Social media, a common phrase used
often these days by people of all age groups. It is widely used to
share one’s personal interest, likes and dislikes in means to convey
any information to anyone or everyone in general. There are various
social media platforms like Google Plus, Facebook, Twitter, Snap chat,
LinkedIn, Pinterest and so on which acts as a medium to connect with
the world. Social media is an unavoidable network to people. So, what
is Social Media? Social media are web-based communication tools that
enable people to interact with each other by both sharing and consuming
information.
In today’s diaspora, people acquaint themselves to various websites,
blogs, mobile apps and any new forms of technology to improve their way
of communication with each other. With the introduction of social
media, it allows millions of people to share photos, videos, text
messages and more on a regular basis. Definitely, social media can be
referred as the Revolution of our century!
How
social media came into existence? Social networks are known to have
been evolved since the internet technology was first developed in the
1960s. Later in 2003, Jonathan Abrams founded Friendster, a social
network that was popular those times and played a dominant role in
social networking. Slowly, LinkedIn and MySpace were also introduced in
their respective fields. Soon came Facebook, that was launched on
2006, it had a spurring growth of Internet users every day. In recent
times, it is revealed that Facebook is regarded as the most successful
social media network with billions of users accessing it regularly.
Advantages of Social Media
Education:
Students explore topics and gain
essential knowledge by interacting with people of various cultural
diversity.
Business:
Many companies use social media to
connect with their clients and also job seekers use it to know about
the various organizations and job opportunities.
Online Marketing:
It is a trend now- a- days to use
social media to attract buyers. Organizations are willing to invest in
online marketing and provide a platform for their customers to buy
online.
Globalization:
Social media has allowed the users to connect themselves to others globally.
Disadvantages:
Online Exploitation:
Some people hack or take advantages of others and steal valuable information to money.
Online Bullying:
It is also called as Cyber Bullying
and at extreme cases cyber stalking. These bullies remain hidden and
create threats and fuels fear among people.
Addiction:
50% of the users who fall between the
age of 15 to 35 have admitted that they are so attached to social
networks that they use them even during study and working hours.
Social media gains an inevitable
part in this tech-savvy world. If there is no parental guidance,
children tend to use these networks mindlessly for wrong cause and most
often fall as victims. It is every parent’s duty to watch their
children activities and be a supporter in times of need. Social media
having its own pros and cons, it plays an active role in our daily
lives. Using it sensibly without obsessing oneself to this platform is
the wisest usage a person can do.
S.Ragha Lakshmi,
Entreprener, Thoothukudi.
.