Category: Social Media

Throughout history, gender inequality is reflected in different aspects of life, whether related to education, work, or any social standards. In modern society influenced by social media platforms, there is inequality towards women and girls regarding their activity on the Internet. While the male population can use the Internet to its fullest, women and girls are encouraged to produce certain sexually related content and, at the same time, are being shamed for it.

There are social stereotypes that even these days imply women being inferior to men. As women are considered subordinate, their sexual objectification becomes normal in the society that takes it for granted (Ringrose et al. 306). Under the pressure of stereotypes, women tend to create sexually oriented content, which is then being shared and forwarded through the Internet. Eventually, that content is considered to undermine womens virtue and can be used to shame them.

As the perception of the world forms at a young age, the controversies regarding digital sexual communication can be looked at from the perspective of teenage girls. Research shows that young people engage in a digital flirtation with a sexual undertone for entertainment since this type of communication is an important part of drama among their peers (Ringrose et al. 308). With sexting becoming more popular among teenagers, its influence on young people and society in general increases as well.

Every person wants to be accepted by society, and sometimes people are willing to do something that makes them uncomfortable to avoid being excluded. Research shows that teenagers from the age of thirteen use social media to discuss the physical appearances of girls and exchange images with sexual content (Ringrose et al. 311). Boys expect girls to have big bum, nice breasts, and long hair; however, they do not discuss their male friends in such a way, which can show a tendency to heteronormativity (Ringrose et al. 310).

If girls do not want to send their intimate photos, they cannot simply say no and have to make excuses, so they do not fall out with people (Ringrose et al. 311). To not be rejected by their peers, girls cannot stop engaging in sexting even if they know that their appearances will be discussed by others.

As girls typically engage in digital sexual communication to be accepted by others, boys do that to gain more popularity. Boys exchange pictures of girls, especially their breasts, to earn popularity ratings; however, boys usually do not send their photos if asked (Ringrose et al. 313). If girls send their pictures to a boy, it shows his power to persuade and gains him more respect (Ringrose et al. 313). In such a situation, a boy is not interested in a girl as a person but rather wants to prove his masculinity over others.

While exchanging intimate pictures can be somewhat consensual, girls who do so are not highly regarded among their peers. Girls tend to think of those who share their photos as sexually active and those who do not respect themselves (Ringrose et al. 314). Girls blame other girls for taking intimate pictures but are not as eager to blame boys for making it worse by spreading it (Ringrose et al. 315). Teenage boys typically do not care about the girls while exchanging photos, whereas girls who do not participate in such activities shame those who do.

As teenagers can form groups depending on their sexting activity, sexual objectification of the female body continues increasing. Teenage girls from the age of fourteen become interested in taking quizzes that identify them as sexy, flirty, or a slut or determine them as some type of sexual fantasy (Gill and Scharff 105). In an environment like that, girls have to constantly decide how to act, so they do not seem slutty but are still desirable by others (Gill and Scharff 106).

For example, some people say that posting on social media pictures in bikinis on holiday is acceptable, whereas posting photos in underwear is not (Gill and Scharff 107). However, even girls who are against sexting tend to post only those photos where they look good, hiding parts of their appearances that others would not positively accept.

To summarize, envisioning a world where teen girls could unproblematically take and share images of their breasts is difficult at this moment. Since sexual objectification of the female body is common among teenagers and adults, overcoming it is a complicated process. Moreover, there are obstacles that prevent gender parity from existing in the world of social media. The first obstacle is related to general stereotypes regarding gender inequality that make men look superior, thus making women underlooked. Another obstacle can refer to social standards such as physical appearance having more value than a persons identity.

One more obstacle is the accessibility of social media to teenagers that allows them to share sexually oriented content influencing their perception of a persons worth. Girls and boys, women and men have to be treated equally and appreciated not by the way their bodies look but by who they are.

Works Cited

Gill, Rosalind, and Christina Scharff, editors. New Femininities: Postfeminism, Neoliberalism and Subjectivity. Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.

Ringrose, Jessica, et al. Teen Girls, Sexual Double Standards and Sexting: Gendered Value in Digital Image Exchange. Feminist Theory, vol. 14, no. 3, 2013, pp. 305-323.

Abstract

The present paper is devoted to an investigation of social media post ownership, and it argues that the topic requires extensive discussion in modern research literature. Indeed, apart from being rather widespread nowadays, social media is rather under-researched and volatile, which makes its regulation difficult. The paper demonstrates that while certain legal and policy-related mechanisms of protecting post ownership rights do exist, there are notable difficulties and issues related to them. In particular, it is visible that a number of specific post-related events are difficult to regulate while the specifics of social media and the lack of ownership awareness in users make the protection of the rights more difficult. It is found that modern social media practice has been employing the terms of use as a means of protecting post ownership, but this method appears to have its flaws. In the end, it is concluded that the issues, which are related to post ownership, indicate the necessity of extensive scholarly investigation of the topic, which should help to promote best practices in the area.

Introduction

The present paper is devoted to the topic of the ownership of social media posts (for example, Facebook posts). The topic appears to be underrepresented in modern studies, which might be explained by the fact that social media is a rather recently developed and under-researched area (Edwards, 2016; Marshall & Shipman, 2015). As a result of its deficient representation in scholarly sources, the opportunities for discussing post ownership are limited. However, the extensive use of social media nowadays implies that this area of human activity requires investigation and legal regulation, which is why the present research attempts to synthesize the currently available information on the topic to encourage its discussion. The main argument of the present paper is that the area of the ownership of social media posts contains a notable number of issues and challenges that require extensive discussion to improve legal regulation. To support the argument, the paper considers the term social media post, defines ownership regulations related to it, and proceeds to discuss the issues, which are connected to the topic. In the end, a conclusion about the significance of extensive discussion of post ownership is made.

