Social networking is one of the latest and greatest ways for people to interact with each other. Whether it’s talking to someone from the other side of the world or a company who gets to address their consumers directly, social networking has transformed the way people communicate.
An NPR story describes how job recruiters are able to use social media sites to help find employees. The report discussed how certain sites like LinkedIn (a social media site centered around one’s professional profile) helped tremendously when finding candidates for specific positions. With the Internet it is also possible for companies to view your more personal profiles as well in order to get a better impression of who you are as a person. This can be both good and bad, because some companies may not agree with how you choose to present yourself online and this can cost you your job.
Another great thing about social networking as I mentioned earlier is that companies can get feedback from and communicate with consumers directly. Many businesses have a social media presence on websites like Twitter and Facebook. Using these platforms businesses can share and promote products and people can also respond and leave feedback as well. This is beneficial because a company can use interactions like this to constantly improve and strengthen their customer service.
There are some criticisms with social networking overall one article from the New York Times comments on how social media usage can have a negative affect on growing children’s social skills. Constant interaction over the Internet can be hindering to children when it comes to actual face-to-face interaction. A quote from the article states: “-today’s youths may be missing out on experiences that help them develop empathy, understand emotional nuances and read social cues like facial expressions and body language.”
Other negatives occur when people take to the Internet to bully and slander others. A lot of social networking involves putting a lot of personal information out there, from your name, your picture, even your birthday. And people can take this information and use it against you. Online bullying( also called cyberbullying) is something that has increasingly become a problem. It can also have dire effects on individuals, especially those of school age, who are victim to it. People can be very mean on the internet and it doesn’t help that they get to hide behind a computer screen.
Social networking is here to stay, and I believe it will lead to many opportunities in the future to come. The problems it comes with are inevitable but, it is something that is ever-changing and always improving.
Media Frenzy 