Social Media: Reforming People’s Interaction

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Introduction

Advancement in technology has provided an opportunity for the development of new forms of technologies. Social media, which has become a reality through the employment of technology, is a term used to refer to various internet networks that allow people to interact, as well as share ideas and opinions in different remote locations.

Examples of these social media include facebook, twitter, MySpace, and LinkedIn amongst others. Social media has revolutionalized the way people interact.

Social Network

It is only around 40 years since digital technology was invented. However, the changes that have been experienced are overwhelming. One of the potentials that digital media has realized is in its social network. This platform has turned the world into a global village besides making life much easier as people can communicate and interact anywhere in real time.

The first kind of network was Myspace.com. Thomas Anderson and Chris Dewolfe created this network in August 2003 (Khristopher, 2008, p. 24). Since its creation, it has attracted approximately 200 million users in America and worldwide.

Users can use their email addresses to post pictures, videos, and information about their personal status and issues in life such as political affiliation, hobbies, careers, marital status, and annual incomes just to point a few.

Facebook

Another social media that has become popular is facebook. Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes created this network (Khristopher, 2008, p. 25). The three were students at the Harvard University when they came up with this idea. They successfully managed to launch the network in their dormitories at the University.

At that moment, they targeted University students since the network was applicable or operational on a college-administered email address for registration. In 2006, the creators successfully managed to roll out their network to worldwide users who had an e-mail account (Khristopher, 2008, p. 24). When facebook allowed users to open their facebook account, News Corp had acquired MySpace.

Then, it had captured 106 million users. Other networks began to surface, which included blogs, LinkedIn, and twitter among others. As technology advanced, these networks have been used to link people in different areas of the world. The users of facebook can create their own profiles that are customized with facts and any information they want. Photos can also be attached to the profiles.

They enhance the interface besides adding aura in the interaction process. The users of the platform have continued to expand over time. The major use of these networks was to communicate and share opinions and ideas. However, as the digital technology continues to advance, users have also expanded. The platform enables them to interact and make new friends.

Many people have met friends through the networks that have influenced their lives positively. According to Ingrid (2010), facebook has provided an opportunity for people to meet with different people from different cultural backgrounds (p. 265). The platform has changed the lives of many across the world. A good example is Sarah Fielding, a social worker.

The platform helped her develop her writing skills that elevated her towards becoming a good writer. She received support and motivation through a friend in the social media who advised and trained her to become a good writer (Ingrid, 2010, p. 265). This move is therefore a clear indication of the magnitude these social media are doing to the society.

Twitter

Sacks and Graves (2012) affirm that the complexities in the network diffusion require that students be trained on social media usage (p. 80). Twitter is one of the social media networks that are popular among students. However, many of these students lack skills and knowledge to use the platform in their interaction. For instance, one of the benefits of twitter is that it allows users to send their messages quickly.

Users need to keep their message short and precise because the word limit is 140 characters. Therefore, having knowledge on such attributes ensures that the networks are used well in the required manner.

These networks may be abused or used in the wrong way that may cause career-damage to the students. This may arise due to issues such as using the platform for finding opposite sex friends and or communicating about immoral messages. Therefore, education is paramount.

Advantages of the Social Media

A message can be transmitted to many users within few seconds. This has therefore helped to speed up communication. In the past, communication that involved two parties at a distant arrived late. Sometimes, the message became obsolete upon arrival (Brydon, 2010, p. 6).

This platform has changed this case. Nowadays, companies are using the platform to market their products to potential customers across the world. This stands out as a strategy that many companies have resorted to due to low cost, higher transmission speed, and the huge number of people who are accessing the internet and using the social media.

Social Media Issues: Is it Secure?

Even as the popularity of these social media increases, many questions have arisen concerning the security of using the networks (Abbe, 2011, p. 34). The identity of the account holder is one of the issues that raise concerns. Many cyber crimes are omitted using information from facebook. For example, a person can impersonate another and solicit money from the unsuspecting users.

