The pros and cons of social networking

It is a fact that 74% of us internet users own a social networking account. When I first started using social networking sites, it was Bebo, MySpace and Youtube that dominated the scene. Now the tables have turned, the more popular and modern forms of social networking are Facebook and Twitter taking the internet by storm. Facebook was said to have 1.32 billion active users in June and Twitter 236 million.

Each social media site has a different audience, For example, it is my mums generation who dominate Facebook where as our generation use Twitter. There is a definite pattern visible of who uses these sites on a more frequent basis due to who is constantly updating their profile.

Social media is a great creation. It enables people to maintain contact with those who live across the world and it does not charge you for doing so. It enables people to share their everyday life going ons with their friends and family members. It is a great way to form a community and create groups and events. It also enables you to discover yourself and word your opinion, it is your own personal profile that you can adapt however you want to and I think this is an important factor in becoming your own person and discovering interests. For my A2 Media Studies exam we studied three music artists (Iggy Pop, Lady Gaga and Arctic Monkeys). Part of the study consisted of learning how social media can impact the career and success of an artist. I was amazed to see how helpful social media is to artists in forming a large fan base. Social networking allows the fans to feel closer to the artists, additionally promoting the artists own work and tours as they do so. Through social media you can promote any products by publicising it in a place where it is bound to be viewed by its target audience, for example YouTube adverts. As annoying as they may seem you can't escape them, resulting in being viewed by a large scale audience. Social media additionally allows the creator to get the topic 'trending' drawing furthermore media attention to the issue as it becomes of popular discussion online. 

Although social media has continuous pros it also, like everything, has its cons. Social media is highly addictive. Last year the daily mail stated that the average person checks their phone more than 1,500 times a week- I admit I am probably a culprit of this. Facebook is the third most popular app on the app store with Instagram and Snapchat coming in at 6th and 7th place. We become so reliant on our phones and the need to check yourself in on Facebook in almost every situation (may I add bad or good) is getting to a stage of embarrassing. 20% of people state that the internet has a negative impact on their relationship, I find this believable. So many arguments between friends, family and partners are caused through social media. In my opinion communication via social media and text message can lead to a misinterpretation of information and this is how arguments are caused. We have all had the "why have you liked her photo" conversation but as paranoid females this is normal, just make sure he doesn't do it again ;). 

Additionally, we have all witnessed a 'Facebook argument' over something quite irrelevant and as observers we sit there behind out computer screen with popcorn, watching who is next to fight back with a witty or insulting comment. It's entertaining yet pathetic and in most instances who cares? Discuss this in a private environment without the moral support of your peers or even face to face. Anyone can be threatening behind a computer screen but is it the case in person? I highly doubt it. Social media to some people is viewed as a competition of 'who can boast the most about how well their child has done with their exams' or 'who can take the best selfie'. It is great to share your success and happy moments in life but not every single second of the day.

I could carry on ranting about this for hours but I think this is turning into more of a speech than a blog post!