Social Media and Its Positive Impact in the Contemporary Society Paper Example

The research will be based on the topic of Social Media and its Positive Impacts in the Contemporary Society implying that it is aimed at discussing social media and its various advantageous roles in the 21st century.

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Research questions

• What is social media?
• How has it influenced the people around the world?
• Who has benefited most from the social media?
• How can individuals enhance their lives and activities through the social media?
• How effective is social media compared to other elements that can be used for similar purposes?
• What should be done to ensure that the limitations of social media are as minimal as possible?

Thesis Statement

Since the invention of social media slightly over two decades ago, it has had significant positive social, political and economic implications on the lives of its users as they undertake various daily activities.

Working main points

My working points include the following.

• Social media is a technology communication tool that has transformed the world and how activities are conducted significantly.
• The benefits associated with social media are incomparable to the demerits.
• The technology communication tool positively impacts the social engagement of people worldwide.
• Social media significantly enhances performance in businesses
• Social media influences what happens in the political realm across the globe

Topic importance: This topic is critical since it is an argumentative claim of value that will identify and support social media as good thing utilized by people to improve and enhance their lives in different dimensions.

Keywords: Social media, social engagement, economic, political, communication, technology, public

Sources

Agichtein, Eugene, et al. "Finding high-quality content in social media." Proceedings of the 2008 international conference on web search and data mining. ACM, 2008.

The source is essential to the research as it leads to an article that includes several pieces of research done by various scholars concerning how social media can be utilized to obtain quality and helpful information. The information in the report provides the evidence required to support the argument that social media has benefited many users around the spectrum. Additionally, there are detailed discussions concerning the benefits of using social media in the contemporary society of which they are fundamental aspects of this research. Furthermore, the source is reliable because it involves participants aware of the current technological trends.

Bertot, John C., Paul T. Jaeger, and Justin M. Grimes. "Using ICTs to create a culture of transparency: E-government and social media as openness and anti-corruption tools for societies." Government information quarterly 27.3 (2010): 264-271.

The article by Bertot et al. is a critical source for this research since it involves discussions about one of the various ways social media is utilized positively. They are about how governments can use the social media as a component to create transparency and be a reliable tool in fighting against corruption in the modern societies. By integrating it with other ICT efforts, it can enhance the government's performance and ensure that activities affecting the ordinary citizens are conducted with openness. Hence, the source will aid in strengthening the argumentative claim that social media is positively impacting the people in various distinctive ways.

Couldry, Nick. Media, society, world: Social theory and digital media practice. Polity, 2012.

The source leads to a book authored by Nick Couldry and is about the impacts the media include the digital platforms has had in the development of the social organization and people's living cultures in the contemporary society. One of the primary objectives of this research is to establish how the social media has transformed the social world in the world; hence, this book is a fundamental aspect where vital information can be collected as evidence to the argumentative claim. Moreover, it is a primary source implying that the author has conducted sufficient study when writing so it can be relied upon to provide accurate information.

Curtis, Lindley, et al. "Adoption of social media for public relations by nonprofit organizations." Public Relations Review36.1 (2010): 90-92.

The article involves a standardized study by Curtis et al. on how public relations professionals have adopted the recent trends in technology to reach out to many people. It is difficult for them to engage and interact with the public considering that the practitioners have limited resources. Thus, by utilizing the current advances in technology including social media, they can get to many people without consuming much resources and time. The source, therefore, is credible and reliable for this research since it provides more supporting information to the stated thesis statement.

Eyrich, Nina, Monica L. Padman, and Kaye D. Sweetser. "PR practitioners' use of social media tools and communication technology." Public relations review 34.4 (2008): 412-414.

The article by Eyrich et al. is about research on how the public relations industry have adopted and recognized the technology communication tools such as social media as ideal components to enable them to circulate information to a broader audience. Moreover, the professionals have admitted that the online tools of communication have made their jobs easier and cost-effective as compared with offline means of engaging with the public. The journal corresponds to the research's thesis statement as it provides additional primary information to support the claim. Furthermore, it is an ideal and reliable source because the study has complied with the relevant principles of research.

