THE IMPACTS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING ON PERSONAL LIVES OF

THE PEOPLE ECONOMICALLY AND POLITICALLY

BY

THEMBO JIMMY

10/U/413/ITD/GV

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INTRODUCTION

Modern media practices have evolved significantly from their traditional forms, with the key concepts of

this new media being participation and interactivity (O’Reilly, 2005,) (Anderson, 2007). Today society

exists in a digital age, where everything in our lives is spread out across as much media as possible and

this media is shaped by everyone and relates to the Internet and the online world, as Brücks,

Mehnert, Prommer and Rader (2008) confirm in their statement that the Internet is part of our

everyday life, for the reason that we do the same on the Internet as in real life, probably in a

more efficient, faster and cheaper way. As such, communication using the Internet as a channel

is becoming increasingly popular. Social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, orkut.com,

hi5.com and MySpace are taking lead in this discipline

A social network is a social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or

organizations) that are tied by one or more specific types of relations. With the rapid growth of

people who use or have access to the Internet, social networking websites are a must for the

Internet community to stay in touch with each other (Wikipedia 2011).

Social networking web sites help people keep in touch with old friends make new friends;

distribute new data or product, and many more aspects of our everyday lives. With the rapid

growth of social networking web sites and their global scale usage, whatever one feels

concerning social networking web sites is irrelevant because social networking web sites are on a

popularity rise and are here to stay.

The first official social networking web site was Classmates.com which was founded in 1995

(Social Network, 2007). What followed was a slow but steady growth in numbers of social

networking websites to the overwhelming number of sites we have today. The reason that social

networking websites work so well is that, like their inception, they start of small and then grow

exponentially. The site starts off with a few people who then tell their friends about the site, then

those friends tell their friends about the site and soon the site is a huge database of users

connected by friends, acquaintances, or just random people.

The websites are made to allow users to create a "profile" describing themselves and to exchange

public or private messages and list other users or groups they are connected to in some way.”

(Social Network 2007)

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IMPACTS OF SOCIAL NETWORKING

With proliferation of social networking online comes its impact on society; a difference in what

people do and how they do it. Changes in society, economic and political are simultaneously

positive and negative and this is the case with the impact of online social networking. For this

reason the researcher set out to investigate the impacts that interaction through social networking

sites has on today’s society politically and economically in relation to the modern media concept

of greater interaction. The researcher’s findings are categorized as positive impacts and negative

impacts of social networking.

Positive impacts of social networking to the society economically and politically

While social networking technological features are fairly consistent, the cultures that emerge

around social networking sites are varied. Most sites support the maintenance of pre-existing

social networks, but others help strangers connect based on shared interests, political views, or

activities. From this, it is evident that the main use of social networking facilitates interaction

and communicating with others. We use them to keep up to date and in touch with existing

friends and relations, or to create new relationships Boyd, D., & Ellison, N. (2007).

The amount and type of additional features and services offered by different social networking

sites often relates to their popularity. Social networking sites offer a diverse range of aids and

methods in which to communicate online. Globalization, interaction, participation and usability

are encouraged through these sites; therefore they relate to the (growing) fundamental concepts

of modern, digital society.

The significance placed on interaction and participation within these social networking sites is

evident in the numerous ways in which communication is encouraged. For example, some social

networking sites, such as MySpace, twitter and Facebook offer users the ability to create sub-

groups of people based on similar interests. These can vary from support groups, to fan groups,

to community organizations or school groups. The basis behind them is to share information and

communicate with others. Apart from that, people have the ability (depending on privacy

settings) to comment and respond to ‘status updates’ and statements or comments that others

have posted, thereby initiating communication. On sites such as YouTube, people may even give 1

a video response. By allowing such feedback, there is the prospect of conversation, of debate, of

sharing information or perceiving new ideas. It is this capability of interaction that makes social

networking extension of real life (Greenstein, 2009).

Social networking offers the ability to access information and communicate with others at any

time and in any place and regardless of the physical location of other people. People can

maintain a constant connection with existing friends and family who might live in different

countries, or they can form new relationships with other nationalities, regardless of ‘real time’ or

separate locations in this way social networking combats loneliness by overcoming ‘real life’

boundaries, such as time or distance, and establishing a continuous link to communicating with

others, a feeling of participation and belonging is created (Anderson, T. (2007)

The virtual anonymity of online experience helps to reduce social discomfort and discrimination,

or stereotyping otherwise associated with real-life perceptions of age, disabilities, race, gender,

or culture. By communicating online, it allows people to see past physical differences and focus

on a deeper connection, discovering similarities that may have been previously disregarded.

