Assistant Professor

Department of Computer Science

Guru Nanak College

 Sri Muktsar Sahib, Punjab, India 

Abstract

Social media is one of the prevalence technologies in today’s modern society which has great influence on individuals and society. Results has proved that more than 4.7 billion people are engaged in social media. Social Media is one of the integrated approaches which combines different techniques and provides very strong platform to individuals to share opinions.  It had removed all geographical barriers and connected people with their friends, relatives and people of same interest to share their knowledge, views and messages. The effect of social media is greatly seen on the society which has both constructive and gloomy impact. It has left impact on minds, psychology and standard of living of individuals. This paper tries to focus on all such areas which has left impact on the society and also all those social sites through which sharing is possible.  

Keywords- Social Media; Society; Social Sites; Sharing; Health.

Introduction

Social media is the blend of many technologies which helps in easy access and sharing of information. It is generally user oriented so that it can grab their attention and engagement in social media. Social Media has a great influence on the contemporary society. Social media is the need of time and it cannot be denied. The development in the information and communication technology from the past few years has marked many changes in the lifestyle of the society. Many people spend maximum of their time on scrolling the social sites. The enhancement in the mobile technology is one of the key factors in blooming the social media. It has provided society with online and interactive environment in which people of common interest can exchange and share information with each other. Its effect can be seen on all age groups. But young people have great impact of social media and they spend much of their time on laptops, computers and mobiles to access Facebook, twitter, Instagram and other social sites. [Akram et al. (2017)]. Availability of internet has led to the great development in the social media sites. People of different behaviour has difference in their accessibility to social sites.  Social media has both positive and negative effects on the society. It has helped people in becoming conscious citizen in which they can stay globally connected and can enhance their skills and learning. But it has many negative effects on mental and physical health. People started living in the simulated environment which is far from the real life. [Hilal Bashir et al. (2017)]. Social media has helped researchers and scholars a lot in their research work. It has helped a lot to the businessman to enhance their business by understanding the behaviour of their consumers and their needs. This paper discusses with impact of social media in different application areas. It includes many areas as physical and mental health, business, education, consumers, society, citizen and many more. It also deals with different functionalities of social media.

Review of Literature

The research of this paper is carried out on some randomly selected journals from the field of Impact of social media in society. In the beginning only abstract analysis of different papers were done to verify their relevance for the topic. More than 60 articles were studied with different keywords for their usage regarding paper. These articles were also searched from Google scholar search engine. Out of these 40 articles were studied in complete detail for the certainty regarding topic. 20 articles were found relevant to the topic.  Textual research is carried out to derive the results. Related work is accomplished to study different application areas of the impact of social media. Social media had a great impact on society and its frequency and type of access is unique for different age groups. Almost every field is affected with the usage of social media and it has a great impact on the minds of the people and their decisions. Study of different authors and the work done by them is analysed in greater detail for the relevance of the task. Social media has both positive and negative impact on different application areas.

Some Top Social Media Platforms

With the advent of internet and advancements in technology usage of social media has increased a lot. Many social media sites are playing a great role in it as information is shared and accessed through it. There are various platforms available for it but here some popular sites are discussed through which interaction is carried out. Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram, Snapchat Instagram, Twitter, Blogs, online gaming and many others are available. These sites are expanding rapidly in today’s era. It serves as portal for information interchange and source of entertainment for young growing generation. [Hilal Bashir et al. (2017)]. Facebook is one of the most popular sites with maximum number of users visiting the sites. It is one of the platforms which keeps family members and friends in touch. [Tang-Mui Joo et al. (2017)]. Twitter is also one of very popular sites on which one can posts his messages, videos etc. Instagram is one of the social media sites in which users can share photos, videos, messages through mobile apps to public or private friend list. All these social platforms have brought a lot of changes in the behaviour and providing of online context to the users. [Tang-Mui Joo et al. (2017)].

Social Media Functionalities

Social Media has provided us with lot of uses. Different models were built providing its functionalities. It provides the researches, managers and users to configure some of its benefits that can be configured in a developing and fruitful ways.

