visitors to a website or even a physical location. Some people believe that social media enhances human contact, while others believe that it essentially replaces face-to-face interaction.
Zoom virtual meetings going on regularly
Face-to-Face vs Online Interactions:
Online interactions have the potential to replace face-to-face encounters. Because they believe it isn’t reality, it might inspire people to say or do things they would never have done or meant to do otherwise. There’s a difference between face-to-face and online interactions, and Sherry Turkle (2012) in her TED TALK (6:42) states that “we get to retouch, the face, the voice, the flesh, the body – not too little, not too much, just right”. Because individuals feel anonymous in certain cases, this social media craze has allowed bullies to distribute damaging information about others and even bring out the nastiest debates. Due to the improper viewpoint or brand image on social media, a company’s image might be ruined. It may also have an adverse effect on employee productivity. Whether you like it or not, social media is affecting our lives in one way or another. Over the next 10 years, social media will be one of the areas of society that will see the most change. Social media will continue to expand, becoming more inclusive of our lives and capable of capturing more of them. People in our social circles will spend more time living vicariously via us as we record more of our lives, but as Kristin Gallucci (2019) says in her ted talk, “we need to use social media as a support to build real relationships, not as a catalyst to losing them” (7:03).
Interpersonal Relationships:
Google Glass
As a result, they will devote less time to learning about society and building interpersonal relationships. In Nancy K Baym’s article, she states “people appropriate media characteristics as resources to pursue social and relational goals, and people show feeling and immediacy, have fun and build and reinforce social structures even in the leanest of text-only media” (2022). Already, social media comprises a variety of media types. These are currently music, writing, video, and photos. Other types of communication, such as augmented reality, will soon be included in social media. Google Glass, for example, puts a screen in front of your eyes all day and can detect and display information about people’s faces. The glasses can listen in on your discussion and offer you with relevant Google search results for information you might need to know at the time. As a result, people’s interactions will be more fact-checked by information they get on the internet. People will be more interested in augmented reality initiatives like Google Glass as they become more widely used and developed. People will be connected to the internet and the “hive-mind” at all times. People will eventually begin to fantasize about their life on the internet, in part or in whole. You’ll become more of a public figure, and as a result, you’ll be molded more by the culture around you. Social media evolves at the same rate as the technology that underpins it develops and gets used. New technology innovations in social media must be helpful and intuitive in order for them to be adopted. A reason for people to be concerned about a new development is required.
Social Media Sites:
Because we like capturing insights into other people’s lives, society has encouraged the sharing of photographs. We’ve embraced video because it adds to the value of still images. Words were the original forms of social media, and they were traded since communication is based on them. We will continue to explore new means of communicating knowledge if humans exist. What we presently refer to as social media will be a fraction of what it will be in ten years. In the same way that present social anthropologists analyze cave art, future social anthropologists will look back at these eras. “What are the motors that are driving this shift in our society?” we may ask. For example, there are several reasons why individuals utilize the social networking site Facebook. According to research, there are nine reasons why people use Facebook: conducting surveys, uploading photographs, setting up your profile, publishing an event, asking a question, creating desktop backgrounds using images from an event, and even sharing a picture of the day. It’s even been used by the news media to conduct a contest and give away prizes, as well as to publish videos. Facebook has become an overnight social networking success, and what’s even more astounding is that it didn’t exist until 2004.
Take, for example, Facebook and Twitter. The NBA, NFL, MLB, and NHL, to mention a few, are among the many significant groups and corporations that promote on these social media sites. CBS, CNN, Wal-Mart, and Apple are among the companies that advertise on these social media networks. “Social media marketing” (“Quickly Grow Your Business”), according to Michael A. Stelzner, “involves engaging people with online social networks to generate exposure, increase traffic, gather insight, improve search rankings, enhance customer relations, build strong brand advocates, generate quality leads, and grow sales.” Businesses all throughout the world benefit from social media. This is one of the main reasons why social media will continue to thrive. In today’s world, many young people use social media. For example, social media has had a significant impact on young people’s decision to vote or seek information on this year’s Presidential Election. “The younger age (18 to 35 years old) is the greatest group of social media users,” according to Foster Web Marketing. For information, they mostly rely on social media and other digital sources. Because of the nature of social media, information may easily be distorted when individuals share it. Because someone needs to pass the information on to someone else, they can add their two cents in addition to the
relevant stuff, skewing the overall result considerably in one direction or the other.”
Role of Social Media in Elections:
Social media voters
According to reports, the young played a significant part in Obama’s reelection in the presidential election. This election, social media had a significant role, and it is expected to play a larger part in the next Presidential Election. News organizations and stations may also use social media to disseminate information to the rest of the globe in minutes. Whether for good or evil, social media has had a significant influence on the globe. Long-lost acquaintances, family members, and lovers have been reunited thanks to it. Social media has revolutionized the way the world socializes in general since its inception. Without a question, social media could bring people together. They could form connections and collaborations, expose users to adverts, resulting in the development of commercial ventures, and allow those who would otherwise be mute to electronically scream their views and opinions to a wide variety of strangers, friends, and acquaintances. There are undeniable advantages and disadvantages to social media. People may discover a lot about someone before meeting them in person, thanks to the open cyber doors: name, address, appearance, personal preferences, and so on. It’s easy to think that many social media users are avoiding genuine face-to-face interactions with possible friends and partners.
Granted, this will not always be the case, but younger generations that grow up under the direct impact of social media will come to feel that it is acceptable to meet all of their contacts online, harmed their social skills, confidence, and charm. In order to accurately assess the potential influence of social media on society over the next decade, we will necessarily need to rely on effective research methodologies. Surveys are used by sociologists to collect data on both small and large groups, primarily behavioral and opinion data. “In sociology, surveys are one of the most often utilized quantitative research methodologies.” This technique of study is the most successful since surveys allow sociologists to record the views of a broad group of people, providing the data needed to place the information. This data will correctly and quickly depict the change. The survey will use random sampling to ensure that everyone has an equal chance of participation. With such many people, there will be a plethora of viewpoints on this subject.
Finally, whether it’s the sharing of an idea, the delivery of news, or the provision of a product or service, social media has permanently transformed the way society functions. Today’s society is on the threshold of a new way of being that it has never known before. People on one side of the world will no longer be able to claim that they will never see or speak with someone on the other side of the world in their lives. People will no longer be unable to share an idea if they truly choose to do so (no matter how radical it may be or no matter how many people may disagree with it). It will no longer be possible to entirely suppress the dissemination of information or the expression of an opinion. As long as there are people who want to express themselves, share their music or art, or simply say hello to someone from another nation or culture, social media will allow them to do so.
Works Cited
Turkle, S. (2012, February). Connected, but alone? Retrieved from TED: https://www.ted.com/talks/sherry_turkle_connected_but_alone?language=en
Gallucci, K. (2019, October). Social Media is Making Us Unsocial. Retrieved from TED: https://www.ted.com/talks/kristin_gallucci_social_media_is_making_us_unsocial
Baym, N. K. (2015). 3, 5. In Personal Connections in the Digital age (2nd ed.). essay, Polity Press.