Social Media Posts and Ownership

A social media post can be defined as a single item of content, which is posted with the help of social media websites or applications (Wiener, 2017). The content of posts may include various types of textual and visual information, which can vary in its sensitivity and the level of creative value. As a result, there are certain nuances to the ownership of posts.

Generally, social media posts can be protected and governed by copyright legislation; the specific ownership rights may vary from country to country and include those related to reproduction, distribution, display, and modification (Edwards, 2016; Olson, 2013). Any content receives copyright protection since the moment of it being fixed in a medium of expression, which implies that social media posts are protected since the moment when they are posted (Olson, 2013, p. 76).

However, certain types of posts may be not protected by copyright. For example, Olson (2013) reports that in the US, such posts include those presenting factual information, short posts, and the posts that contain personal updates, opinions, and ideas that do not bear the level of creative expression necessary for copyright protection (p. 76). In other words, to ensure the protection of ones post, its owner might need to prove that it is subject to copyright; it is not illegal to use and modify content that is not subject to copyright.

Issues and Solutions

A number of issues are related to post ownership, and some of them can be linked to the specifics of social media. Indeed, social media remains under-researched and underregulated (Edwards, 2016), which may be attributed to its volatile nature (Marshall & Shipman, 2015). This volatility also results in a wide variety of events, which social media ownership regulations need to take into account. For instance, social media introduces new multiple means of sharing content, some of which may require particular consideration. In particular, providing links to content is unlikely to involve copyright infringement since the process does not presuppose any use, distribution, or reproduction, but the legal status of the phenomenon of embedded content is less apparent (Olson, 2013, p. 78). Given the fact that social media is also under-researched, the process of the determination of appropriate regulation practices related to the topic appears to be rather complicated.

It is also notable that the format of social media typically makes ownership rights infringement rather easy to perform because of the ease and extent of access to the content (Edwards, 2016). In particular, the cases of reposting and reusing posts can become questionable from the point of view of the law as well as the platforms policies (Marshall & Shipman, 2015). Attribution can resolve the problem in the case of the private use of content (Edwards, 2016). However, the lack of ownership awareness in social media users often makes the use of this copyright protection mechanism less likely.

Indeed, modern studies demonstrate that media users do not appear to have a clear understanding of ownership rights when social media content is concerned (Marshall & Shipman, 2015; Wiener, 2017). In general, they project different views and attitudes: for instance, some of the respondents of the study by Wiener (2017) know that the specifics of the content may affect the details of ownership rights. However, other respondents of the same study report sharing the incorrect belief that the act of posting content presupposes giving up any rights to it. In other words, the lack of legal literacy in active social media users can be regarded as an issue from the point of view of ownership rights protection.

Nowadays, social media platforms, including Facebook, typically include the requirement of protecting other peoples rights in the terms and conditions of the use of their websites or applications. Also, they develop policies meant to protect these rights, which typically involve the removal of content after the owners request (Edwards, 2016, p. 327). These phenomena can be regarded as a form of a practical mechanism that social media platforms have developed to enhance the legal literacy of users, protect copyright, and protect themselves from lawsuits related to the infringement of copyright by their users. Unfortunately, Marshall and Shipman (2015) reveal that social media users report paying little attention to the terms of use, which limits the effectiveness of the mechanism from the perspective of literacy improvement. Also, it is noteworthy that terms of use can be employed for transferring some ownership rights to the platform (Marshall & Shipman, 2015). Marshall and Shipman (2015) state that in the context of limited ownership awareness of users, this factor can be regarded as another issue of social media ownership.

To sum up, the key concerns that are related to social media ownership include the difficulty in regulating a volatile environment, which is rather convenient for rights infringement and the lack of user awareness. It is also discovered that some mechanisms of resolving the issues are already practiced, but the lack of research on these mechanisms suggests that it is difficult to make conclusions on their effectiveness. It should be pointed out that the present paper provides an overview of the issues and does not intend to list every one of them, but even the mentioned difficulties can be regarded as sufficient evidence to the fact that the topic of post ownership requires extensive investigation.

Conclusion

Having considered the topic of social media post ownership, the present paper can offer several conclusions. Social media context can earn the protection granted by copyright in multiple cases which depends on the copyright legislation of a particular country. However, there are certain difficulties in establishing specific regulations for individual cases and protecting ownership rights from infringement. These difficulties can be partially explained by the volatile nature of social media.

Indeed, social media is an under-investigated and rather volatile area, and while social media companies and users have developed some mechanisms of resolving copyright issues, research on these mechanisms is still lacking. As a result, there is no dialogue on the topic, which limits the opportunity for the discussion of challenges and the meaningful development of existing practices. Therefore, the ongoing investigation of post ownership is of utmost importance.

References

Edwards, C. (2016). The art of posting: Social media, copyright and artist attribution. Internet Law Bulletin, 5, 326-330.

Marshall, C. C., & Shipman, F. M. (2015). Exploring the ownership and persistent value of Facebook content. In D. Cosley & A. Forte (Eds.), 18th ACM conference on computer supported cooperative work (pp. 712-723). Vancouver, Canada: CSCW.

Olson, K. K. (2013). Intellectual property. In D. Stewart (Ed.), Social media and the law (pp. 73-97). London, UK: Routledge.

Wiener, P. (2017). Social media users views on the ethics of social media research. In L. Sloan & A. Quan-Haase (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of social media research methods (pp. 57-73). London, UK: Sage.