1.     Recognition – it defines the limits to which users wants to share their identities in social platform. It includes their age, profession, gender and their location. It also includes their principles and values. [J. H. Kietzmann et al. (2011)].

2.     Conversations- social media is an interactive site so helps to share their views, experiences, knowledge with each other in real time. It helps to share more content easily in al lesser time. [Wolf et al. (2018)].

3.     Keep in touch- social media helps users to share knowledge, content and helps users to stay in touch with other by sending blogs, messages and discuss on any sensitive topics to stay in socialization.

4.     Promotion – social media helps business to promote their brands among consumers and get their feedbacks on their products. Embracing this modern and innovative trend within marketing strategies can genuinely optimize your business promotion, rendering it more efficient and effective.

5.     Reputation- Reputation on social media is like understanding how much people trust each other, including yourself. It means different things on social media platforms. Usually, it's about trust, but because technology can't easily figure out how much someone can be trusted, social media uses tools to automatically gather information from users to decide who is trustworthy. [J.H. Kietzmann et al. (2011)].

6.     Groups- Groups can mean two things on social media. First, it can be about joining a group related to a specific topic or interest. This is where users show that they are part of or interested in something specific. Second, groups can also be used by users to organize and manage their relationships with others. It's like a way for people to categorize and handle their connections online. [Wolf et al. (2018)].

7.     Sharing- This building block is all about how much users share, send, and get content. The word 'social' usually means that interactions between people are really important. It's not just about people but also about the things that help these connections happen. [Ugyal T. Lama (2018)].

 

Impact of social media on Society (Fig. 1.1)

 

Impact of social media in different Application Areas

Everybody knows that nowadays social media is a must-have for sharing our thoughts with everyone. In the past, newspapers and TV were big for getting messages out. But with technology growing, social media is now essential for any business to talk to people worldwide. Social media has its effect in almost every field.

Impact of social media on Medicine and Health

Social media affects our mental health more than our physical health. As social creatures, we rely on having people with us through thick and thin. Nowadays, we're making friends online through social media instead of meeting them face-to-face like we used to. Nowadays, a lot of people are really hooked on social media. Once someone starts using it, it's tough to stop. Getting comments and likes feels good, making it even harder to quit. Some folks end up comparing their lives to their friends' perfect-looking ones. [Hilal Bashir et al. (2017)]. Nowadays, many of us use social media like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube to find and talk to each other. It's good for some things, but it's not the same as being with people in real life. Meeting face-to-face is important because it releases hormones that help you feel less stressed and happier. It's kind of ironic that even though social media is supposed to bring people closer, spending too much time on it can make you feel more alone and make mental health issues like anxiety and depression worse. [Lawrence Robinson et al. (2023)]. Social media has offered many benefits and helped doctors often go online to read news, learn from experts, and keep up with medical progress. They talk to other doctors about patient issues and share ideas.

Impact of social media on Mental Health (Fig. 1.2)

They can also use social media to discuss challenges, refer patients, share research, and promote their work. Many doctors even talk directly to patients online to improve healthcare. This shows that social media is making a big impact on healthcare, helping both in developed and developing countries. It allows doctors to provide better healthcare to more people, and patients can use it to learn and support themselves and their communities. [Akram et al. (2017)]. Using social media can make you feel more connected and boost your confidence. Having friends online, positive interactions, and sharing funny stuff can even help reduce stress. Social media has left a lot of negative impacts as using social media might make people unhappy with how they look. Spending too much time on social media could lead to addiction and involvement in cyberbullying. Social media might contribute to behaviours like "phubbing," where people ignore those around them because they're focused on their phones. Social media use might make people feel more down. Using social media, a lot can make people feel lonelier, like they're missing out on things. People who are at risk of being addicted to social media often feel sadder and have lower self-esteem. [Agnes Zsila et al. (2023)]. The health sector can do a lot by promoting good health and preventing problems. They also support teamwork with other sectors to make things work better.

