Social Media Usage
Written By: Josie Markham
The power of technology has now consumed us all over the past few years, because of this increase in technology usage other things relating to technology has increased as well. One of those things that has increased in the last decade is social media usage. With the increase in social media usage, it has spiked in increase in the different uses of social media itself and how people from around the world can and cannot use it. In this essay I will be talking about how social media has changed over the years, the people that use social media, why and how it is used in the United States, some of the benefits and disadvantages of social, and finally why other countries may use social medias.
To begin with social media, one must back up to the very beginning and look at when the internet first began. According to “The Brief History of Social Media” the first internet server that was available commercially was in 1969. This server remained as one of the top servers throughout the 1980’s. From 1969 the use of internet became more advanced e-mails were sent, bulletin board systems, internet available for personal use, and eventually social media sites. The first social media site that was created was sixdegrees.com and let users create profiles and list friends (Curtis.) Curtis states that the first remembered social media site was Friends Reunited that came out in 1999. The social media site that is remembered most by the newest generation is Facebook. Facebook was stared in 2004 for Harvard College students and was the equivalent of Friendstar but for college students. In 2005 social media became available to high school students through Facebook. Finally in 2009 Facebook was ranked the number one social media site with over 200 million users. So with so many people using just one social media who are they.
Social media is used by almost all the people in the United States if not the world. The people that use social media has changed from those that used it originally, but it has not changed as much as you would think over the years. According to PewResearch’s study women tended to use social media more than men, teens and young adults also had the highest percentage of users. With the number of teens using social medias does rise some concerns among parents, educators, and the government has all become involved in controlling and regulating these sites to make them safer for everyone. In “Young people and Social Networking Services,” it talks about how social media can be used by students and educators alike in a classroom setting. With educators using social media it brings to awareness the fact that more people are using social media for work purposes. According to “Social Media” many users are now using social media to help find jobs on the market. In response to this businesses are now using social media to promote job openings and their business products. So why are these people using social medias in the United States? What draws them to a specific site over any other one?
With so many different people out there in the world, they all think differently but similarly at the same time. With these similarities and differences in people’s social types and styles of living the reasons for which they use social media will change and differ. For some people it may like educators they may use social media in and around the classroom to help get students to interact more with them or with each other (“Young People and Social Networking Services.”) “Young People and Social Networking Services,” also suggests that educators may use a social media site to learn more about how students may behave the way that they do and why they have problems interacting with each other. According to Conner the author of “Why do People Use Social Media?” a person may use social media for about 10 different reasons or purposes. The reasons why someone would use a social media include: social interaction, information seeking, passing time, entertainment, relaxation, expression of opinions, things to talk about, convenience, sharing information, and knowing about others. For the people that use social media on a more casual basis they do so in order to get away from the real world and enter a world where they can relax and be themselves. For some people they look at social media as an open door and a business opportunity. According to “Social Media,” many people are now using social media to help put themselves into the job market and find jobs that may be posted on to social media sites. Many businesses are now using social media to promote their business and different business opportunities (“Social Media.”) With many people using social media sites for business purposes it raises awareness about the benefits and disadvantages.
As social media has become more popular for the people in this world, more and more people have started using social media in the workforce to either find potential employees or to be found by an employer. For most this is a beneficial relationship because it helps people find things that are needed and makes businesses more aware of the people out there and who may use their products. As well as benefits in, around, and for the workforce, social media also has personal benefits for some people. According to “Using the Power of Social Media,” social media can be used to reunite families that have been separated in a tragic event or finding a friend that moved away when they were younger, social media sites have also been used to find loved ones that have disappeared or were lost. There are some things that have a positive outcome because of social media but there are also some very negative effects of using a social media in the workplace and personally.
Social media has become such a huge part of our lives, every day we find a way to bring social media into what we are working on, be it personal or professionally based. Because of usage of social media on an almost daily basis it can provide negative effects to the people that are using them. Some of the negative side effects of using social media show up in some research done by Mauri et al. Some of those effects are higher levels of stress and people tend to enter a state of psychophysiological. This state of mind is characterized by high valence and high states of arousal (Mauri et al.) People that use social media for personal uses also tend to associate with people that have the same opinions as us, by doing this it results in keeping a closed mind and not expanding our opinions and views (“How Social Media Changed the Way We Interact With the World.”) In the workplace is where real issues and negative side effects of using social media become evident. In a press release released by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) they state how some things that are found on social media sites by employers can later come back to hurt people (“Social Media is Part of Today’s Workplace but its Use May Raise Employment Discrimination Concerns.”) “Social Media is Part of Today’s Workplace but its Use May Raise Employment Discrimination Concerns,” also states that information found on social media sites can lead to harassment in the workplace by co-workers and by potential bosses. The ways that the United States use social media for either positive or negative items, in other countries social media is used differently.
