Social media are web-based applications for global communication and information access. Majority of daily social interactions now happen via social media.
Advantages
- Social media have made communication with your friends, family and professional network very easy and accessible.
- Through social media like Skype, you can actually have live video and audio calls with your distant family, in different towns, cities, and even in foreign lands at the other end of the world.
- Through social media like Facebook, you can share your daily life experiences with not only your friends and family, but with a much wider global audience.
- Through social media like LinkedIn, professionals can stay connected and expand their professional network globally. The process of talent acquisition has become very easy.
- Through social media like WhatsApp, messengers, etc., you can stay connected in real time, on a daily and minute-to-minute basis with your immediate family and friends.
- Social media have also become channels of transmitting educational and training materials to a global audience. Various students take online classes through social media.
- Social media offer opportunities for online working opportunities. Jobs like consulting, freelancing can be done easily from the comfort of your home or office.
- Through social media, businesses can access a global market and clientele for their goods and services.
- Social media are also an excellent channel for online marketing and advertising. Email campaigns, online marketing campaigns have become very common and effective as a result.
- Social media are also an excellent tool for assistance in emergency situations e.g. medical emergencies, crime, etc. to seek medical, police or legal help.
Disadvantages
- Social media addiction has become a major psychological problem in today’s world.
- Age-inappropriate content can very easily be shared and accessed through social media. Precautions need to be taken by parents to protect children from these risks.
- With social media reaching into everyone’s homes, people’s privacy can be under threat. We need to take extra precautions to safe-guard our privacy.
- Cybercrime has reached a new level of complexity with social media giving access into people’s personal lives.
- Social media as a means of unwanted advertising and marketing, can become a nuisance.
- Social media are sometimes used by anti-social elements.
Conclusion
Though social media are a great way to stay in touch with your social network in real time, it is important to be wary of their addiction potential.
By Janhavi
EdgeArticles 