The power of social media

Imagine the last time you spent an entire day without checking your Instagram feed, WhatsApp, Facebook or Twitter timeline. Can’t remember? Me neither. This is the world we live in. A world full of posts, likes and follows. We live in an age when communicating has taken on a whole new meaning. With instant messaging and unlimited access, being a cheaper method of communication, raising awareness and generating income by promoting goods and services, social media has revolutionized modern day society. The Internet is building more dominant societies around the world. Globally connected people have now increased in numbers. It is harder to imagine a happier day without using the Internet. Over the course of time, smart phones, tablets etc. have entirely changed social networking and the way we communicate with one another.

The use of Social Media has produced immense benefits and below are 4 positive benefits of social media:
FOUR POSITIVE IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA:
1.EASY CONNECTIONS WITH FRIENDS: Social media has quickly integrated into many aspects of our daily lives. Websites like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and many more make it easy to keep in touch with family and friends, to engage in online conversations and to have easy access to many goods and services. Chats and social networking are great ways to stay in touch and find new friends beyond boundaries.

2.EDUCATION: Social media is an immense contributor to the educational field. You may be shy as a student in the classroom but you can post queries to your online teachers and get your questions solved within little time. There are some sites that are dedicated specifically for education, personal development, research and developments. Certain social media platforms can also be invaluable tools for professional networking.

3.AS AN ADVERTISING TOOL: Social media has also quickly achieved the ranks as a prime news platform. It generates immense exposure for businesses, and that’s only one of its many advantages. Social networks are now a significant part of every marketing strategy. The benefits of using social media are so great – simply by having a social media page for your brands – and with regular use, it can potentially generate a wide audience for any type and any size of business.
4.DONATIONS AND CHARITIES: Social networking is contributing immensely for good cause and more particularly in donations and charities. Many organizations that have embraced social media appropriately have embedded it into their fundraising and marketing strategies. Social channels are crucial for charities for raising money, talking with supporters, campaigning and raising awareness of their cause. There are great examples where social media played a heavy role and human lives were saved.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND GREY AREAS:
Rightly said everything has a bright as well as dark side. Social media is not an exception and without objections, below are 7 grey areas of social media:
1.CYBER-BULLYING: The immediacy provided by social media makes it available to predators as well as friends. Kids especially are vulnerable to the practice of cyber-bullying in which the perpetrators, anonymously or even posing as people to their victims terrorize individuals in front of their peers. The devastation of these online attacks can leave deep mental scars or lead to suicide.

2.TROLLING – people looking to harm others by adding comments, insults and harsh opinions to purposely cause division while abusing others online.
3.A FALSE SENSE OF CONNECTION: Since the introduction of social media, there’s been an increase in less real-life conversations. More people are building relationships online and drifting away from the real world. The more we post, comment and like, the more we feel closer to other people (whether or not we know them in person).
4.CYBER-CRIME: This can affect the unaware as well as posing huge security risks by ways of scamming, skimming credit cards, identity theft, fraud and so much more. Even the tightest security settings can leak out personal information on social sites. Cyber-crime can lead to huge financial loss, depression, anxiety, stress and emotional pain.
5.COMPARING OUR LIVES WITH OTHERS: Part of the reason Facebook makes people feel socially isolated (even though they may not actually be) is the comparison factor. We fall into the trap of comparing ourselves to others as we scroll through our feeds, and make judgments about how we measure up.
6.ADDICTION: Excessive or inappropriate use can be harmful having negative consequences on the reward and emotional systems leading to addiction.
7.LOST TIME while online as the Internet can consume a whole day quite quickly.

The fact is that social media when used appropriately is a very powerful tool for communication, marketing and market research tool. It is also important to apply parental guidance to what your kids view on a daily basis.

The use of Social media is good, but should be applied with caution. What you expose your mind to is key, because the mind is power. Restructure your thought process by getting a copy of the Catalyst’s Affirmation pack, visit www.audio.olcang.com. Are you going through personal issues ranging from: Mental health, Relationship, Marriage, Career and much more, give us a call on 08077077000 or send an email to [email protected] for more enquiries.