Impact of social media on Business

Social media is a big hit and because of that it is a very easy way to promote stuff online called digital marketing. It's like using the internet to tell everyone about a product or service on different online platforms. Lots of brands are thinking about using digital marketing to promote their stuff, and many of them are already doing it as part of their advertising plans. Social media is like a chatting space on the internet. It helps companies talk back and forth with the people who are interested in what they do, like their investors. In the past few years, old-fashioned ways of promoting products, like traditional ads, haven't been as good because of new internet technology.

 

This has made it harder for marketers to sell their products. But now due to social media things have changed. It lets marketers and customers talk to each other a lot more, making it better for everyone. [Motameni et al. (2014)]. Social media gives us a lot of useful information because of that there are now computer systems that can automatically analyse all this big data. This analysis helps businesses make sure their social media efforts are worthwhile and helping them reach their goals. [Yogesh K. Dwivedi et al. (2018)]. Social Media has many positive impacts on business as it helps us know what customers want and need better. Social media is great for promoting businesses worldwide. It helps in selling and keeping customers happy through regular interaction and timely customer service. Social media gives customers a rich and positive experience. By keeping an eye on social media, you can learn important things about your competitors. Sharing business-related content is quick and easy with social media. Social networking sites are useful for attracting new customers. They also provide valuable market insights, helping you go beyond what your competitors are doing online. [Akram et al. (2017)].

Impact of social media on Education

Social media is a big deal for students. It's changing how they experience things and interact with others in important ways. Many students now use smartphones and social media every day, spending their free time scrolling through them. It's a good opportunity to make that time productive and learn something. Social media platforms have changed to meet the needs of schools. Teachers, parents, and students can benefit a lot from the resources and study materials available online. Social media has greatly changed how students learn and teachers instruct in higher education. In today's era, social media helps make class stuff better, encourages positive talks and helps people work together. Social media applications can enhance class material, foster positive discussions, and support collaborative work.

 

Impact of social media on Education (Fig. 1.4)

Teachers use social media to help students think carefully, work together, and build knowledge.  [Raymond Owusu Boateng et al. (2016)]. There are many positive impacts of social media as Google is a friend has who helped 20 million students in learning. Skills were found quickly and students who were good in programming and music can easily share their videos and fulfil their dreams. Social media helps students to create awareness and many problems can be laid bare.it helps students to customize their profile and learn many basic aspects which were sometimes not taught in schools. Students can quickly hear what friends and family say about their creative work which helps them to refine their play and boost confidence in them and acts as a guide in their career track. [Vishranti Raut et al. (2016)]. Connectivism is a growing way of thinking about learning that's similar to other theories, like social constructivism. It is like testing ground for new ideas. As researchers learn more, they can make the theory better or even change it over time. social media can bring together formal and informal learning by involving everyone in digital cultures. [Christine Greenhow et al. (2016)]. It has negative side also as students get distracted in class because teachers can't tell who are paying attention. The next concern is privacy as personal information is shared on online sites. Some share inappropriate stuff that can lead students astray. Some share inappropriate stuff that can lead students astray. [Shabnoor Siddiqui et al. (2016)]. People should learn how to use social media wisely by getting training. This helps them evaluate their own use and improve their skills with the available tools. [Saleh Abdullah Alabdulkareem (2015)].

