Social Media’s Impact on Business and Personal Identity

By: Greg Yotsov

How has social media impacted business?

• 2 most common ways:

– The ability for business owners to advertise

– The ability for employers to conduct background checks.

Advertising

• Social networks provide companies with:– A global audience/ marketplace– Free advertising – Personalized means of communication between

customers and companies• Customers have a louder voice which they may use to

support or speak against companies.

Background Checks

• Employers can discover useful personal information on a job applicant’s social media site that is not visible at an interview.

How do these impacts affect personal identity?• People become obsessed with “advertising”

themselves• The need to keep a clean online image creates a

social norm that looks down upon the posting of inappropriate things, causing some people to drop bad habits and adopt good ones in their place

• People become aware of the voice they have and choose to take action more than they have before

Big Picture

• The invention of social media has greatly benefitted businesses and their customers as well

• Overall, there is a positive impact on personal identity