MAKING SENSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA – Post 1
According to Pierre Berthon, social media is defined as “a series of technological innovations in terms of both hardware and software that facilitate inexpensive content creation, interaction, and interoperability by online users” (Berthon, 2012). A statement in which aligns with my own interpretation. Social media acts as a superordinate term which consists of a multitude of platforms that have been designed to satisfy a variance of personal needs. Personal needs such as networking, microblogging, sales of a product and/or service, entertainment and video or photo-sharing content. Current examples of social media platforms include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and numerous others. The emergence of said social media platforms facilitates the online creation and exchange of user-generated content, allowing consumers to so easily communicate with others about products, services, and brands that are available within the marketplace. Notable findings from The Yellow Social Media report state that 88% per cent of online consumers use social media sites, which is an increase from last year. In addition, many consumers are frequent users with more than one third (34%) accessing social media sites over five times a day and 62% doing so daily. This increase of social media usage is indicative of a long-term trend toward our dependence upon said media platforms and claims of it further becoming a social norm.
These findings have also further substantiated claims of “social media obsessed adolescents” (Tompros & Crudo & Pfeiffer & Boghossian, 2017). According to Gwenn Schurgin O’Keeffe, Kathleen Clarke-Pearson and Council on Communications and Media, using social media is among the most common activities of today’s children and adolescents. Usage and frequency of social media sites tend to decline with age, as within the past five years the number of adolescents using such sites has increased dramatically. However, due to their “limited capacity for self-regulation and susceptibility to peer pressure” (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011), they are seen as at risk. The Sensis suggests that one in four (25%) individuals have witnessed someone being bullied or harassed on social media, while 14% have experienced such behaviour personally, an increase from preceding years.
Whilst granting many benefits, the growth of social media interactivity has facilitated involvement in social exclusion, harassment, inappropriate content, online privacy issues and outside influences of third-party advertising groups (O’Keeffe & Clarke-Pearson, 2011). Indicating that vulnerable members of society must be protected as social media can be a very powerful tool.
REFERENCES
Kaplan, A.M. and Haenlein, M. (2010), “Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media”, Business Horizons, Vol. 53 No. 1, pp. 59-68.
Whiting, A. and Williams, D., 2013. Why people use social media: a uses and gratifications approach. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal.
Berthon, P.R., Pitt, L.F., Plangger, K. and Shapiro, D., 2012. Marketing meets Web 2.0, social media, and creative consumers: Implications for international marketing strategy. Business horizons, 55(3), pp.261-271.
Tompros, L.W., Crudo, R.A., Pfeiffer, A. and Boghossian, R., 2017. The Constitutionality of Criminalizing False Speech Made on Social Networking Sites in a Post-Alvarez, Social Media-Obsessed World. Harv. JL & Tech., 31, p.65.
O’Keeffe, G.S. and Clarke-Pearson, K., 2011. The impact of social media on children, adolescents, and families. Pediatrics, 127(4), pp.800-804.