Essay Sample on Rise of Social Media: Interaction, Behaviour, Impact

Introduction

The rise of social media led to an increase in the level of interaction between different people and organizations. The social network, also called social media, consists of diverse social actors, individuals, who often tend to express their feelings or thoughts in different issues affecting them and other people. Additionally, social media is a reflection of the society; it encompasses the expression of human behaviours as well as the exposure of various factors that may impact the life of an individual. In modern times, most people prefer sharing their thoughts and visions over social media to obtain support and adopt new styles or approaches to life (McDowell & Morda, 2011). With the presence of many friends on online platforms, the majority of people prefer to use social media to express their thoughts and their status in life. With the increased use of social media, nothing is private because the culture has become self-expressive. In other words, people, especially social media users, believe that a problem that is shared is half solved (McDowell & Morda, 2011). Succinctly, people have a belief that to hide one's thoughts is to pretend not to have those feelings, Social media, therefore, allow people to express their honesty by showing every inclination and impulse. Even though some people believe that expressing oneself over the social media platforms can lead to cyberbullying, identity theft, social engineering attacks, addiction and depressions, and stalking, it brings more benefits as it allows the sharing of information and thereafter obtaining relevant support from both known and unknown friends and other individuals who may be in close cycle (McDowell & Morda, 2011). Therefore, just as David Velleman's view, it is true to say that modern culture has become too admissive and self-expressive.

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In society, people, children, teens, and adults share their lives every day. Even before the rise of social media, these people used to meet and share information about their experiences. However, during the time, as a result of lack of communication skills as well as the fear to express some of the feelings, people could not find the right platform to express some of their private thought given the face to face interaction. However, with the increased use of social media, people can freely express their feelings with many friends from different parts of the globe. Social media is a platform where millions of people share various aspects of their lives every day; it is therefore perceived as a platform of self-expression as well as a place or a site for sharing interesting information. Even though the social media platforms were created to be enjoyable by enabling people to connect with others, in most cases, it has been perceived as unrealistic because some people argue that it only portrays the relevant aspects of people's lives. However, there are groups of people or social media users who do not usually feel ashamed to post anything about their lives or whatever they want. For the few individuals who are capable of overlooking the prospects of the stress of judgement from the social media platforms, using it has become fun. To them, they have a strong belief that nothing is private and that self-expression is essential for it enables people to share their problems and after that get over it.

With the freedom of expression and the need to share information, it has become fun to share, post the collection of memories with social media friends and not to become worried on what to post makes the social media and the social life simple and enjoyable. While on social media, people usually tend to expose much of their information on online platforms. In most cases, it is not uncommon to find people posting pictures of parties, journey and many other different good moments, a situation that may interfere with their privacy, however, the social media platforms have the options for the above actions and therefore some people, knowingly or unknowingly may find themselves using these features of social media platforms. In some cases, the users may put themselves in danger while using different features of social media platforms. With the increase in the use of social media, nothing is private millions of people are able to see the expression made by some people. With platforms such as Facebook, hiding information may become a challenge as all the data is available to everyone. Social media platforms are readily available, and this makes the privacy to become very difficult. Just by a click of a button on the phone, one is able to express their feelings. Additionally, through social interaction, one can find their information on social media sites without themselves posting. A friend can tag someone, and that will automatically show their feelings and thoughts in a given situation.

In most cases, in society, individuality is essential, and as a result, people are always encouraged to express themselves to indicate what makes them unique (Jayson, 2014). The above situation, therefore, forces many people, especially the students and the teenagers to become less terrified of being ridiculed or judged by their peers and the society at large. In the end, they turn to social media platforms, including Facebook, to become what they want to be in the face of many people (CBS News, 2010). Although social media accounts are beneficial for some people in terms of creating a positive environment, some people use them to post videos and photos of them making negative decisions, a scenario which could harm their personalities in future. In modern society, coupled with different social media sites, people are not ashamed of becoming themselves on the internet, individually if they possess photos of themselves interacting within the community around them. However, a line needs to be drawn specifically when they are endangering how they are perceived by the public.