By forming groups of people with similar interests (particularly if the interest or hobby is not

mainstream), social networking creates a sense of unity and belonging in people who might have

previously felt alienated in society because of an inability to relate to local people. Particularly in

areas with smaller populations, the chance of discovering others with similar interests is

infrequent but by removing these location barriers through online social networking, the chance

of meeting people with the same interests is greatly increased. Social networking gives the

impression that it is a much smaller world.

Social networking also offers the chance of communication in cases where mobility is often a

hindrance to social interaction. Elderly people and those with physical disabilities who have an

inability to leave their house are able to stay in touch with existing relations and friends, as well

as get in touch with people who have similar issues. The use of social networking amongst deaf

teens is an example of the benefits of online communication in relationship to physical

disabilities. Chen-See (2009) tells us that online communication “provides a unique, convenient

communication tool that does not require speaking verbally” and as such “may empower some

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teens with hearing loss as it helps to level the playing field.” This is also the case with people

who have psychological disorders who may also have limited mobility.

Another benefit of social networking is the promotion of education and news. People can share

information via links, reviews and applications. They may source this information from other

places and share them with others or provide their own information for education, updates of

news or support. Many educational institutions encourage learning via the Internet and social

networking sites because it allows an easy communication channel for students to learn and share

skills Lecky-Thompson (2009).

Prior the evolution of social networking, colleges and universities offer courses online. Social

networking with the internet has changed and revolutionized education around the world. People

can now graduate with a degree without even visiting the university they earned the degree from.

This evolution is also important to people who want to further their education while working a

full-time job. These people can comfortably take classes when it is convenient for them, and also

decide on the pace of their classes. It is also important for elderly people who need or want to get

a degree. Most classes nowadays are filled mainly by teenagers, and this may cause some kind of

stigma to elderly people who desire to study. Imagine being in a class with students that are

young enough to be one’s children, or even grandchildren. As a result of this development,

everyone can now have the opportunity of attaining a decent education for themselves regardless

of age, or engagement at work.

Businesses are also honing in on the ability to market and advertise through social networking

“New media shifts the balance of control for production and distribution of content between

corporations and consumers” social networking forms part of this balance. With the millions of

people that use social networking, companies are better able to advertise to specific markets or

discover, monitor and engage with loyal brand advocates. Conversely, they can also “discover

disgruntled customers and realize their concerns. In addition to advertising through these sites,

they can notify of products, announcements or competitions or research target markets and

industry trends. They can socialize and network with industry peers and build industry contacts

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Another aspect of business affected by social networking websites is marketing. With the

millions of people that use social networking web sites, what better way to market your product

by buying space on those web sites? Whether it’s through banners or links, millions of people

will view your ads should they be placed on a social networking website. Not only is online

advertising more effective than commercial advertising such as TV ads and magazines, it’s also

more cost effective and reaches far more people than other forms of advertising.

Social networking websites leads fair pricing. With so many businesses out there creating

virtually the same product it’s easy for one to get lost in the broad spectrum of products. With

social networking websites people can get advice from experts, gain knowledge of product

through others who have used it, and get reviews on nearly anything that is mass produced today.

This in turn is also great for businesses. With all this information out there concerning products

it’s easy for a company to look through it and see what customers want and for how much. This

in turn leads to better products being made to suit the customers’ needs and wants.

The negative impacts of social networking to the society politically and economically

Although many people don’t think of it, social networking web sites harbour many dangerous

elements and many people are concerned about some major problems that they contain. One

such problem is privacy issues. With social networking web sites like Orkut.com, Facebook.com

and MySpace.com, it is almost too easy to retrieve personal information about someone and use

it to harm them. In a case with MySpace.com, the availability of being able to customize one’s

own site has allowed people to use phishing html code to create phishing profiles that allows that

person to access anyone’s profile who have visited the phishing profile. Phishing can often lead

to the loss of personal information such as usernames, credit card numbers, and passwords.