Gil de Zuniga, Homero, Nakwon Jung, and Sebastian Valenzuela. "Social media use for news and individuals' social capital, civic engagement and political participation." Journal of ComputerMediated Communication 17.3 (2012): 319-336.

Gil de et al. discuss the significance of social media in ensuring democracy is respected in the countries where it is practiced. The empirical study affirms that social network sites create enhanced means for the public to acquire and deliberate on information affecting them either directly or indirectly. The people have the power to influence the political realm while using their freedom of expression. Thus, the technology communication tool gives the citizen to express their opinions on how they are being led. The journal, therefore, is essential for the study since it provides accurate and reliable information to elaborate on the main discussions sufficiently.

Hanna, Richard, Andrew Rohm, and Victoria L. Crittenden. "We're all connected: The power of the social media ecosystem." Business horizons 54.3 (2011): 265-273.

As stated in this research's thesis statement, this article involves a study of how businesses have integrated the tool of social media as their marketing communication strategy. It has enabled them to reach out to as many customers as possible by promoting and selling their brands online. Additionally, companies have been able to reach out successfully to some of the most critical consumers including the young people, and this has enhanced the expansion of businesses. Therefore, using this journal as a reference to the journal is essential since it has credible information on how social media has impacted communication in business.

Kaplan, Andreas M., and Michael Haenlein. "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media." Business horizons 53.1 (2010): 59-68.

The journal by Kaplan et al. offers detailed discussions on the specter of social media, the various channels included, and the opportunities and challenges associated with it. The opportunities included how businesses have taken advantage of the technology communication tool to enhance their marketing performance. On the other hand, the challenges outlined are accompanied by pieces of advice from the scholars to firms of ensuring that they utilize social media intelligently. The main working points include an elaboration of what is social media and support the argument that advantages of social media outweighs its disadvantages. Therefore, this article is ideal to strengthen that discussion.

Mangold, W. Glynn, and David J. Faulds. "Social media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix." Business horizons52.4 (2009): 357-365.

The journal by Mangold et al. involves discussions elaborating on how social media has offered useful communication tools that companies and consumers can use to interact freely. It has provided the means that businesses can use to promote and sell their brands to the customers. Also, consumer to consumer engagement has been enhanced unlike in the traditional sense where the interaction is regulated and limited. Hence, firms are utilizing the technology communication channels to market their products to many people at the same time. The article is about one of the central points of discussion of this research on the positive impacts of social media in business; thus, it is an ideal reference.

Mayfield, Antony. "What is social media." (2008): 2-36.

The article by Thomas Mayfield provides a significant elaboration of social media and the implications it has had during the contemporary times as compared to the early 20th Century. The writer discusses how it has changed how various activities are conducted in the military including the transformations in communication and transmission of information. He further supports that the technology tool has significantly impacted how operations are executed because of the enhanced communication. By using this journal in the research, it will be easy to give a comprehensive discussion regarding social media and how it has helped change the world.

Shirky, Clay. "The political power of social media: Technology, the public sphere, and political change." Foreign affairs (2011): 28-41.

Clay Shirky has discussed the impact of social media in the political arena using several occurrences in different nations such as the Philippines, Iran, and Belarus. Unlike in the traditional sense when the public's pleas could hardly be heard because of lack of means to integrate ideas and speak out with one voice; the technology communication in the modern times allows everyone to give his or her opinion whenever there are political distrusts. The people use the social media to influence what is happening in their governments, and this has enabled nations to make significant changes such as the impeachment of the corrupt Philippine president in 2001. The article, therefore, is relevant for this research since it provides information to the discussion of the outlined main points.

Xiang, Zheng, and Ulrike Gretzel. "Role of social media in online travel information search." Tourism management 31.2 (2010): 179-188.

Xiang and Ulrike conducted a study and had discussed in details how the social media has been a fundamental technology tool in the tourism industry in the modern times. While travelers benefit from the various online communication elements by getting essential travel-related information, tourism marketers effectively and efficiently promote their services. The study indicates that social media has become an integral part of the tourism industry. Hence, this article is ideal in the research for the discussion of how the advances technology communication has enhanced economic and social engagements in the world. Furthermore, the study has complied with the principles of research; thus, it provides accurate information...