Mental health problems become an increasingly acute public health issue. Telephone helplines diversify how people with mental disorders access healthcare (Middleton et al., 2016). Moreover, they prove to be indispensable for alleviating crisis situations. Telephone counseling is viewed as one of the fundamental elements in suicide prevention (Chan et al., 2018). The HopeLine is an organization that serves a similar purpose. Its mission is to provide support through confidential conversations and referrals to community resources for those who find themselves in different types of emergencies; the HopeLines specialization is crisis and suicide prevention. The organization uses extensively social platforms and its website to engage with external environment, promoting its services.

The HopeLines website is rather minimalistic, which helps to direct attention to its main purpose  informing and inspiring. This focus and dedication to the principal mission is the most impactful element of the website which makes it appealing for potential employees. Although the site does not have a separate page as for a prospective employee, there is page named Write for Us which offers to share personal experience with mental health or crisis situations. The homepage reflects the organizations mission and contains information on an array of subjects such as abuse and addiction recovery with which a prospective client may struggle. Furthermore, the organizations site aims to instruct individuals regarding problematic topics. For example, how to recognize abusive relationships and break the cycle of suffering. For someone who wants to dedicate their professional life to crisis situation and suicide prevention, the site communicates commitment and the possibility to exercise this vocation.

The HopeLine has active accounts on social media platforms among which are Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter. The organizations social media and the site contain a body of knowledge that might be also informative or important to revise for the current employees, for instance types and signs of abuse. Prospective clients might also find the platforms valuable  they can discover instructional videos on the HopeLines Instagram and YouTube as well as live prayers. These video materials could have an uplifting and motivating effect. For current clients, the website and social media accounts can serve as a convenient method to stay aware of forthcoming events, which help them to socialize and connect with people who underwent similar experiences. On the other hand, there seems to be no information for prospective or current funders, which might complicate the collaboration or discourage them from it entirely.

Diversity and difference appear to be prioritized in the way the HopeLine manages its social media platforms and website. This conclusion is based on how stakeholders are depicted primarily on its site and Instagram account. As an example, women and individuals of various ethnic groups constitute majority of people visually represented, which is effective considering the role of social media in promoting diversity. It is stated that social media present an opportunity for individuals to connect with people of all different backgrounds  to find commonalities, to share experiences, and to solve problems in new ways (Thirlwall, 2019). Additionally, there is a version of the site available in Spanish. Overall, the HopeLine appears to accentuate diversity on its social media.

Social media engagement reflects the impact and interest that an organization provokes in its target audience. A study performed by Xu and Saxton (2018) regarding the role of social media engagement demonstrates that  strategic effort in content and relationship development pays off (p. 17). Diversity possibly influences not only the degree of followers involvement, but also the type of followers who engage. The fact that the HopeLine incorporates a considerable number of images of women and specificity of its services might indicate that the organizations views them as a target group. The primary implication is that this approach possibly helps the HopeLine reach the people, for whom its services are directed. Additionally, the inclusion of Spanish version of the website potentially facilitates attracting Mexican-American adults.

Knowing the audience appears to be the most essential factor in increasing engagement. This factor influences type of content and on what platforms to post it. More personalized posts that have an enhanced value for the audience could be an effective way to increase the number of likes, shares, and comments. Improving the visual content by using photo editors and dedicating more time to take a photo also seems useful. Scheduling the time to post when followers are the most active and creating social media content calendar are seemingly instrumental to obtain the maximal reaction and stay consistent. Therefore, more stable high-quality content directed at a specific demographic could be recommended.

Conclusively, the HopeLine uses a wide variety of social media tools to reach and inform their target group about the provided services, that is, confidential conversations for people in critical situations. The organizations website effectively communicates its mission and provides a substantial body of information that current and prospective clients can find valuable. The social media usage is extensive, as the HopeLine is present on multiple platforms. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of its approach to social media management is questionable, since customer engagement seems rather low.

References

Chan, C.-H., Wong, H.-K., & Yip, P. S.-F. (2018). Exploring the use of telephone helpline pertaining to older adult suicide prevention: A Hong Kong experience. Journal of Affective Disorders, 236, 7579.

Middleton, A., Gunn, J., Bassilios, B., & Pirkis, J. (2016). The experiences of frequent users of crisis helplines: A qualitative interview study. Patient Education and Counseling, 99(11), 19011906.

Thirlwall, T. (2019). Social media as a means to diversity.Sfmagazine. Web.

Xu, W. (Wayne), & Saxton, G. D. (2018). Does stakeholder engagement pay off on social media? A social capital perspective. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 1722.

The Center for Disease Control on Instagram

The United States Center for Disease Control (CDC) is an American organization whose purpose is to prevent America from threats in the form of diseases that may arise from within the country or abroad. They identify new and emerging dangers and react to them concerning their mission. It uses its resources to sensitize Americans and show them ways to prevent inevitable outbreaks and any disease that may seem like a threat. Some of these resources include social media sites, being the most used means of communication in the 21st century. Social media, in this case, is identified as a collection of digital networks used for public health communication (Abroms, 2019). One of these tools used by the CDC to relay information and advice for upcoming health threats in the world is Instagram which has over two million followers.

Instagram uses photos and videos for communication among its users primarily. These photos and videos are captioned with details to explain their visual representation. For the past three weeks, CDC on Instagram has proved to be functional by employing most of the sites features to engage its followers. Most of the organizations posts are meant to sensitize the world population on how to stay safe from the deadly disease, COVID-19, in terms of prevention measures, vaccination, and statistics on its spread (Gatewood et al., 2020). Occasionally, other infectious diseases such as HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and the Pink Eye, talked about on 16th March this year, are featured in these posts as a part of the sensitization process. Furthermore, the platform has been used to remind people of constant health checks such as immunization schedules for children to maintain health throughout the country. All in all, the CDC tries to address most of the worlds problems in terms of infectious and contagious diseases through its social media presence.

