Impact of social media on today’s world

 

 Nowadays social media have a very important role in everyday life, especially if we look back from the start of COVID-19. It is playing an enormous role in managing business meetings, school classes, or any other thing which is remotely possible.

For some people, it may not be much important but for a few, it is a life-changing thing.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, and many more have changed the way of communication between individuals and organizations altogether.

Now the whole world is truly a global village. Through the power of social media, we are communicating in real-time, no matter how far the other participants are, but like every other technology, it has its own pros and cons which we will discuss later.

Advantages of social media:

When we talk about the benefits or advantages of social media, we see that it has changed the access and awareness level of common people about almost everything.

Getting information:

In past, we were using different websites like Wikipedia, HowStuffWorks, etc. for getting information about different things and technologies. Or by using search engines like Google to get information about any place which we want to visit for a vacation.

These mediums are still very useful but now people are eager to get the first hand and latest information about anything and that is made possible through Facebook postings in relevant groups, YouTube videos, and Instagram, etc.

For example, there are groups on Facebook related to scholarships, people are posting their queries in those groups and get a relevant answer within very less time and interestingly you can post as many questions as much you want to get a satisfactory amount of information.

Opportunities:

• In the field of education, as mentioned earlier that in the time of the pandemic, the presence of different social media platforms is a blessing and it really worked like a charm.
• To fill the gap of new requirements and to handle a huge load of new users there was an opportunity for new communication applications to come. That also encouraged the new companies to do investment in this field.
• Businesses are selling their products and services using social media and getting much more clients than their physical outlets.
• Social media has provided a new avenue for businesses as well as individuals to develop new businesses or upscale existing setups to maximize their sales and profits. Because, online sales help businesses to cut their cost of maintaining fancy shops, rents, and huge electricity costs.
• Social media gives power to everyone, there are people who have much knowledge and are sometimes very relevant to some very key issues. But, because of their introverted nature, they are shy to come forward, through these platforms even those people contribute in many useful ways.
• Jobs created by social media
• There are so many new jobs that are created by social media, there are people who are earning by just fulfilling their passion and hobbies. Some are using Facebook and YouTube channels to show off their skills and by educating others, some are doing cooking, some are making sketches and caricatures, etc.
• On the other hand, it is also very useful for the viewers who are learning stuff free of cost or at a very low cost by sitting on a comfortable sofa in their homes. So it created a win-win situation for the masses.
• One of the most important jobs related to social media is Social media strategists and managers.
• Nowadays it is a requirement of not just small businesses or startups, most developed and established brands also need these key people for planning, development, and implementation of social media strategies of the companies.

Disadvantages of social media:

Now if talk about the cons or disadvantages of social media, unfortunately, there are so many.

Fake or false information

One of the biggest disadvantages is fake or false information, whether it is related to news, politics, finances, religion, technology, or even health.

There are so many misleading posts and videos that sometimes make some serious problems. But there are ways to get away from these issues, and that is to get your information from different social media pages or groups to get a wide view of things.

Intolerance:

Another issue related to the power of posting anything by anybody is that it is promoting Intolerance and unnecessary aggression in people.

One more thing about social media which is a bit controversial is that it is keeping people closer and much more aware about a world far away.  But, at the same time, it is keeping people so much busy that they stop seeing their close relations which are present around them.

So we should keep a balance so we can enjoy this deep ocean of knowledge and power.