08-17-2017, 12:37 AM
social networking a boon or bane
Over the last decade the popularity of social networking sites has risen to a massive scale. People seem to love the idea of communicating with each other through pictures, videos, messages and voice mails than talking face to face.
It was mostly teenagers and young adults who used the social media but now, even our grandparents are catching up with the trend of following celebrities on Twitter and regularly updating their profile pictures on Facebook.
Nowadays, most of the youth spend hours on popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc. Our private space has been invaded by social media, there are very few things that others cannot find out about us with a click.
Similar to the characteristics of a young child who wants a new toy after he gets bored of playing with the old ones, the youth is also looking for new things to keep themselves busy and discard anything that is outdated.
Hence, the changing trend of social media! Earlier, a social networking website like Orkut was a fad amongst the youth. But slowly the interest of the youth developed and they wanted something new, that is when Mark Zuckerberg saw an opportunity in the social media market and invented a new social networking website called Facebook, taking the world by storm. His website gained popularity like an epidemic, making other social networking websites bite the dust.
Social media is a platform where the youth can form groups and discuss upon various topics ranging from music to education and politics to films. It is also an opportunity for young entrepreneurs to market their business ideas and promote them by creating a page. This helps the youth in building connections and opportunities for their career. One can showcase their talents here as well!
But every medal has its own reverse. So, there are some cons of using the social networking sites too.
The internet is a place to interact with new people and a way to expose yourself to strangers. One should be cautious while using social media. There are risks of your account being hacked by someone else and they can pretend to be you by stealing your identity in the virtual world.
People often create fake profiles of themselves and put display pictures of famous personalities. Many predators and sexual offenders are also found using social networking sites. They trick others into believing that they are trustworthy but instead deceive innocent people who are easy targets, especially young children.
This gives rise to crime and provides an opportunity for perverts and pedophiles to look for vulnerable victims on the internet. As most teenagers and young adults are looking to make new friends on social media, they are not exposed to the real world. They are unaware of the fact that it is a cruel world where people often take advantage of others for their own benefit. Parents should be careful regarding such matters and keep a check on what their children are up to.
Though social media has revolutionised the world by bringing us closer than ever, it should be used to stay connected with our family and friends i.e. for necessary conversations.
The future of social networking sites look promising but people will have to deal with the problems associated with it.
One of the most common questions asked these days when you meet someone new is are you on Facebook? or do you follow Twitter? . It is great to see how social networking has completely changed how people communicate and network with each other. It has become a necessity for people to be on social networking sites which offer multi-functions, as it not only keeps you in touch or updated with your friends and folks but also gives you vital information and news from round the world. The popularity of such websites has become so high that if someone is not using these social networking sites, it seems really strange. Thoughts like how can he/she miss out on such a great thing keeps striking your mind. Such is the power of social networking today.
People in today s lives cannot imagine their lives without them. A person s day starts with opening the Facebook or Twitter or Snapchat app on their phone, and ends with a last look at the tweets or their wall on Facebook. Smart phones have really accelerated the use of such media in today s time. One of the most interesting things is that now adults are using this technology more than the younger demographic.
One of the main reasons for people to use top social networking sites Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter and alike social networking media is that in today s time, it is not possible to be in touch with everyone face to face, especially the ones who stay far from you. Life is busy and everyone understands that. So services like these provide a great platform to be in touch, chat, post pictures and connect with everyone. It has infact proved to be a great tool for business marketing and to promote different products and services.
A lot of students say that virtual chat rooms available on these sources are helpful in solving their queries. During exams, many students have commented that Whastapp groups have proved to be very handy, where many notes and answers are exchanged.
Apart from the growing popularity of these social networking sites, there are also people who do not support this growing trend due to its negative impact on society. Everyone you see around you is hooked to some gadget or social media on their phones. We have become slaves to the modern ways of communication, and it is hampering the face to face modes of connecting with each other. Lot of people argue that because of high influence of such social networking sites, people now feel better while expressing online than talking over the phone or meeting in person. Communication has definitely become rapid but at the cost of personal interaction.
If observed carefully, the amount of outdoor activities have slowly declined amongst school going children, as they are found either operating Facebook through their parents account or they are busy playing PlayStation or busy with some gadget or the other. Social networking is the hot topic amongst youngsters and everyone wants to be alive and kicking on it sharing pictures and making likes and dislikes, all in a race to get the maximum number of following. This has given many software developers another reason to invent new applications in tune with the contemporary demand and style. However problem arises when people overuse them and get disconnected from the realities and joys of life. Being forever on these sites have made people compromise on their social life, resulting in sinking of real and warm connections of life. Another negative impact of social networking is the high number of cases of cyber bullying that it has given birth to.
The point is to not demean social networking but to remind all of us that there comes a time when people do need to draw boundary between the real world and the virtual one. These sites are doing way better than they are expected to, but we as humans are under doing what we need to towards our friends and family. Let technology not master you. Let us take that moment to keep our phones and laptops aside to go and meet our friends over a coffee, relish great food made by your mum over the dinner table in peace, and let s get connected to real face to face communication and use social networking within the limits of balance of your life. Social networking thus is definitely a boon to the society but overuse and illegal use of it can surely hamper your life and can be an issue of ban.