Audience Engagement

The organization creates at least four posts a day in both videos and photos to engage its followers. These images are accompanied by relevant captions explaining the essence of the question posed or information given in the picture. However, this does not seem to be enough for effective awareness as comments and questions are rarely given a response. The account managers responsibility is to respond to the inquiries under their posts to explain further the health issues they intend to address. This public health organization has inadequately used this feature.

Another frequently used feature is the stories feature on Instagram, where information posted disappears after twenty-four hours. This feature has been utilized mainly for the global pandemic, COVID-19. There is a link leading to a web page where more information on that specific piece of information is given in detail on each post. In terms of engagement, the stories feature has been underutilized. The stories are designed to hardly allow the audience to reply or ask questions through private messages. A choice to send a direct message to the user who utilizes this feature is standard for most people; it is a requirement for effective interaction with the individuals who follow that Instagram account.

Suggestions to Improve Community Engagement

The organization has also utilized the IGTV (Instagram Television) feature, which allows videos as long as one hour to be uploaded. In these videos, they have taken the opportunity to answer frequently asked questions in detail. They give step-by-step instructions on self-care, prevention measures, and treatment for a specific disease. However, this feature has not been utilized for over three months. The frequent use of this feature for sensitization could serve an excellent purpose for prevention and hope for its audience; if they use it to update the world on their efforts to stop the spread of a particular disease.

For better audience engagement, the organization could use the stories feature to ask its followers questions. It can be used to get data on its viewers situations, facilitating better research strategies on emerging health concerns (Giustini et al., 2018). It can come in handy, specifically during the ongoing pandemic, as the disease has been proven to mutate and infect with new symptoms. They could also use the direct message feature under stories to answer individual distress calls, making a difference in that persons life. The stories feature could also be used for polls to gather data on how many people are affected by a particular disease (Aiello et al., 2020), how they are influenced, and how they treat themselves or prevent the diseases occurrence.

One last feature the CDC could utilize is the Instagram Live (IG LIVE) feature to hold live sessions with its audience. Live sessions provide one-on-one communication with viewers and create an opportunity to ask questions about the topic. Relevant people can also be interviewed during these sessions, where they are asked questions concerning an issue of worry. This feature provides a platform for the organization to know what role they play, how they can improve and make a difference as per its mission and vision and educate its followers.

Benefits, Challenges, and Risks of Using Social Media

Social media has brought forth immense benefits in the public health sector. It has provided a platform where multiple people with diverse lifestyles and cultures can be reached simultaneously, which is their core objective. It has also increased the surface area for impact as social media is used country-wide since roughly a third of the population in the United States uses Instagram. Correspondingly, it enhanced the feedback mechanism as replies and opinions can be given in real-time, reducing the amount of time taken to take a response action.

Challenges are bound to be faced in these social networks. For instance, if the CDC decides to assess a diseases impact through social media, they could get data that the lack of tangible evidence may invalidate. As much as this information could be accurate, it is not a guarantee that all users were honest in responding to the question. There are also fears of misinformation or misinterpretation of information among the audience and other users, leading to an uproar of people worldwide, which may defame the organization (Stellefson et al., 2020). It can also lead to a personal misdiagnosis of an individual who actively uses the social network.

Public health organizations can successfully use social media to their advantage. However, these networks have disadvantages that may affect these organizations adversely. As much as these effects can be controlled, it is hard to tell what impact they would create on the companys image. Regardless of all the above-mentioned, their presence on social media is advocated for the sole purpose of worldwide health awareness. For instance, viewer education could be implemented to ensure that information is relayed and accepted diligently, ensuring the Public Health sectors sole purpose is achieved. For all the above reasons, social media, if effectively used, can be a worthwhile resource for communication in the public healthcare division.

References

Abroms, L. (2019). Public health in the era of social media. American Journal of Public Health, 109(S2), S130-S131. Web.

Aiello, A., Renson, A., & Zivich, P. (2020). Social media- internet-based surveillance for public health. Annual Review of Public Health, 41, 101-118. Web.

Gatewood, J., Monks, S., Singletary, C., Vidrascu, E., & Moore, J. (2020). Social media in public health: Strategies to distill, package, and disseminate public health research. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 26(5), 489-492. Web.

Giustini, D., Ali, S., Fraser, M., & Kamel Buolos, M. (2018). Effective use of social media in public health and medicine: A systematic review of systematic reviews. Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 10(2). Web.

Stellefson, M., Paige, S., Chaney, B., & Chaney, J. (2020). The evolving role of social media in health promotion: Updated responsibilities for health education specialists. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(4), 1153. Web.

Dissemination is a crucial step in evidence-based practice (EBP), which helps to integrate and sustain a practice change. One cannot ignore the fact that technological advances have markedly revolutionized the way health professionals search for, access, and use information. The power of technology can be harnessed to facilitate the dissemination of EBP knowledge on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (Zhu, Xing, Hu, Zhou, & Gu, 2018). The rationale for the selected dissemination method is the increasing Internet penetration of global communities and healthcare providers preference for synthesized facts and findings that could inform point-of-care decision-making (Dyson et al., 2017). As the experiment by Dyson et al. (2017) has shown, science-themed social media accounts gain a decent following and click rates.

Another dissemination strategy I would consider is using messengers, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Viber, for sharing the latest EBP findings. The main motivation for this method is the popularity of these platforms: Facebook Messenger alone counts two billion users, and WhatsApp comes close second with 1.3 billion (Tankovska, 2021). Furthermore, messengers have features allowing the creation of channels for group chats, which ensures that a message reaches its target audience.

