Social networking has certainly changed the way we interact with each other – making it possible to contact someone half a world way in an instant. But there are various cons that make us question the efficacy of social networking as it downgrades interpersonal skills, and even alienates one. This is why it is high time we took a closer look at some of the positive and negative impact of social networking.
The positive impact of social networking:
- Interconnectivity: With social networking, you should be able to connect increasingly better with others. Some of the social media platforms make it possible for you to search for long lost contacts by name and even helps to list them out by location. And better yet, Facebook also displays their public profile along with their image which should make it easier for you to search for and locate long-lost contacts. Other social media platforms have similar options in pace, so essentially tracking down contacts via social networking platforms is easy and convenient making it easy for you to locate anyone with just a name.
- Marketing: according to some of the latest studies, nearly 44% of the companies surveyed confirm that they depend on social networking and various social media platforms to both increase their brand awareness as well as to reach out to their customers. In fact, some social media platforms like Facebook have just launched Business accounts wherein you are allowed to post detailed images of your product/services, to host a separate business page and to advertise the same. The end result is that as a result of all this social networking, you are able to reach out to more customers and help increase web traffic at the same time.
- Increased communication: With most social media platforms providing advanced connectivity, you are able to use various tools for connecting with others, from making calls to even hosting video calls. These options depend more on the platform in question but most platforms make it possible for you to call others in real time.
The negative impact of social networking:
- Negative influence: when it comes to content posted online, the various social media platforms do exercise a certain amount of control over content posted on their site. But it takes a while for the platform to act and in the meantime, the damage is already done. The offensive content could either be just a text-based post which can negatively impact large groups of people and even rile them or it could be a porn image or something equally offensive which is a violation of privacy and decency. The point is that none of the social media platforms is able to monitor content round the clock and that’s why it is important for you to realize that social networking can come with its own negative connotations.
- Social interaction: As a result of social networking, you are less likely to socially interact with others in real time and person to person, than you would say on a platform. The decrease in social interactivity is bound to have an impact on you both physically and physiologically and it is only a matter of time before you end up being a complete recluse with little by way of actual social skills.
- Social media addiction: As with every other form of media, this one can prove to be equally addictive. There are countless users who have to keep checking their various social media accounts round the clock for updates or messages from other users. Then there are those who find it necessary to capture every moment of their lives and to post the same to their various social media accounts and then, there are those who remain hooked onto these platforms 24*7. While this addiction leads to less physical activity on the part of the user, it can cause them to become obese and develop chronic health disorders such as Diabetes as a result of the same.
These are some of the positive and negative effects of social networking. Social networking is important and crucial to our way of life but there is no reason why we cannot alter a few things so that we can mitigate the risk that comes with utilizing social media platforms.
Alan Behrens is an experienced writer and our editor-in-chief.PNI's goal is to publish high-quality, educational content covering everything from history to current events.
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