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How the Internet and the social media are affecting communication

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Introduction

Social media is evolving as a significant tool of diverse sorts of communication that is fitted out with the capabilities to shape opinion, share information, link individual subscribers and groups and in addition to being a virtual platform of dynamic involvement. Social media denotes to a virtual conduit of interactions among publics in which they generate, share, and interchange ideas and information in computer-generated networks and communities (Lenhart et.al, 2015). Other proponents of this digital marvel describe it as a set of Internet-based programs that are founded on the technological and ideological basics of Web 2.0, and that endorse the establishment, design and exchange of user-generated data. Moreover, social media is an easily available application on web-based and mobile technologies utilized to develop very interactive platforms via which persons and communities converse, modify, co-create, and share, user-engendered content. The communications phenomenon presents pervasive and noteworthy changes to the way individuals, organizations, and communities communicate (Gillespie, Boczkowski & Foot, 2014). None other such communication means has become as prevalent in such a limited span of time as social media. Albeit, a lot of credit is owed to the user-friendly features that Social Media exhibits. Consistent with social networking proponents, Internet consumers continually spend a lot of time on social media networks compared to any other type of Internet platform or network. In the same token, the cumulative time spent on social media in the America across computers and mobile gadgets rose by a whooping 38 percent to 120 billion minutes in July of year 2012 as paralleled to 89 billion minutes in July of year 2011based on State of media report of year 2012 (Peters et.al, 2013). This excerpt seeks to discourse the conceivable effects of social media in communication patterns of the users.

Social media as a communication tool

Despite the fact that Social Media espouses intrapersonal communication, the marvel has transformed into a substantial tool for self-presentation and self-expression. That is, whatever one considers significant they instantaneously communicates it to others. From social gatherings, birthday party fetes, ceremonies even shopping among many other pertinent and trifle things. Such expression as attested by behavioral scientists leads to narcissism and utter self-regard. People engrossed in social media platforms want to portray how they living the high life discounting the reality of what actually are true (Gillespie, Boczkowski & Foot, 2014). The persistent craving for self-gratification ultimately results to peer-pressure as everyone wants to keep up with rest, who constantly post comments and pictures requiring approval from others (inform of comments and likes) leading to a sort of compulsion for social media.

The affordability and availability of pocket-friendly mobiles devices further accentuates this sensation of addiction (Best, Manktelow & Taylor, 2014). In addition, numerous reviews espouse the fact that excessive use of the Internet to look for information culminates to a decline in individual creativity, originality of thought and concentration extent. In his literal piece “The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brain”. Nicholas Carr’s attests that whereas the Internet offers our minds the capacity to skim and scan, it lessens our intellectual aptitude to think and concentrate. As such, the Internet progressively makes us incompetent with regard to prolonged intellectual focus and reading.

The rationale for developing social media was mainly to support virtual social interactions and it is serving this resolve completely. To that end, Social Media has anchored prompt communication, that is cost-effective and accessible anywhere anytime. Such a feature that appears to be beneficial is manifesting into a real life concern with respect to interpersonal communication. Individuals are virtually linked constantly with constant posting on social media networks (Lenhart & Page, 2015). Albeit, as a result of over fixation of use this virtual world people tend to overlook and disregard real world communication, almost all of the time subscribers are so much absorbed in their cybernetic communication they barely get time to converse with those dear and around them in their physical environs. Not only is this affecting the quality and quantity of communication, it is equally upsetting the sort of communication language people are utilizing in our formal and informal modes of written communication. For instance, Twitter allows one to post a specific number of characters that entail a message(s); consequently, subscribers have invented a variety of textual shortenings for communication.

Such creativity however helpful is affecting the language of the current generation in a myriad of ways. Learners have begun utilizing these abbreviations in some of their tests, inferring a number of them have are unable to recall the actual words for those acronyms (Gillespie, Boczkowski & Foot, 2014). In this way, the idea of interpersonal communication is fast waning as individuals have formed countless groups on Social Media. As such, everything and anything is conveyed amongst group members online on the social media platform.