For all their advantages, there are barriers to using both social media and messengers. Social media have become oversaturated with information noise that leads to consumer fatigue. The disadvantage can be mitigated if social media accounts contain useful, concise posts that add value to customers experiences. The same goes for messengers: the messages in specialized chat should stand out among the usual spam that individuals receive daily and capture attention in a good sense.

The two methods that I would refrain from using are posters and committee meetings. Posters are rather challenging to make in the first place, and when installed, they run a risk of becoming another element of the interior. Besides, updating information on posters is nigh-on impossible, in contrast to social media. Committee meetings may prove to be not sufficiently interacting where the majority of people passively consume information without interacting with it.

References

Dyson, M. P., Newton, A. S., Shave, K., Featherstone, R. M., Thomson, D., Wingert, A.,& & Hartling, L. (2017). Social media for the dissemination of cochrane child health evidence: evaluation study. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(9), e308.

Tankovska, H. (2021). Most popular global mobile messaging apps 2020.Statista. Web.

Zhu, Z., Xing, W., Hu, Y., Zhou, Y., & Gu, Y. (2018). Improving evidence dissemination and accessibility through a mobile-based resource platform. Journal of Medical Systems, 42(7), 1-8.

Social media significantly expands the volume of client-produced content and makes it accessible to anybody, amplifying its effects. It offers clients a helpful scene to speak with others rapidly, and in this way, web-based media has become a famous stage for sharing wellbeing-related data with one another (Lin and Kishore, 2021). The patient-doctor relationship is supported when doctors give data, empower independent dynamics, act consciously and promptly, save classification, and work with admittance to mind (Chretien and Kind, 2013). Web-based media can assist doctors with achieving objectives through the help of data sharing and further developing openness to patients, constructing trust.

Social media can likewise be utilized to interface underdeveloped nations with experts in more therapeutically progressed areas. For instance, surgeries can be transferred through the Internet, and questions can be posted through Twitter (Ventola, 2014). In this manner, online media give another correspondence channel to organize expertly to share clinical data at a speed that was at no other time conceivable. The utilization of two-way video can give more valid correspondence than texts, email, messaging, or other videos (Chretien and Kind, 2013). Web-based media can diminish the gap between theoretical and practical work, working with translational examination and appropriateness to patients.

Social media have made worldwide organizations spread data and assemble enormous quantities of individuals to advance general wellbeing objectives. Disease-specific forums give a significant chance to doctors to disseminate evidence-based data to counter misinformation on the Internet (Chretien and Kind, 2013; Ventola, 2014). One illustration of the incredible impact of online media was seen after Facebook chose to permit clients to post their organ-contributor status in their profile. The number of donors in registries expanded more than 20-crease after this feature (Ventola, 2014). The boundless utilization of online media can impact general wellbeing practices and objectives through friendly support.

In conclusion, patients have been progressively utilizing web-based media as a creative innovation approach to influence self-training on wellbeing. Medical services experts have discovered online media-based conversation discussions valuable for teaching patients and working with their self-health administration. Communication technology can improve health worldwide through an exchange of expertise between nations. Discussion forums and educational content on social media platforms will help increase knowledge among ordinary and raise awareness about diseases and forestall outbreaks. Furthermore, adding healthcare-essential information on personal pages, such as donor data, can prevent many deaths.

References

Chretien, K. C., & Kind, T. (2013). Social Media and Clinical Care. Circulation, 127(13), 14131421.

Lin, X., & Kishore, R. (2021). Social Media-Enabled Healthcare: A conceptual model of social media affordances, online social support, and health behaviors and outcomes.Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 166, 115.

Ventola, C. L. (2014). Social Media and Health Care Professionals: Benefits, Risks, and Best Practices. Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 39(7), 491520.

Introduction

Owing to the current trends in information and technology, information sharing in the health sector has greatly improved. As such, the paper seeks to explore some of the avenues through which the social media has revolutionized the health sector. Has it brought a curse to the healthcare or is it a necessity in the sector?

This work is going to conclusively address the role of the social media in healthcare, its effects on the implementation of the mandates of the sector. It will also address how to effectively harness the power of the social media to improve healthcare. In my opinion, I feel the health sector should embrace the application of social media in the practice of nursing, however, temperance must be observed in using social media for the sole benefit of enhancing quality.

Role of social media in healthcare

A study by KPMG on social media, established that the interactive platform offered by the social media has greatly improved the healthcare quality. The sharing of information on health related issues has led to quality improvement in the sector (Mukhopadhyay, 2013). The report highlights the significance of information in the sector; it asserts that the primary fulcrum through which quality healthcare revolves around is pegged on proper communication between the stakeholders (Belt and Berben, 2012).

An internet peer research centre published a journal after carrying out a web research in the year 2010 in the US. In the survey, out of a sample of 3001 adults interviewed, 80% said they relied on the internet and social media for their health information. The research also asserted that 15% relied on mobile phones for information (Jain, 2010).

American academy of orthopedic surgeons argue, 2012 primer: social media in healthcare, that the social media has led to improved collaborative approach in healthcare, this is attributed to the fact that the information researched by one individual is synthesized by other professionals online to come up with concrete information on any health issues. Conversely, important scientific processes related to health issues have been compiled under content management systems like the applications on laboratory tests, thus making it very easy to access such services.

Adverts placed in the social media have also impacted positively on the sector. It is very easy to find healthcare professionals online than using any other avenue. The KPMG survey conclusively addressed the significance of the social sites in provision of directions to the clients. The clients effort in establishing physical contacts with their physicians has been reduced by 33%. There is a great ease in accessing information about the healthcare workers, establishing their capability and their working itinerary in case one wants to book for an appointment (Belt and Berben, 2012).