Impact of social media on Youngsters

Nowadays, social media is like a cool set of tools for young people. It's woven into their daily lives, and they use various media and devices to chat with friends and groups. In the past, youngsters mainly stayed in touch with friends from school or college. But now, they're not only connected to known friends but also to unknown people through social networking sites and instant messaging. [Shabnoor Siddiqui et al. (2016)]. Online networks allow people to be anonymous, meaning they can lie and misbehave without facing consequences. In social media, it's hard to trust who someone really is. Lies, deception, and cybercrime are common. In academic work, where individual effort is crucial, anonymity becomes a big problem. Some websites let students download, buy, or even pay for essays, faking their own work. Anonymity also leads to misbehaviour, like cyberbullying, because there's no social control. [Natascha et al.) (2014)]. In the year 2020, COVID-19 caused a lot of problems for everyone around the world, including Italy. During this time, more people started using the internet and devices like smartphones. A report in 2021 found that almost all teenagers (95%) in Italy use smartphones, and many of them (59%) use it more than three hours every day. But when young people use the internet without guidance, there are risks. Some kids (7% of 11-13 years old and 5.2% of 14-17 years old) experience cyberbullying. On social media, young people can be more vulnerable and might show risky behaviours like using drugs, engaging in sexual activities, or being violent. [Elena Bozzola et al. (2022)].  In 2013, BBC News reported that 67% of Facebook users were young people and students. This suggests that young people are highly involved in social media. However, the downside comes when students engage in unethical activities on these platforms. This includes sharing unnecessary information and posting images that could harm the national dignity and foreign relations of a country. [Ghulam Shabir et al.) (2014)]. Using social media has various benefits like finding humour and entertainment, self-awareness, and innovative ideas. One of the well-known advantages is social connection as 81% of teens say it helps them feel more connected to their friends. It's important to create ways, based on evidence, to encourage young people to use social media in a healthy manner. We should also use these methods to effectively check and help with mental health and provide support when needed. [Jacqueline Nesi (2020)].

Impact of social media on Society

Social media has changed the way how we talk, share things, and see stuff. It's good because it lets everyone share and connect but it also has bad parts like wrong information spreading and people being mean online. Lots of people use Facebook about one in four people worldwide. The more people use it the stronger and more popular it becomes because it's all about people connecting and talking to each other. Websites where people talk to each other like social media let you find and talk to old friends, colleagues, and mates. They also help you make new friends and share things like messages, images, sounds, and videos. Social media can also change how people live and interact in society. [Akram et al. (2017)]. Effective communication goes beyond taking turns in conversations. The main focus is on immediacy which means feeling connected and engaged. This principle involves active dialogue, attention, and a sense of togetherness. Talking and connecting with others is important. The key is being quick and showing interest, like using names, being open, and understanding different cultures. This works in person offline or online, like on Facebook. This study looks at these ideas to see if they make online chats better and improve relationships. [Tang-Mui Joo et al. (2017)]. With the advent of new technology and everyone being connected globally, the world feels much smaller. Social media creates a "global village" by bringing together people from different cultures. When adapting to a new country, individuals use social media to learn about their host country, build and sustain relationships, and stay updated on events in their home countries.[Sawyeretal.(2012)].
Social media has positive effects such as it helps in connecting with others and maintaining relationships, expressing oneself and sharing personal perspectives, providing assistance and encouragement to those in need, facilitating the quick and widespread dissemination of information, supporting the establishment and growth of businesses, building credibility and expertise in a particular area, inspiring and motivating the younger generation, fostering creativity through sharing and collaboration.

Conclusion

Social media is a super helpful way for people to talk and stay in touch with friends from different places. We can share ideas, learn new things, and even sell stuff without spending a lot on ads. It makes things develop quickly. Social media effects are complicated and differ for each person. Social media is really good for many things but it has both good and bad sides. Since it's so easy to use, some people forget how to talk in society. And sadly, some folks use it to bully others. Some people even do illegal stuff on social media which is not smart. Social media lets us share things globally but using it too much can affect our relationships and society overall. It’s true that social media can help us grow personally and professionally. We should welcome it but we also need to know when to take a break. Social media really changed our lives making things easier in the 21st century. But we need to be careful how we use it. If we use it smartly, it can be a positive change for us. Social media helps students, teachers, and parents get information easily. It also lets people talk and share their thoughts with the whole world right away. Using social media too much can make some people lose touch with their family. Spending too many hours on it can also cause health issues like strain, eye problems, tiredness, and distraction. Studying this topic is complicated but there are so many ideas to explore. The possibilities are endless.

References

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