Some other countries can use social media for multiple reasons which are very different from the uses here in the United States. In “The Top 10 Countries That Use Social Media,” the top 10 countries that use social media are: Britain, USA, Russia, Czech Republic, Spain, Poland, Brazil, France, Italy, and Turkey. Surprisingly China does not make this list, which may be because of censorship that is done in those countries. In other countries social media is used to raise awareness to social issues going on within a country and possibly make people aware of human rights issues going on. In all there are many reasons in which to use social media sites.
In conclusion to the many parts and pieces that make up social media and how they work there is still a lot to discuss about social media sites. Social media sites have become more popular over the years and with the rise in social media it rises many concerns about how they truly effect everybody.
Works Cited
Conner, Oliver. "Why do People Use Social Media." Onepoll. The Pulse, 5 July 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www.onepoll.com/10-reasons-people-use-social-media/>.
Curtis, Anthony. "The Brief History of Social Media." The Brief History of Social Media. University of North Carolina at Pembroke, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SocialMedia/SocialMediaHistory.html>.
"How Social Media Changed the Way We Interact with the World” - The E-Guillotine." How Social Media Changed the Way We Interact with the World - The E-Guillotine. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www.e-guillotine.com/how-social-media-changed-the-way-we-interact-with-the-world.php>.
Mauri, Maurizio, et al. "Why Is Facebook So Successful? Psychophysiological Measures Describe A Core Flow State While Using Facebook." Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking 14.12 (2011): 723-731. Business Source Premier. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
"Social Media Is Part of Today’s Workplace but Its Use May Raise Employment Discrimination Concerns." U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. N.p., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. <http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-12-14.cfm>.
"Social Media." MBAUNC. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. <http://onlinemba.unc.edu/research-and-insights/the-recruiting-revolution-how-technology-is-transforming-talent-acquisition/social-media/>.
"Social Networking Fact Sheet." Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project RSS. Pew Research Center, 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. <http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/>.
Times, Epoch. "The Top 10 Countries That Use Social Media." The Top 10 Countries That Use Social Media. Epoch Times, 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. <http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/4352-the-top-10-countries-that-use-social-media/>.
"Using the Power of Social Media." Guardian Liberty Voice. Guardian Liberty Voice, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. <http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/using-the-power-of-social-media/>.
"Young People and Social Networking Services." Digizen. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.digizen.org/socialnetworking/sn.aspx>.
Written By: Josie Markham
The power of technology has now consumed us all over the past few years, because of this increase in technology usage other things relating to technology has increased as well. One of those things that has increased in the last decade is social media usage. With the increase in social media usage, it has spiked in increase in the different uses of social media itself and how people from around the world can and cannot use it. In this essay I will be talking about how social media has changed over the years, the people that use social media, why and how it is used in the United States, some of the benefits and disadvantages of social, and finally why other countries may use social medias.
To begin with social media, one must back up to the very beginning and look at when the internet first began. According to “The Brief History of Social Media” the first internet server that was available commercially was in 1969. This server remained as one of the top servers throughout the 1980’s. From 1969 the use of internet became more advanced e-mails were sent, bulletin board systems, internet available for personal use, and eventually social media sites. The first social media site that was created was sixdegrees.com and let users create profiles and list friends (Curtis.) Curtis states that the first remembered social media site was Friends Reunited that came out in 1999. The social media site that is remembered most by the newest generation is Facebook. Facebook was stared in 2004 for Harvard College students and was the equivalent of Friendstar but for college students. In 2005 social media became available to high school students through Facebook. Finally in 2009 Facebook was ranked the number one social media site with over 200 million users. So with so many people using just one social media who are they.
Social media is used by almost all the people in the United States if not the world. The people that use social media has changed from those that used it originally, but it has not changed as much as you would think over the years. According to PewResearch’s study women tended to use social media more than men, teens and young adults also had the highest percentage of users. With the number of teens using social medias does rise some concerns among parents, educators, and the government has all become involved in controlling and regulating these sites to make them safer for everyone. In “Young people and Social Networking Services,” it talks about how social media can be used by students and educators alike in a classroom setting. With educators using social media it brings to awareness the fact that more people are using social media for work purposes. According to “Social Media” many users are now using social media to help find jobs on the market. In response to this businesses are now using social media to promote job openings and their business products. So why are these people using social medias in the United States? What draws them to a specific site over any other one?
