Kareema Vernon

Professor Kim Pearson

Chapter 1 Exercises

February 16, 2017

    

 

In today’s day and age social media plays a major part in sharing news. The popularity of social media platforms is because of the efficiency of time. People want information fast and don’t want to wait for it. Therefore, they are able to share their opinions about different stories at the same time the stories are posted. This is why social media has gained so much attention lately due to its accessibility. Allowing many people to become their own journalists in a way because they are able to tell their own stories and share other people’s stories. So has social media caused people to lose interest in real news sources or has it sparked a more effective way of news sharing.

Well there are various different social media platforms there’s facebook which became very popular in 2009. Then after this there was twitter, instagram, and snapchat which are all used by millions of people all around the world. Every Time there is a world event or just normal everyday life people use these  platforms as ways to use the world as their audience. All of these social media networks allow users to post  pictures, words , and videos to express their personal feelings towards any subject. There has never been an outlet since social media which allowed the viewers to have a voice. A voice that many people want to hear so they can share their opinions as well toward the subjects.

In addition they can use the social media platform as a way of showing support for one another. If someone has a company they can show it off on social media. Then other people will rave about the company and talk about the products which is a profitable  marketing scheme. This marketing works because then it is not only the people you know seeing these products but people you have never met. Social media has allowed the startup and growth of many beginning companies. As well as given beneficial opportunities to many individuals because of the exposure that they received. There are many people who actually make a living using social media as their mean of income.

Social media is also a good way to meet people you never usually would. Since it is accessible to people all over the world. Therefore, you can make connections business wise and personal. This allows people to build a network of people who they can go to for help in the future. Whether they need an internship and they know someone who can help them or if they are moving to a city and wanna learn more about it. Social media allows you to open your mind to various opportunities because of the people you meet.

However, there are dangers in interacting with people over social media. Sometimes people pretend to pose as people they aren’t just to meet knew people online. There was a popular tv show written about this issue called Catfish. People would lie and trick other people for their own gain. As shocking as that is it happens more than you think and sometimes lives are put in danger through using social media. There have been cases of people who have stalked certain individuals through geotags and locations which are linked to their pictures. Many crimes have been committed due to this security risk which using social media can have. This is why the social media websites have a security warning when you sign up as a member to make one aware of the dangers.

With that being said social media is a productive platform even though there are dangers that exist within it. It allows people to network and tackle difficult social issues along with creating new opportunities. Social media also allows people to connect with many individuals due to the global interaction . Then this online community creates a chance for making  global change.