Benefits of Social Media

In today’s society, communication is somewhat effortless with as much as a cell phone or computer. A text or instant message, via one of the various social networking sites, is how the majority of people today interact with one another. Social media has allowed new unconventional means of education to thrive amongst students of all ages and facilitated new means of easier communication among family and friends. However, along with a broadened network of communication there are precautions and concerns that many have taken in response to the vulnerability of this vast cyberspace. Although social media has its pitfalls, it has also changed the world for the better because it has introduced new innovative methods of education, facilitated easier communication, and has created a new environment for self-expression. Social networking, such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Formspring, and Instagram, has virtually enabled students around the world to create online study groups and chat rooms to enhance their learning experience. In an article by Paulette Stewart, an author for Feature magazine, a group of high school library volunteers are brought together by their librarian to test out an online literature study group on Faceboook. The students mingle and begin to become thoroughly engaged as they read one book each month and then converse about the literature they had read. Throughout the simulation, the students begin to come forward and speak more openly about their opinions and literary views of the novels they had read (29). This example shows how Facebook, a social networking site, proved to be a productive educational outlet for students to engage socially with each other in a virtual classroom which resulted in authentic research and easier communication amongst students via a social media outlet. Although social media such as Facebook, has helped broaden education into different outlets other than the traditional classroom, there are some questions many people have about how safe these online environments are. Dr. Stephanie Huffman, an Associate Professor at the University of Central Arkansas with a PhD in Leadership Studies, reveals that â€Å"social networking increases the likelihood of new risks to the self†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and â€Å"†¦loss of privacy† are very prominent aspects of joining a social networking site (154). There are many disputes today that debate whether social networking is safe because it allows, not only friends and family, but an entire network of people, most of whom are strangers, to see personal information, interactions with others, and individual thought. Although there are some risks of putting information on the web that reveals ones identity, as Stewart mentioned in her article previously, there are many privacy settings that are enabled to the user of the account (30). For example, on Facebook there are settings that allow the user to limit their profiles to be viewed by only people that they are friends with, which are called â€Å"Privacy Settings†. Websites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social media are very beneficial in many ways that are helpful for education and introduces new styles of education to educators. Even though these new forms of learning are not traditional and physical forms of a classroom setting, these virtual classes still provide all the necessary components of learning. For example, Stewart conveyed activities such as social camaraderie amongst students by working together, researching subjects in more depth due to access to more information, and students having more honest opinions in a non face-to-face environment versus an online group chat (32). However, students are warned to remain aware that â€Å"once information is released into cyberspace, it becomes a part of a global network† (Huffman 155). On the other hand, students do have the choice to take full advantage of privacy settings and monitoring the status of their information that they release to the web, friends, and potentially unknown viewers of their information. Overall, when using social media for educational purposes there are many benefits that, when taken advantage of, enhance educational experiences because of modern-day advancements in social media and networking. Over the last decade, social media has undoubtedly changed the way people communicate. Two people no longer have to be face to face to communicate and can now receive responses within seconds. In an article written by Nafaa Jabeur, Sherali Seadally, and Biju Sayed, authors for the Communications of the ACM journal, called â€Å"Mobile Social Networking Applications†, GPS tracking systems in Mobile Social Networking (MSN) devices allows users to locate other users, areas and amenities nearby that concern the same interests as them (74). Social media has assisted communication by facilitating the means of connecting multiple individuals. Examples include Jabeur, Zeadally, and Sayed’s article’s claim that news is easier spread using the technology of MSN, which helps notify copious amounts of people in an urgent manner, of incidents in their local areas (Jabeur. Zeadally, Sayed 76). However, there are questions about if social media is taking over society in a negative aspect rather than helping it. In a study called â€Å"Problematic Use of Social Networking Sites†, documented by Dr. Parth Singh Meena, Pankaj Kumar Mittal and Ram Humar Solanki, Psychiatrists for the Industry Psychiatry Journal, research shows that social media is greatly increasing in, mainly, teenagers and young adults to somewhat of a dangerous high (94). Studies have shown that â€Å"from April 2008 to April 2009, the total minutes spent on Facebook in the U. S. , in particular, has increased from 1. 