(Phishing 2007) This in turn causes great privacy issues since that person can now access

personal information and then sell it off to marketing companies for a profit. (MySpace, 2007)

This selling of information to companies has led to the rise in spam emails that we all receive.

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Another great issue of concern with social networking is that of child safety. Research has shown

that almost three out of every four teenagers who use social networking web sites are at risk due

to their lack of using online safety. (Joly, Karine, 2007). A lot of the web sites do have an age

requirement but it is easily bypassed by the lying about of one’s age. Even if they don’t lie about

their age the average age requirement is around fifteen years old. Myspace.com has been

specifically targeted for these child safety issues after a sixteen year old girl flew to Tel Aviv,

Israel to meet and engage in sexual relations with a twenty year old male whom she had met

through MySpace.com. (MySpace, 2007) Although a lot of the social networking web sites are

trying to implement new ways to keep children safe, MySpace.com included, predators are

finding ways around these new implementations and kids are still naive to the fact that not

everyone online is who they say they are.

A third issue of concern with social networking is that of copyright infringement. With the

massive amount of files shared through social networking web sites it has to tell sometimes who

the original owner of the selected file is. Also, commercial products are being reproduced by

individuals and uploaded to these social networking web sites. YouTube.com is a great example

of how copy right infringement can come about using a social networking website. Members can

pretty much upload anything they want on to YouTube.com to be viewed by anyone who comes

across it. This leads to many people committing copyright infringement and uploading files and

video clips that don’t belong to them. The only real way that copyright infringement is reported

is through the self-policing of the YouTube community. (YouTube, 2007) With the easily missed

copy right infringement YouTube has been sued many times in the past and is now being sued

for over one billion dollars by Viacom on the claim that YouTube.com has 160,000 videos that

belong to Viacom on their site without Viacom’s permission. (YouTube, 2007)

The negative impact of social networking sites is profound. For example Americans are

becoming increasingly dependent on their social networks and the Internet. The widespread use

of Smart phones and broadband Internet connections leads to increased dependency on social

networks. The effects of social networking can be seen at work, in the classroom, and throughout

society. Excessive use of the technology creates antisocial and house dwelling citizens who lack

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social skills. Social media and networking create distractions in the workplace and cost

employers money. According to a 2009 report, employees spent on average of 40 minutes per

week on social networking sites while at work. While 40 minutes may not sound like a long

time, over a one-year period it costs employers $2.25 billion. Brian Deagon (2007).

The term, "Social Networking" misleads people to believe they are social beings. Sitting in front

of a computer for hours on endless chatting with friends while playing Farmville does not

translate into social skills. People become dependent on the technology and forget how to

interact with the world around them. Social networks provide an outlet for the socially

challenged to express themselves in digital form. Someone's online personality may be

completely different from their offline persona, causing chaos when their two "lives" intersect."

The negative impact of social networking sites is evident in online dating when the couple meets

face-to-face for the first time. Commonly their personalities do not match their self-written

descriptions. It is easier to type what someone wants to hear rather than telling the truth. Brian

Deagon (2007).

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CONCLUSION

For all the benefits of social networking in today’s society, it is evident that any impact they have

is due to not merely the sites themselves but “the communications layer embedded within them

Social networking depend on the interaction between users. It is simply an extension of social

networking in the real world and “ever since the term was born, countless people have debated

the implications of taking social interactions virtual.” At some point people think social

networking would be both the downfall of mankind, and the thing that would bring the planet

together but the truth is that social networking, while great in many respects, does not fulfill a

fundamental human desire to be in the actual presence of other people. Although there are some

major issues that the social networking sites must address such as the protection of private

information, the protection of children, and the protection of copyrighted material. However, as

an extension of offline communication, the use of social networking sites is incredibly

advantageous to society and social networking is one of the best inventions of the modern era

because they connect so many people.

Recommendations

Some ideas for future research for social networking websites would be personal contact

offices to register on these sites to determine the legitimacy of the person who is trying to

register. Although this would most likely end up a great hassle, it would provide the best

security out there for people who are trying to have safe fun and connect with people that

share similar interests and ideas.

Another future tool social networking websites could use would be a licensing agreement

with certain parties to prevent copyright infringement from happening on the Internet.

There is need is to utilize social networking effectively for good reasons and find ways to

curb its negative influence. The situation also demands some kind of moral trafficking

and policing to regulate its use.

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References

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