From the scholarly publications discussed above, one fact clearly comes out: social media have played a very fundamental role in the healthcare sector; the fact that communication between health professionals and the patient can be shared has immensely contributed to the quality improvement in the sector. Consultations and appointments have been enhanced; moreover, a collaborative approach has been effectively used to treat patients using the social media. The peer journals quoted in the preceding paragraphs have all emphasized the significance of enhanced communications between healthcare stakeholders.

It is thus very factual to argue that the social media will be thee tool to advance healthcare practice to a higher level. The economic implications the media have on the sector are very significant in deed. The continual use of these media should be enhanced so as to further provide support for the sector.

Canada is a well developed country. The IT sector is well developed and quite a good percentage of the population is endowed with very basic IT essential skills. Application of social media in the healthcare within Canada is very systemic. The Canadian Medical Association has so far published the rules of engagements by the physicians towards the social media. They however argue that it is a proper tool for improving communication in healthcare settings. They however argue that there should be a well defined difference between a professional life and their personal lives. The association has listed and published some of the ethical issues involved in the regulation of the use of social media in the healthcare industry. It is therefore an important phenomenon in Canada.

According to CMA, nurses believe social media provides both legal and professional risks in its application to healthcare, they are also uncertain on the boundaries of their applications.

Conclusion

The healthcare sector must fully embrace a dynamic approach in enhancing the quality of its services; the sector cannot be left behind in tapping the fruits IT has brought. This therefore means that the nursing profession should fully embrace the application of social media in running various health programs. It is however very important to provide regulations and proper frameworks to seal the loopholes that seem to stem in the profession as a result of the use of social media.

References

Are you practicing proper social networking etiquette? (2009) Forbes.com. Web.

Belt, T. V., & Berben, S. (2012). Social media in healthcare. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 14(3), 16-21.

Jain, S. (2009). Practicing Medicine in the Age of Facebook. The New England Journal of Medicine,361(7), 649-651.

Mukhopadhyay, S. C. (2013). Pervasive and mobile sensing and computing for healthcare technological and social issues. Berlin: Springer.

Music is what provides pleasant sound to the ears, and long ago the only way one could be able to hear this was to either be close to a singer or sing personally. The device able to store music and play them later was a brilliant invention. A quality CD player is particularly valuable since it gives superior sound and lasts for a long time. Pioneer is a masterly example of manufactures of CD players. This paper is a proposal aiming to identify the target market, how to appeal to them, and give the benefits and disadvantages of using the social media landscape to promote the CD player.

Music appeals to all generations, and advertising for the product should reach and be of interest to every person for maximum profits. Teenagers and youths are interested in current trends in technology. For this reason, they always want to have the latest music so that they are at par with their peers. At their free time, teenagers and youths stay busy by listening to music while still keeping each other up to date with the newest music and they exchange CDs depending on ones likes. The portability of the CD player enables even the working class to enjoy music in the office, thus calms them down when under pressure due to work overload. Given the chance, teenagers can spend the whole day listening to music since this age group tends to believe that they can get ideas and information on how to go on about life and learn life lessons. Even when travelling, the CD player comes in handy because it reduces boredom and makes the youth active. On the other hand, old people also have a passion and taste for music as it reminds them of the good old days when they could dance to music that soothes them.

Advertising the features of the CD player among teenagers and youths may be done by communicating and passing the information from one person to the other. Social networking cannot make a product more or less efficient; however, it can communicate the idea exceptionally fast (Klein 2009). Starting a group on the social networks attracts customers who will be pleased of the product the company has to offer. Posting updates every day on the unique product gives information and guides the viewers in gaging the quality of the product. Customers can be asked to rate whether the features of the CD player are of acceptable standards or not by liking the page as in the example of Facebook. Teenagers are social humans, hence once a group of the company and its product is available; they can send invitation requests to others thus the profile of the company will be viewed by many people (Shaw 2010). Video tutorials give the exact image of the many makes of the CD player and their prices. Some can play video, others audio CDs or even DVDs. These come at different prices, so the company has to be true to the audience even if negative comments are bound to follow.

Running contests such as having an audience to speculate who is listening to the CD player, and that the first right answer wins a CD player attracts more customers to the product. Teenagers and youths then gain interest in the product. Therefore, the company may need to put a discount on the product to ensure the products keep being purchased. Having conversations on twitter or Facebook group allows interaction, where the audience can give suggestions whether some features on the CD player should be modified or if others are not necessary. This promotes a lasting relationship between the company and the audience (Brogan 2008). Few weeks before induction of a product, there is the need to build inquisitiveness and eagerness for the product. The producer can give out some CD players free a week before the launch of the product. Finally, the product can now be sold since the anticipation that was set will enhance a timely launch of the product (Burrow 2011, pp.105-110).

There are several reasons why social media such as Facebook is perfectly suited for this business. Teenagers and youths chat and communicate on social networks, and they are the customers. This should make the company should join in the social network advertise and sell the products. Most people who listen to music via the CD player are young people who spend a lot of their time on this social site, sharing the current trends and what new. Therefore, a page showing the product will appeal to the youth, and it will give them the urge to have it (Swartz 2009). When one acquires the CD player, others in the social media will find out about it because they will share the information amongst themselves. The young people rarely go to magazines to look for information; they look it up on the Internet. This is to say a page in social media will make it easier for them to peruse the product and make their purchase. A product with outstanding quality and features cannot be clearly viewed in the newspapers. Therefore, companies have opened websites to exhibit their products better. It is unfortunate that many people do not visit these sites because they do not know of their existence. However, all this can change when placing the advertisement in sites where most people are. One could be chatting, and a friend could share information about the product, or the page where it can be found, hence making the CD player popular (Evans & Mckee 2010, pp.37-40).