These cases have been on the rise since the networks emerged. An individual can create an account with false information. This has made people commit crimes of all manners in the social media. Another issue that has arisen is whether a journalist or any third party has the prerogative to use information of an individual posted on the profile (Khristopher, 2008, p. 24).

The issue is unclear. It has stirred mixed reactions from members of the public. Those opposed argue that the consent of the person should be granted before using such information. On the other hand, those proposing argue that, once an individual has decided to post information on the profile, the information can be used by anybody.

Social Media: Its Impact to People’s Lives

These platforms therefore have both advantages and disadvantages that need to be looked into to ensure that they provide better services without risking or putting the life or the identity of an individual at risk. In the digital technology, most networks in social media came into the limelight in 2003. Since then, the number has increased at a tremendous rate (Khristopher, 2008, p. 24).

The coming of this media was right because this was the time that the living standards of people had gone down due to economic problems. They have made communication easier and cheap as people can socialize and share information across the world in any location.

The technology was the right initiative that resonated with the current living styles among many young people who are always optimistic wanting to learn more about what is happening across the world. This social media has turned the dreams of such young people into reality as they can learn and share what is happening around the world at their homes in real time.

The creators of these networks therefore provide motivation to millions of young people who indeed can explore opportunities in digital technology to innovate new technologies to spur economy forward (Moore, 2010, p. 179).

The outcome of these technologies has also motivated the creators to aspire for more ways of making them even better. The networks have rocked the world: they have reshaped the way people communicate and share information.

How Technology Influences the Development of Social Media

Emerging digital technologies played a fundamental role in the development of social networks. The creators used the existing technologies in coming up with their own technologies. For instance, the three creators of facebook used the existing college email account to enable fellow students to register and share information amongst them.

Therefore, the available technologies were fundamental in bringing the ideas of the social networks into reality. The internet platform was already in operation. Therefore, they pegged their ideas on such platforms in coming up with the idea of social media such as MySpace, LinkedIn, and facebook amongst others (Khristopher, 2008, p. 25).

What to put in Place to Improve Social Media Services

Social media is an important case in the development of digital technology that is worth studying. Already, various researchers have begun their studies on social networks. The platforms required a lot of understanding to ensure that they are used appropriately for good and not destructive reasons. The potential of technology to cause harm is evident.

Therefore, a study on the best strategies to curb such loopholes is important. As far as I am concerned based on my experience with the use of social media, there are various things that need to be looked into to ensure that the media does not cause harm to the users. Security measures should be enhanced. Information requested by the service providers should be kept confidential to avoid access by third parties.

This stands out as one of the fundamental things that need to be looked into in the future to guarantee security when it comes to the use of these social media. Furthermore, there should be precise international laws and regulations that concern the use of media. People should not use the platform to cause animosity or mayhem with others. Such communication should be tracked with the culprits being identified and persecuted.

The increased rate of user-falsifying personal information should be factored in. These issues, if corrected, will influence the future of social media positively. People innovate through various ways. Some innovate through default, others do it through research while others too invent through experience.

Conclusion

In conclusion, advancement in technology has changed the way people carry out their businesses. The creators of these network technologies like facebook and MySpace had an idea of what they wanted to achieve. Therefore, they finally managed to succeed in fulfilling their dreams. Therefore, through the social media, the digital world is one of the highest achievements that technology has brought.

People can share information, photos, research, entertainment, market their business, and any other activity that the platform can support. The innovation was appropriate and important. However, there is still the need for more efforts to ensure that these platforms are well managed to guarantee their future reliance.

Reference List

Abbe, E. (2011). The buzz on social media. Writer, 124(3), 34-55.

Brydon, D. (2010). Social Media’s Research Potential. English Studies in Canada, 36(4), 4-8.

Ingrid, T. (2010). Social Network Analysis and the Language of Sarah Fielding. European Journal of English Studies, 4(3), 265.

Khristopher, B. (2008). Social networking sites. The Quill, 96(1), 24-26.

Moore, M. (2010). Adaptation and New Media. Adaptation, 3(9), 179-192.

Sacks, M., & Graves, N. (2012). How Many Friends Do You Need? Teaching Students How to Network Using Social Media. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(1), 80-88.

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