My Interpretation of the term “social media”

Social media, as discussed by Fuchs (2017), is a complex term that contains multi-layered meanings that cannot simply be defined as just one thing. Its interpretation and meaning differ from people to people as it is “too broad a phenomenon” to easily be given a simple, clear-cut definition (Mc Mahon 2019). Based on my own experience and knowledge, social media is any media platform that allows users to share content and/or communicate with one another. Therefore, as an active social media user, I can say that it is very similar to social networking sites, in the way that users can interact with other users. However, as Mc Mahon (2019) points out, we should refrain from referring to social media as a ‘social network’. This is due to the sociological concept that calling it a ‘social network’ is suggesting “that everyone with an account there has a meaningful connection with every other account there.” (Mc Mahon 2019)

From going through the Sensis survey reports’ answers, I was surprised to see that no matter what type of business it was, all of them have some form of social media presence. It is fascinating knowing that what used to be a personal space where people communicate and upload content they like has now become a commercial place where brands and celebrities market themselves. Some brands even started their own business through social media. The Sensis survey reports have also shown that the majority of the participants also utilizes social media to do research and to make purchases. In conclusion, the survey results have indirectly displayed how social media has evolved and established its prominence and where it stands in society.

an inspiring example of social media

Since its rise, there have been numerous questions raised about whether social media brings more harm than good. A survey was done by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) and it reports that teenagers who use social networking sites are more likely to drink alcohol, smoke or use drugs (Schill 2011). However, despite all the negative claims made, I do believe social media is one of our greatest inventions. Similar to 82.6% of the people in the Sensis survey reports, I use social media as a means to catch up and update my family and friends. Moreover, social media has opened new job opportunities and has made it easier to spread awareness in society through things such as viral campaigns (Siddiqui & Singh 2016).

One of the most memorable campaigns that still amuses me up to this day was the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Ice Bucket Challenge. I remember seeing it on Instagram and wondering if the campaign was able to raise money or if it was just another viral campaign. I am happy to find out later on that more than $115 million were raised from the viral stunt and as a result, the ALS Association was able “to fund research that identified a new gene, NEK1” (Ohlheiser 2016). I was so amazed at just how quickly the challenge spread all over the world, particularly when celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Vin Diesel, and Will Smith started participating in the challenge too. From that moment onwards, I instantly realized just how much power social media has. Yes, I am unable to deny the fact that people have undoubtedly misused social media for the wrong intentions countless of times. Nonetheless, this campaign has proved that social media can indeed help us a lot and it is a relatively easy way to spread awareness.

My future work in this studio

After looking through the Sensis survey reports and doing my research, I believe I now have a better understanding of social media and its role and significance in society. One of the things I have learned is the importance of a good social media presence for a business. This applies to every type of company, be it a company that sells products or a company that provides services, they are all affected. This is because it does not take much effort for a consumer to track down and find out a business’s profile. As shown in the Sensis survey results, 40.2% of the participants post reviews for a brand’s products or services on their social media channels and 67.9% of the participants read online reviews to find out what other people’s opinions before purchasing said product or service. Thus, it can be deduced that it is essential for a company to maintain a good social media presence and for them to actively respond to consumers on their platforms.

Even though I am still not quite sure what I would like to do for my final assignment, I am inclined towards creating a media piece that exhibits the different types of advertisements that consumers like to see from businesses and also what types of posts are effective in selling products or services. I don’t know if I will need to create an actual social media account for this purpose or if I am just going to design mock-up social media posts. Nevertheless, I would like to do my media piece based on a brand’s point of view by using the data collected from the Sensis survey reports.

REFERENCE LIST

Fuchs, C 2017, Social media: A critical introduction, 2nd edn, Sage Publications, London, UK

Mc Mahon, C 2019, The psychology of social media, 1st edn, Routledge, New York, NY.

Ohlheiser, A 2016, ‘The ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge” is working’, The Washington Post, 8 February, viewed 16 March 2020, <https://hs.kpcsd.org/pdfs/Sportfolio/ice-bucket-challenge-research-20168-false.pdf>

Schill, R 2011, ‘Social Networking Teens More Likely to Drink, Use Drugs, Study Finds’, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, 24 August, viewed 15 March 2020, <http://jjie.org/teens-on-facebook-more-likely-drink-oruse-drugs-study-finds/20713>

Siddiqui, S & Singh, T 2016, ‘Social media its impact with positive and negative aspects’, International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research, vol.5, no.2, pp.71-75.