Social media has transformed the conventional mass media, compared to the era of mass communication that is over four centuries old, social media is still at a very tender age. Even though, it is impelling conventional mass media in all aspects from language, content, programmed formats and even how it is treated. Majority of the mainstream TV channels, newspapers and radio channels closely observe the content of widespread social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to obtain the most recent news. The every time-anytime update of news on various social media sites is posing huge competition to mainstream media. In spite of the upsurge in competition, social media and mainstream media are collaborating in reaching the multitudes and supporting the communication posts in the interest of the predetermined audience. Previous members of the fourth estate were reliant on the preference of news editors for the time and space they were provided for in TV and newspapers channels (Lenhart et.al, 2015). As at now social media is affording them increased freedom and space in the way of blogs.

In many civil rights circles, the media has typically been considered as the regulator of societal issues, a sort of watchdog. For now, social media is taken up the role of “watchdog of watchdogs” in the way that when some controversial news does not get space in mainstream media, somebody from the public will expose the issue on micro blogs or social media sites. The buzz generated on social media networks set the news platform for conventional media. Nonetheless, mainstream media has continually suffered the fury of state authorities in some societies. Government of like Iran, China and India have faced sharp criticism for gagging the media whereas the sort of liberties social media is privileged with, traditional mass media can barely attain.

 Future of Social media

Notwithstanding over a billion consumers are listed on social networking networks whereas its presence in the society is still premature. ‘Orkut’ was once a very common social networking site at present it has lost its characteristic identity it exemplified in digital world. The same misfortune may befall other social networking sites as well (Best, Manktelow & Taylor, 2014). A current review by Pew Research Centre on social media utility by youngsters established that Facebook was losing its vital demographic, which far along powered to its accomplishment. The research posited that teenagers are gradually deserting Facebook and turning to Twitter, MySpace and Instagram, where they allege they experience more privacy (Lenhart & Page, 2015). With remarkable use of social media to search for information, readers are exposed to belated and specious information on pertinent academic matters. Such information might be quite challenging for users to depend. Today, many people utilize their full time on online platform, while readers are utilizing online information for their scholarly work and so the big question is if they take cognizance of critical issues affecting society today with respect to social media.

Conclusion

Social media will continue to exemplify a colossal source of education, information, entertainment and communication in the same token it will present a huge challenge for the diverse features of our social and personal lives. The communication spectacle is fashioning a new sort of social order espoused by social networks albeit wearying inter-personal relations. User-produced content will result to more piracy and plagiarism, a new type of social dependence for the younger generation that will be taking to reorient, an era of over communication (24 hours of chatting messaging and) as well as alienation that results to psychological malady (Gillespie, Boczkowski & Foot, 2014). The new media would most likely lead to dilapidation of moral ethics in various segments that may result to a cultural shock for the 20th Century generation. Nonetheless, over-reliance on social media may lead to mass media’s reign, resulting to more representation and more involvement in public domain.

References

Best, P., Manktelow, R., & Taylor, B. (2014). Online communication, social media and adolescent wellbeing: A systematic narrative review. Children and Youth Services Review, 41, 27-36.

Gillespie, T., Boczkowski, P. J., & Foot, K. A. (2014). Media technologies: Essays on communication, materiality, and society. MIT Press.

Lenhart, A., Duggan, M., Perrin, A., Stepler, R., Rainie, H., & Parker, K. (2015). Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015: Smartphones facilitate shifts in communication landscape for teens. Pew Research Center website. Science & Tech. Retrieved from http://www. pewinternet. org/files/2015/04/PI_TeensandTech_Update2015_0409151. pdf.

Lenhart, A., & Page, D. (2015). Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015: Smartphones Facilitate Shifts in Communication Landscape for Teens. Pew Research Center; April 2015. CI Jaen-Cortés et al./Acta de Investigación Psicológica 7 (2017) 2593, 2605(2605), 27-32.

Peters, K., Chen, Y., Kaplan, A. M., Ognibeni, B., & Pauwels, K. (2013). Social media metrics—A framework and guidelines for managing social media. Journal of Interactive Marketing, 27(4), 281-298.