SOCIAL MEDIA: SOCIETAL IMPACT

Social media is an international communication tool. It is very important to note that various social media networks exist and they are all very distinct from one another. Every individual feature of each social media network marks it distinct from the other. Some social media platforms are targeted towards linking with other users via general discussions in form of comments. Long standing accounts are often bought to acquire a long chain of solid followers to boost interaction with other users. Some users decide to buy aged Facebook accounts for this purpose.

A bunch of other social media networks are used primarily as a messaging tool while others are very useful in providing reviews about various brands. Examples of social media are Instagram,Quora, Reddit, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, LinkedIn, Telegram etc.

Impacts of social media on the society
• There are disparities in the accessibility of the internet by individuals, families and certain demographical regions. Financial status of these parties greatly matters.Due to this factor, some social media platforms have made lite versions of their platforms available. These versions operate on far less data while providing similar experiences to these users. This has really helped less privileged regions to have access to social media networks with less impact to their pockets. A very good example is the lite version of Facebook. It runs at a lower data rate and is similar to the original version.

• Social media influences the belief of its users. Social media networks have various kinds of users. These users have different origins and backgrounds. They also do possess different ideologies. Most users form the habit to consistently post these ideas and opinions for public view. Consistent exposure to the same pattern of ideas gradually forms an unconscious root in the individual. Political polarization is immensely affected by social media via exposure. A user’s political belief can be majorly affected by the information gotten from social media networks.

• Social media has hugely affected the relations between youths of this present generation. Young people of various origins converge online and interact freely. This has increased the use and brought about the existence of various abbreviations. Abbreviations such as ifykyk (if you know, you know), LOL (laughing out loud), dfkm, FYI (for your information) etc. Hashtags are also popular on these platforms. These hashtags are used to mark certain events.

• Social media has proven to be a big factor in activism. Activists are able to proclaim their beliefs through these platforms. This comes in handy during protests and revolutions. Social media raises awareness of these protests.

Conclusion
Social media is very capable of improving relations between youth today as well as making young individuals easy targets of peer pressure. Cyber bullying and stalking are also downsides of social media.
The safety of the privacy of users might not also be guaranteed. This is because social media platforms commonly affiliate with third party’ companies. If the affiliated companies are incompetent, it could lead to leak of private user information.