Has Social Media Changed Us for Better, or Worse?

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We did have a society sometime back, but today we have social media! An agent of transformation, it has had a major impact on our culture, business and on the world-at-large. There has been an increase in transparency, with a growing number of people expressing themselves on the social web.

There have been hardly any facets of our daily lives, uninfluenced by this amazing tool. Ever wondered how social media has changed us? Social networking platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube et.al have gone on to revolutionize the way we interact with one another.

Social Web 2015 – What does it look like?

There are so many exciting developments on the social web, which has led to a massive insurgence. Social messaging platforms such as Snapchat and Whatsapp have gone on to influence social sphere in such a way that they’re now being seen as quasi social networks in their own way.

Smartphone penetration has soared like never before, with about 1.65 billion global active mobile social accounts. Mobile has come across as an obsessive technology fueling growth on the social sphere, and becoming an agent of disruption.

How Social Media has changed us – The Positive Side

Our world has transformed into a Global Village, connected at all times by the social web. So much is the impact of social in our lives that staying away from it can take you to extinction, and who wants to go obsolete in today’s world of intensive connectivity?

Here’s a brief lowdown on the positive impact of social media:

· Free Flowing Communication

Remember those times when you hesitated to share your opinion? Today, the social sphere encompasses untrammeled communication devoid of interaction barriers. It enables like-minded individuals come together and opine on a common platform. It helps in uniting people working for common goals and also gives them a viable direction for investing their efforts.

· Empowerment of Masses

Don’t you wonder how social media has changed us, and empowered us furthermore? There is a mass empowerment, resulted by sharing of ideas on social sphere. Masses have become more empowered and are more informed. It enables individuals to get first-hand information and the world is becoming a smaller place to live in.

· Businesses & Marketing

Today boundaries between businesses and their target audiences are rapidly reducing. It has become easier to connect with customers and procure feedback. This has helped businesses focus on greater customer centricity and augment the quality of their services.

The playing fields have become level today, and the power of strong business ideas makes it possible for businesses to thrive, with the influence of social increasing exponentially.

How Social Media has changed us – The Downside

With a fair amount of advantages, it is easy to believe that the social sphere is a rosy path, leading to positive changes. The path is however, not that rosy! The thorns that stick up with the benefits of going social also have the power to suppress the sweet scent of its various advantages. Discussed below are some ways the social sphere hasn’t been too good for us:

· Lack of Authenticity

There is so much data on the social sphere, that it could be very challenging to sift through authentic information. Authenticity is left best to the discretion of general public, which makes them highly opinionated too. This lack of authentic information makes most people misinformed and even sparks unnecessary tirades.

· Mudslinging and Angry Social Mobs

Love consuming news on a regular basis from your favourite social networking website? It can be great to get news on your fingertips, but not too good if it becomes a judgment ground for anything. While this does have a favorable outcome in most cases, there is also a downside to it. Sometimes the news goes on to spark mass social wars that result in ugly political tirades followed by defamation and mudslinging on public platforms.

· Lack of Security

Whenever faced with the question of how social media has changed us, one word that comes to my mind is insecurity… Due to the humongous amount of informative exchanges on the social sphere, it has become a leading champion of distrust. It has become one of those channels of communication, which is increasingly being deemed as insecure and untrustworthy. It enables dissemination of information to untrustworthy audiences, leading to greater crime rates.

That was an honest bit about the downside and upside of going social from our end… If I were to conclude about how social media has changed us, I’d say that it has its own ups and downs, but it is up to us to make the best out of it. It is imperative to exercise caution while using it, but the benefits of social media are too good to be ignored.

Did you know about the amazing ways in which going social could help you inch closer to success? If not, get in touch with the digital marketing experts to make an everlasting impact on the social sphere!