The benefits of using social media to sell the CD player are many compared to the traditional media such as TV and newspapers. Once the site is operational, the cost to get customers is exceedingly little unlike posting messages on the traditional media (Ellen 2010). A company can also establish contact with its customers and email them about new products and promotions. Another advantage of the social media is that it is wide compared to magazines. One who is extremely far can be able to get the message and order for the product. People on the social sites can be able to recommend the CD player to their friends, which is not possible when using magazines for advertisements. The company and its customers can be able to share information through the social media (Anderson 2010, pp.40). This is where customers can give suggestions on what they want in a product, and the company can be informed about their needs and desires in the product. According to Ellen, use of social media is a remarkable way to make the company more credible, compared to use of television and magazines. However, with all the benefits of using social media, there are some disadvantages. The marketer cannot be able to control the social media, and in some cases, the product may receive negative publicity (Dimos, Groves & Powell 2011, p22). There are cases where Internet users may post negative comments on the website, hence reducing the product sales. When the company posts false messages about the product, the Internet users may advise others not to purchase products from that company. Therefore, honesty is valuable when using social media to advertise products (Ellen 2010).

List of References

Anderson, E, 2010, Social Media Marketing: Game Theory and the Emergence of Collaboration, Springer, London.

Brogan, C, 2008, 50 Ways Marketers Can use Social Media to Improve Their Marketing. Web.

Burrow, J, 2011, Marketing, Cengage Learning, New York.

Dimos, J, Groves, S & Powell, G, 2011, ROI of Social Media: How to Improve the Return on Your Social Marketing, John Wiley and Sons, Toronto.

Ellen, M, 2010, The Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media, Workingmomsonly.com. Web.

Evans, D & McKee, J, 2010, Social Media Marketing: The Next Generation of Business Engagement, John Wiley and Sons, Indiana.

How to listen with your CD Player, 2009. Web.

Klein, K, 2009, How to Use Social Media to Promote Your Business, BloombergBusinessWeek. Web.

Shaw, S, 2010, How to use social media to boost your product sales, The Entreprenette Gazette. Web.

Swartz, J, 2009, More marketers use social networking to reach customers, USA Today. Web.

Introduction

Modern technological aspects have brought immense benefits to the current generation in a number of ways. For example, apart from just transforming the way we do things and bringing entertainment at our disposal, modern technologies have gone a step further in making our lives more enjoyable.

As a matter of fact, today, humans are exposed to diverse social networking sites that would enable them establish a digital footprint of themselves and what they are up to, thanks to current developments in the computer technology. Ever since the inception of the internet in the early 1980s, the world has seen great advancements in the information and communication sector. The use of social media comes with immense benefits to internet users across the world.

Some of these benefits include things such as interconnectivity, exposure, and easy exchange of information. Social media is one of the major technological aspects that continue to influence peoples lives in the contemporary world. For the purpose of showing how societies have benefitted from modern technologies, this paper focuses on three common social media applications that include Twitter, Instagram, and Google Plus.

Twitter

This is an online social networking website that makes it easy for people to interact and communicate with one another through brief messages known as tweets. Tweets, which are normally restricted to a maximum of 140 characters per message, can easily be sent and received over text messaging and desktop applications.

This internet-based instant messaging application has enhanced inter-connectivity in the current world, thus enabling people to share important information about themselves, their personal lives, profession, and business ideas, among other things. The application was established in March 2006 and was officially launched in July of the same year.

The main aim of the application was to ease peoples communication and interaction through a collaborative environment. Four American citizens namely Evan Williams, Noah Glass, Jack Dorsey, and Biz Stone were the people behind the applications development. Twitter enables its users across the world to share information regarding certain aspects of life with a global audience (Culnan et al. 248).

The application provides people with the ability to express themselves to others around the world using small chunks of information. More importantly, the application plays a crucial role in helping entrepreneurs enhance their corporate goals through free advertisement services. As a matter of fact, the use of twitter has become a common practice nowadays, and this has significantly helped to address various communication needs in the world (Hansen, Ben and Marc 32).

Based on these observations, it is clear that twitter has succeeded in making the communication process more efficient. In this regard, the application can be of great significance to individuals and business organizations planning to create an impact about themselves or their businesses on the web.

Apart from the benefits highlighted above, the application also enables internet users across the world to stay informed about various issues surrounding them in life. More importantly, the application has proved to be a powerful research tool as well as a reliable platform for business promotion and outreach.

Instagram

Instagram is a web-based application that enables users to share videos and photos across different social networking sites such as Facebook, Google Plus, and Twitter. The application was created in 2010 by two American citizens namely Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom. The main aim of the application was to improve the aspects of photography and video in order to make them more compatible with current technological trends.

One of the most exciting things about instagram is that, it is made into various impressive features that will enable users customize their photos and videos before posting them on social media platforms (Valente 18). I have been using the application for quite sometime now, and I have found it to be more useful when it comes to confinement of images to different shapes for digital application. More importantly, the application has enabled me to use digital filters on my images to make them more attractive.

As it would be observed, the major goal of instagram was to provide internet users across the world with the ability to share images over social media platforms in a more convenient way. In this case, users are likely to draw great community interest and recognition in a small amount of time. This wonderful application effectively serves my desire to share images and videos over the Web in an easy and more convenient manner.

Instagram users around the world have continued to benefit greatly from the application. For instance, apart from enabling users to share images and videos over the web for sheer fun, the application also acts as a powerful marketing tool in todays business arena. There is no doubt that instagram is one of the key social media options commonly applied by modern-day entrepreneurs to create business interests that are likely to improve their marketing efforts in a faster and less costly way.

