Social Media in Modern Times

Social networking has become integral part of the way people live in modern times. 47% of American adults use social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Classmates.com and the number is growing. Present global user base of Facebook is three times the population of the US. People are developing their profiles on social media sites, communicating with friends and strangers, sharing ideas, photos, music links and much more.

Social networking sites encourage online interaction with friends and family members and erase geographical boundaries. The credit goes to technological ingenuity of visionaries who made irreversible impact on the way the world interacts. There is some criticism against social networking that the sites prevent face-to-face communication, waste time on frivolous activity and later spoil children’s behavior and expose users to predators like pedophiles and burglars; and spread false and potentially dangerous information.

However, over the years, social networking among college students and youth has become more and more popular. It is a way to make connections, not only on campus, but with friends outside of school. Social networking is a way that helps many people feel as though they belong to a community. I see social networking as using major social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube, blogs, Twitter, MySpace, or LinkedIn etc. for this discussion.

Whether one likes or not, social media has entered our lives and it will seek to play bigger role in the lives of millions of people across the globe. They way forward is to utilize the media for the benefit of all of us and the society around us. In this post I’m discussing the impact of social media on the society, not on business. Perhaps the impact of social media on business can be covered in future posts.

Social Media Penetration

The number of social media users are expected to grow 17 per cent to reach 91 million in urban India by December 2013, on the back of rising Internet penetration due to increasing affordability of smart phones and availability of cost effective data plans. The number of social media users in urban India reached 78 million by June 2013. It is said facebook is the leading website accessed by 96 per cent of all social media users and it is most used to connect with friends, publishing content and searching contacts.

Some social media networks have a more active user-base than others. Statistical research reveals that more than 95 percent of Facebook users log into their account every day. The same number for Twitter is 60 percent and for LinkedIn is 30 percent. In order to cut costs, businesses are now avoiding websites like LinkedIn, which have a very small reach in terms of market impact, because their users are not active when compared with Facebook or Twitter.

Facebook, Twitter, Google+ - a whole new world 

With Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other social networks we have become much aware of the world we are living in and this is one of the changes being talked about. Social Networking giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ have contributed to create a whole new world where we are free to express our opinion and share it with our friends and peers. This world of social media gives scope to everyone to express and share ideas, thoughts and feelings, who want to be the part of it. Here are some areas where they have made significant impact.

News and updates- 65% of social media users get their breaking news through social networking sites. While the credibility of some sources can clearly be contested, news channels tweet or give updates on significant happenings all over the world. This becomes more important when the credibility of TV Channels becomes questionable especially in countries like India. We see every news paper and TV Channel clearly serving interests of one or other political party making neutral reporting the casualty. Other news sources through social media come in handy in such scenarios. TV Channels with their focus on TRP ratings are losing the bigger battle to other sources of news and their popularity and credibility may go down if they don't do something innovative to retain viewership.

Interactions- Social media has furthered interaction by such a massive scale that is hard not to notice it. It allows people to keep in touch in a more regularly, and sometimes, more intimately, than was ever before because of time and space constraints. People cities or continents apart can keep in touch so effortlessly, making distance irrelevant. Twitter has become a self-promotional tool used by celebrities. For those who like to “follow” their favorite celebrities, they can get instant updates about where their favorite singer or actor is, what they are doing, how they are feeling, etc. 

Political Influence - Social media has enabled greater political awareness and organization, which has in some cases rewritten entire political landscapes. It has particularly played a large part in the Iran elections, and Obama’s reelection for a second term as US President, and inspired the political unrests in Egypt. In India nobody can ignore the role played by social media in Delhi rape case. National Political parties like BJP and Congress are competing with each other in reaching out to youth through the SN sites. Both PM candidates are in the social media race, with Modi leading the race with his early catcher advantage. 

Verification of Credentials - Companies are increasingly turning to social media sites to peep into the candidate's profiles to find out what kind of a person the candidate is based his/her social behavior and check emotional aspects as well, in addition to career history. The kind of friends you have also is a factor that defines your personality. One would do well to demonstrate responsibility in one’s online behavior. The candidate’s past behavior is critically examined by recruiters to find out the fitment of a person into the role they have in their organizations and avoid bad hires, especially at senior levels.

Marketing -The whole dynamics of marketing have been changed, and rather than investing in mass channels ads, companies are becoming more consumer-centered through interactions made over social media. They are able to understand the needs of the market from the market itself, greatly altering the way marketing has been done in the past. 

Law Enforcement - investigating agencies are actively using social networking sites to nab the criminals who indulge in unlawful activities, thus improving the quality of evidence and enhancing their effectiveness.

While it is good to be up-to-date and leverage technology for the benefit of family and friends, one should avoid the pit falls of networking. Whether to use social networking site or not is an individual decision to many. But you must be aware of certain things when discussing your private life in public. These are some of the tips that can make you and your family safe on the networking sites.

1. Change the profile privacy now. Keep your information accessible only to people in your friend list.

2. Don’t accept friendship request from strangers. Most often we judge a particular person online, by his/her profile picture and personal information. This is the first mistake that cyber criminals wanted us to do.

3. Don’t post very personal information on the profile. It includes your email id, date of birth, contact number, home address and information about your family members.

4. Be cautious while posting your photo. Ensure your photo background doesn't show about your actual whereabouts.

5. Don’t post your current location when on a tour. Posting this information on social networking site is just like inviting criminals to your home.

6. Don’t post negative things about your life. This is just like maligning your own image. Your friends are monitoring your activity and one such mistake can cause havoc in future.

7. Don’t substitute real friends with virtual friends. Facebook/Twitter is a great tool to connect new people across world. But they can never be your real friends. You need real friends to enhance your social image and reduce stress and anxiety. Real friends can be part of your friends list though.

8. Avoid using Social networking sites in work hours. When you try to use social networking sites during work hour, it not only affects your work performance but also increases chances of getting fired.

9. Keep a check on children’s social media usage. Checking facebook every 15 minutes, chatting with friends can be a time killer and effect children’s academic performance and can also lead to undesirable consequences.

Please remember when you are making a post on social networking site, you are broadcasting your message to your present friends and future friends as well. There are software tools coming up,  which scan through all the postings of a user and based on the content posted, report the personality, likes and dislikes of a user. The consumer of the report could be your boss or future employer! Does it mean that you remain inactive all through and present dull behavior? You don't have to.

Happy Social Networking!