7 billion minutes to 13. 9 billion minutes† (Meena, Mittal, and Solanki 95). Although these numbers of the increased amount of social media users is shocking, there are many beneficial reasons for taking advantage of new technology. A positive example of why excessive use of social media may be helpful is received through an article called â€Å"Targeted Social Mobilization in a Global Manhunt† where Alex Rutherford, data scientist at the UN Global Pulse Research Center, and many other researchers followed a simulation to track down five individuals in many different cities and states based on just a headshot, using nothing but social media sites for urgent information (1). Using websites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google search engine, the simulation found three out of the five individuals only used social media (Rutherford, et. al. 2). This example shows how using social media can be helpful in communicating with people around the world in urgent situations. Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Formspring, and Myspace make it capable to talk to people’s next-door neighbors or to talk to someone halfway across the world. These sites allow individuals to create profiles and custom pages that showcase personal information, interests and hobbies for virtually anyone to see. For example, Twitter has a certain section of the website that allows users to see â€Å"Trending Topics† around the world that involve the most popular topics of conversation to be shared with the entire Twitter community. By using the Trending Topics the user is connected with, virtually, the entire world by communicating with people from different countries, backgrounds, languages, and cultures. Dr. Stephanie Huffman, as mentioned earlier, believes that social networking allows users to broaden their experiences â€Å"through presentation of self, learning, building relationships, exposure to other diverse groups† and many more valuable attributes (154). An important issue to be made aware of in social media is cyber-bullying. There have been numerous studies and extensive research about the effects of cyber-bullying and speculation of how to put an end to this phenomenon. Neal Geach, a professor and extensive researcher at the University of Hertfordshire, and Nicola Haralambous, a researcher and professor of Criminal Law at Coventry University, produced an article, â€Å"Regulating Harassment: Is the Law Fit for the Social Networking Age? †, that discusses the dangers of cyber bullying and the laws that are being put into place to regulate it. Their article exhibits many laws, some of which do pertain to the Internet and social media. There are laws being put into place specifically dealing with harassment that occurs on online social media sites (Geach and Haralambous 248). Dr.  Peter Kiriakidis, a professor of research at the University of Queens and has a Ph. D. in Educational Leadership, and Dr. Demarques Lakes performed a case study on student-to-student bullying to gain insight from teachers and educational staff on what they have observed about online bullying. Their research found that â€Å" most teachers also reported that they associate academic underperformance of certain students to be the result of some form of cyber bullying† which supports the idea that educator’s are becoming more aware of this issue and it’s side effects and trying to find helpful solutions (Kiriakidis and DeMarques 109). The Internet can be a productive and innovative outlet for positive self-expression if used correctly and cautiously. Social networking sites help users gain insight for themselves and others by discovering new interests and groups of people that enjoy the same pastimes as them (154). Although these freedoms come with a price, there are many ways to cut down online obstacles such as bullying, harassment, and negative pressures of society. There are several privacy settings on sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and Myspace that eliminate the chance of an unknown user viewing your profile and personal information (Stewart 30). Also available to all users on every social networking site is a â€Å"Block Report† button that allows the user to block as many other users as they want from their page so that none of their information, comments, or personal information is released to that certain user. If a certain user is becoming an issue with violent or irrational behavior over the Internet, every user also has the option to report another user for inappropriate behavior to the site to resolve the issue. In conclusion, society has benefitted greatly from social media networks and offers a multitude of advantages for many reasons. Education has been greatly impacted by the numerous and endless possibilities of transforming the concept of learning into a more modern and experimental structure. Social media has facilitated a new form of open communication that has made long distance relationships possible and global communication easier. Social networking has also introduced a new era of presentation of self by allowing online users to share their monumental, life moments through pictures, status’, comments, and interests. When all is considered, social media among children, teens, college students, and other adults is overall beneficial and innovative to society.