Google plus

This is a friendship and forum social networking application that is owned and managed by Google Inc. The service was launched by Google administration in June 2011 to act as a social layer that would promote most of the companys online operations and properties.

As it would be observed, the main goal of the Google Plus service was to enable users to share their properties over the internet using interactive social networking elements (Scott 23). One of the most impressive features about this application is that, it is attached to various Google properties that will enable it link easily with other social media platforms on the web.

Through various interactive services such as Google Wallet, Gmail, You Tube, Google Music, and Google Voice, the application effectively addresses the need of communication in the contemporary world. In this regard, internet users across the world can access all kinds of entertainment easily and be able to communicate with one another in a collaborative environment.

Some of the main benefits gained from this social networking application include, but are not limited to, minimum inbox clutter and disturbance, a reliable forum for collaboration, and centralized communication.

Conclusion

As it is shown in this paper, modern technological aspects have continued to play a significant role in transforming peoples lives through various social media applications. As a matter of fact, the gains of participating in social media through different social networking sites have gone beyond our own imaginations.

Communication and interaction among people has become more convenient nowadays than at any other time in history, owing to the magic of current social media platforms. Apart from providing humans with exciting online experience that places them at the edge of modern-day technologies, popular social media platforms such as twitter, instagram, and Google Plus have proved to be reliable avenues through which significant business plans can be communicated to the outside world.

Through these interactive social media platforms, professionals around the world are able to connect with one another for a more purposeful cause. In this regard, millions of people across the world have found great value in social media, thus connecting and interacting with one another through popular social networking websites such as Twitter, Instagram and Google Plus.

Works Cited

Culnan, Mary J., Patrick J. McHugh and Jesus I. Zubillaga. How large US companies can use Twitter and other social media to gain business value. MIS Quarterly Executive 9.4 (2010): 243-259. Print.

Hansen, Derek, Ben Shneiderman and Marc A. Smith. Analyzing social media networks with NodeXL: Insights from a connected world. Morgan Kaufmann, 2010. Print.

Scott, David Meerman. The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to Use Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Applications, Blogs, News Releases, and Viral Marketing to Reach Buyers Directly. John Wiley & Sons, 2013. Print.

Valente, Thomas. Social networks and health: Models, methods, and applications. Oxford University Press, 2010. Print.

To carry out the attitude survey, I chose an area of interest that is related to examining attitudes of consumers towards social media marketing through Facebook by different fashion brands. In recent years, many fashion brands started using Facebook as a marketing tool for their products (Indvik, 2011). These fashion brands are investing heavily on social media to create awareness amongst consumers and promote their products/designs.

The first step, which was followed for designing the attitude survey, involved setting up research questions. The survey was designed keeping in view two research questions that would help in understanding the attitudes of consumers towards marketing on social networking websites.

These research questions were formulated based on the understanding that consumers are influenced by the information they receive and the way this information is presented to them (Bughin, Doogan, & Vetvik, 2010). The research questions set out for the survey are provided in the following.

• Does marketing on Facebook provides better coverage and information about fashion brands?
• Does marketing on social networking websites by fashion brands affect consumers attitudes towards them?

These research questions were taken into consideration when designing the survey questionnaire for data collection. These research questions helped me to decide the scope of the survey and questions to be included in the questionnaire.

I faced several issues when designing the survey questionnaire. Firstly, I had to develop an understanding of the ethical issues related to the informed consent of participants for taking part in the attitude survey. I prepared a consent letter, which had details of the survey, and it clearly stated the purpose of the survey, for participants. Moreover, I had to ensure that no private information was sought from participants that could lead to their hesitance to participate.

Secondly, I faced issues when deciding on the type of questions to be asked and the language to be used when asking these questions to survey participants. To achieve greater consistency and reliability in results, I included closed-ended statements based on the Likert Scale (Saunders, 2003). In addition to demographic questions, these statements were primarily aimed at addressing the research questions. I chose the Likert Scale as it allowed me to provide limited response options to participants.

The participants are allowed to choose their responses from a ranking 1 to 5 where 1 stand for Strongly Disagree, 2 stands for Somewhat Disagree, 3 stands for Neither Agree nor Disagree, 4 stands for Somewhat Agree, and 5 stands for Strongly Agree.

This would assist in the coding of responses and later analyzing them to derive useful conclusions from the attitude survey. I also understood that for the successful completion of the survey, it was important to use the language that was clear to participants. For this purpose, I used long sentences with clarity of language.

To carry out the prescribed attitude survey, I recommend random sampling technique for the selection of participants. The random sampling technique reduces the element of bias in responses (Saunders, 2003). Moreover, the survey does not need to be administered in a controlled environment. The participants should be allowed to complete the questionnaire in their own convenient time. This would increase the response rate. As already mentioned, the scoring of responses is based on the ranking of responses provided to participants.

The responses of participants can be numerically presented as per the Likert scale, and then different statistical methods can be applied to analyze the data. I recommend the use of Cronbachs Alpha, descriptive statistics, and independent samples t-test to explore differences in views amongst different demographic groups. The reliability of responses can be determined by using Cronbachs Alpha.

The descriptives methods such as calculation of mean and standard deviation can help to determine averages and dispersion of responses, respectively. In addition to these, independent samples t-test can help to identify differences in the mean values of responses provided by individuals belonging to different demographic groups. Moreover, it can assist in determining whether these differences are significant or not.

Attitude Survey

References

Bughin, J., Doogan, J., & Vetvik, O. J. (2010). A new way to measure word-of-mouth marketing. Web.

Indvik, L. (2011). 5 Best Practices for Fashion Retailers on Facebook. Web.

Saunders, M. (2003). Research Methods for Business Students. New Delhi: Pearson Education India.