In the modern world, as stated by David Velleman, it is true that social media is full of self-expression and narcissism and even though these are part of social interaction even outside the social media platforms, they may put one at risk specifically in the social media sites. In many cases, people have experienced cyberbullying as a result of narcissist expressions on social media platforms (CBS News, 2010). Some of these cases have led to suicidal cases. Also, cyberbullying often leads to the loss of self-esteem and pride to progress with the processes of social interactions. Even though there are ways to protect individual privacy over the social sites, majority of people do not always bother to secure or limit the number of viewers to their posts, a situation that leads to the spread of information being shared (CBS News, 2010).

The accessibility of social media platforms makes it easier for people to rush to post information without verification. In other words, the modern generation has become deeply engrained in social sites, and as a result, they always want to post anything that crosses their minds. Succinctly, individuals often want to create a point of awareness to attract attention from the social network; this is a societal perception (Jayson, 2014). Posting unverified information may implicate other people in the social network. In other words, one may injure the reputation of other innocent users who may be engaged in these platforms for different reasons rather than self-reflection and narcissism (Alyssa, 2014). Too much information on an individual's life on social media may prove to be dangerous. It may cause addiction and depression.

In some cases, social media addiction has been associated with poor academic performance and mental health. Also, some studies link social media to the loss of self-esteem in different circumstances. Understanding the consequences, remedies, and causes of social media addiction is therefore essential (Dailey, 2010). Given that social media is currently a prominent and a ubiquitous force in different learning institutions such as universities, the constant interaction with others via different platforms may redefine the perceptions of the students when it comes to the engagements in various activities. Some research studies have discovered that young adults and students in various universities discuss substance abuse and other malicious activities that may change their behaviours. In many instances, over social media, there are lots of negative discussions that may lead to the infliction of negative perceptions among the students (Alyssa, 2014). Studies examining marijuana, alcohol, and tobacco-related posts on Twitter has revealed that the overwhelming majority of posts promote or normalize the use of the above substances (Dailey, 2010).

Identity theft and catfishing are on the rise due to too many posts that avail a lot of individual information over the social media platforms. For instance, with the spread of many pictures online, there are individuals who are able to steal the faces of people for different malicious uses. Through data mining processes, one can obtain millions of data on social media site users. Child endangerment is also another concern that arises from too many posts on social media platforms. In most cases, every individual wants to become famous and social media provides the best platform for them to showcase what they have and whatever they can offer to society (Dailey, 2010). The idea place to look for fame, therefore, becomes common social sites that connect millions of users in the global perspectives. These sites provide ideal platforms for people to express themselves and become popular. Succicinlty, they promote the brand building as well as job connections.

Conclusion

In conclusion, modern cultures have been reflected on social media platforms. Through Facebook and other social media sites, individuals have become confessional and self-reflective. These platforms enable people to become honest with their lives and express themselves in order to share their thoughts and sentiments. However, too much exposure to social sites may lead to dangers including cyberbullying, identity theft, addiction and depression, child endangerment and stalking. Besides, there is a positive result of too much exposure to social sites. It may lead to brand-building and job networking. Additionally, some people secure what they post; however, with the rise of hacking and unauthorized access to information, some individuals messages may be stolen for malicious purposes. Too much sharing of information in the social media sites may also put one at risk of sharing private, which are critical.

References

Alyssa, G.(2014). 6 ways social media can ruin your life. Retrieved from: https://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2014/05/21/ways-social-media-can-ruin-your- life/St8vHIdqCLk7eRsvME3k5K/story.html

CBS News (2010).Five Hidden Dangers of Facebook. CBSNEWS. Retrieved from: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/five-hidden-dangers-of-facebook/

Dailey, K. (2010). 10 Ways Facebook Can Ruin Your Life. Retrieved from: https://www.newsweek.com/10-ways-facebook-can-ruin-your-life-222948

Jayson, S. (2014). Social media research raises privacy and ethics issues. USA Today, 8.

McDowell, M., & Morda, D. (2011). Socializing securely: using social networking services. United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), Washington, DC.