With so many different people out there in the world, they all think differently but similarly at the same time. With these similarities and differences in people’s social types and styles of living the reasons for which they use social media will change and differ. For some people it may like educators they may use social media in and around the classroom to help get students to interact more with them or with each other (“Young People and Social Networking Services.”) “Young People and Social Networking Services,” also suggests that educators may use a social media site to learn more about how students may behave the way that they do and why they have problems interacting with each other. According to Conner the author of “Why do People Use Social Media?” a person may use social media for about 10 different reasons or purposes. The reasons why someone would use a social media include: social interaction, information seeking, passing time, entertainment, relaxation, expression of opinions, things to talk about, convenience, sharing information, and knowing about others. For the people that use social media on a more casual basis they do so in order to get away from the real world and enter a world where they can relax and be themselves. For some people they look at social media as an open door and a business opportunity. According to “Social Media,” many people are now using social media to help put themselves into the job market and find jobs that may be posted on to social media sites. Many businesses are now using social media to promote their business and different business opportunities (“Social Media.”) With many people using social media sites for business purposes it raises awareness about the benefits and disadvantages.
As social media has become more popular for the people in this world, more and more people have started using social media in the workforce to either find potential employees or to be found by an employer. For most this is a beneficial relationship because it helps people find things that are needed and makes businesses more aware of the people out there and who may use their products. As well as benefits in, around, and for the workforce, social media also has personal benefits for some people. According to “Using the Power of Social Media,” social media can be used to reunite families that have been separated in a tragic event or finding a friend that moved away when they were younger, social media sites have also been used to find loved ones that have disappeared or were lost. There are some things that have a positive outcome because of social media but there are also some very negative effects of using a social media in the workplace and personally.
Social media has become such a huge part of our lives, every day we find a way to bring social media into what we are working on, be it personal or professionally based. Because of usage of social media on an almost daily basis it can provide negative effects to the people that are using them. Some of the negative side effects of using social media show up in some research done by Mauri et al. Some of those effects are higher levels of stress and people tend to enter a state of psychophysiological. This state of mind is characterized by high valence and high states of arousal (Mauri et al.) People that use social media for personal uses also tend to associate with people that have the same opinions as us, by doing this it results in keeping a closed mind and not expanding our opinions and views (“How Social Media Changed the Way We Interact With the World.”) In the workplace is where real issues and negative side effects of using social media become evident. In a press release released by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) they state how some things that are found on social media sites by employers can later come back to hurt people (“Social Media is Part of Today’s Workplace but its Use May Raise Employment Discrimination Concerns.”) “Social Media is Part of Today’s Workplace but its Use May Raise Employment Discrimination Concerns,” also states that information found on social media sites can lead to harassment in the workplace by co-workers and by potential bosses. The ways that the United States use social media for either positive or negative items, in other countries social media is used differently.
Some other countries can use social media for multiple reasons which are very different from the uses here in the United States. In “The Top 10 Countries That Use Social Media,” the top 10 countries that use social media are: Britain, USA, Russia, Czech Republic, Spain, Poland, Brazil, France, Italy, and Turkey. Surprisingly China does not make this list, which may be because of censorship that is done in those countries. In other countries social media is used to raise awareness to social issues going on within a country and possibly make people aware of human rights issues going on. In all there are many reasons in which to use social media sites.
In conclusion to the many parts and pieces that make up social media and how they work there is still a lot to discuss about social media sites. Social media sites have become more popular over the years and with the rise in social media it rises many concerns about how they truly effect everybody.
Works Cited
Conner, Oliver. "Why do People Use Social Media." Onepoll. The Pulse, 5 July 2013. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www.onepoll.com/10-reasons-people-use-social-media/>.
Curtis, Anthony. "The Brief History of Social Media." The Brief History of Social Media. University of North Carolina at Pembroke, n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www2.uncp.edu/home/acurtis/NewMedia/SocialMedia/SocialMediaHistory.html>.
"How Social Media Changed the Way We Interact with the World” - The E-Guillotine." How Social Media Changed the Way We Interact with the World - The E-Guillotine. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2014. <http://www.e-guillotine.com/how-social-media-changed-the-way-we-interact-with-the-world.php>.
Mauri, Maurizio, et al. "Why Is Facebook So Successful? Psychophysiological Measures Describe A Core Flow State While Using Facebook." Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking 14.12 (2011): 723-731. Business Source Premier. Web. 15 Apr. 2014.
"Social Media Is Part of Today’s Workplace but Its Use May Raise Employment Discrimination Concerns." U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. N.p., 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. <http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-12-14.cfm>.
"Social Media." MBAUNC. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. <http://onlinemba.unc.edu/research-and-insights/the-recruiting-revolution-how-technology-is-transforming-talent-acquisition/social-media/>.
"Social Networking Fact Sheet." Pew Research Centers Internet American Life Project RSS. Pew Research Center, 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. <http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/social-networking-fact-sheet/>.
Times, Epoch. "The Top 10 Countries That Use Social Media." The Top 10 Countries That Use Social Media. Epoch Times, 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. <http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/4352-the-top-10-countries-that-use-social-media/>.
"Using the Power of Social Media." Guardian Liberty Voice. Guardian Liberty Voice, 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. <http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/using-the-power-of-social-media/>.
"Young People and Social Networking Services." Digizen. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.digizen.org/socialnetworking/sn.aspx>.