The Ramifications of Artificial Relations

          Social media is pervading our society. Facebook was created as recently as 2004, and yet it has become a staple of our daily interactions. Facebook does not stand alone in this sense, Twitter is an even more recent innovation, MySpace is slightly older, and yet social media such as these are used by a staggering amount of Americans, particularly among the current college-age generation. Take, for example, the current predominance of Twitter on the public scale. Politicians, athletes, musicians, artists, companies, organizations, and countless other public figures can “tweet,” and not only have it read instantly by thousands of followers, but have it reported in related news coverage. In ways such as this, even those who do not actively participate in social media are indisputably impacted by the prevalent place such websites hold in society. As such, there is no doubt that social media has evolved to become a part of our lives, and it seems unlikely that such innovations will be going away anytime soon.

            Yet even as social media begins to dominate many aspects of our society, many questions are raised. It seems only natural to examine how deep our dependence on social media even is. Do such artificial interactions diminish the human ability to intermingle naturally and disrupt the patterns of the human psyche itself? Such conclusions would lead one to assume that social media is merely a cancer to be torn from society. Yet there are doubtlessly benefits from such convenient technology, and it cannot be entirely problematic for society. Thus, we are led to seek the answer to a real and applicable question: is social media a good thing? Do the benefits and convenience of social media truly outweigh the disruptions to the natural order, or are we using such sites erroneously?

Social Media's Anxiety Effect

    

Indvik, Lauren. "Trending Stories." Mashable. N.p., 8 July 2012. Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://mashable.com/2012/07/08/social-media-anxiety-study/>.

          Walking through the average on campus study locations at Brigham Young University, thousands of students can be seen at their laptops appearing to be hard at work. However as you pay more attention, a casual glance will show you the thin blue bar at the top of the screen, indicating that rather than being on Microsoft Word doing their homework, they are actively scanning through their newsfeeds on Facebook, or other social networking web sites. Not only is social networking distracting individuals during time periods where they should be studying, it is also holding them back from classroom participation. This dependency on social networking is resulting in social anxiety in a large portion of these students.
          Social media has resulted in an inability for many of today’s college age students to interact in face to face social situations. A lot of this generation has turned to the internet to communicate with others, and the web has become their comfort zone. In a study conducted by the Anxiety UK, results that the dependency is having negative effects on these people. The survey taken by hundreds of participants showed that 45% of people get “worried or uncomfortable” when they were unable to use social networking web sites. This statistic demonstrates their addiction to these web sites results in anxiety felt similar by those who attempt to break addictive habits such as smoking. The study also showed results indicating that a quarter of people think that online arguments caused relationships to suffer. A final result showed that two thirds of people have difficulty sleeping after accessing social networking sites. The sleep lost can be crucial for college age students who are already pressed with little time allotted for sleep in their regular daily routine. (Richardson)
          The widespread addiction to Facebook and other social media websites has resulted in ruined ability to effectively communicate with others in daily life situations. The widespread use of social media has resulted in a dependency on it, where people are in able to function properly in its absence. Addiction to social networking is common, and can have very negative results in college age students, and can restrict their ability to learn and grow through education.

Works Cited

Richardson, Jordan. "Study: Social Media Causes Anxiety." - TheTelecomBlog.com. N.p., 12 July 2012.

          Web. 29 Oct. 2012. <http://www.thetelecomblog.com/2012/07/12/study-social-media-causes-   
           anxiety/>. 

The Business of Facebook

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Social media platforms, like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ are an ever-present entity in today’s society. College students spend hours surfing their newsfeeds, reading blog posts, and staying updated on the latest news among friends. Though many believe these students to be wasting their time on Facebook, this time spent using social media could also be giving them invaluable skills and exposure needed in today’s business world.

In recent years, many businesses have caught on to the social media buzz. According to the 2012 Social MediaMarketing Report, 94% of all businesses with a marketing department have used social media as part of their marketing platform and 85% of these companies have reported an increase in their market exposure. These stats make it obvious that social media is a mainstay in both the business world, and among the general public. As young people spend time on sites like Facebook and Twitter, they are becoming more and more versed in the art of social media, which could maybe even help them land a job one day.

In recent years, many companies have created new positions designated to specialize in the development and maintenance of that company’s presence in the social media world.  Many colleges around the company have even recognized this growing trend and now offer degrees specifically for social media marketing. This means that the college students who love to tweet and update their statuses have the opportunity to eventually get paid for it.  

Even if social media marketing isn’t your thing, social media still plays an important role in landing a job. Many companies today are turning to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to recruit potential employees. The following infograph illustrates just how much social media presence is crucial in finding a job:

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Overall, social media is here to stay and plays a significant role in the business world and our personal lives. What many once believed to be an ultimate time-waster has now proven to be an effective tool in landing a job, building a resume, and laying a foundation to a possible career path. 

Works Cited:

Bosari, Jessica. "The Developing Role of Social Media in the Modern Business    World."    Forbes. 08 2012: n. page. Web. 7 Nov. 2012.<http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneywisewomen/2012/08/08/the-developing-role-of-social-media-in-the-modern-business-world/>.

Convenience in Communication

            Although many say social media sites are just a waste of time, these websites are actually an effective means of communicating with others.
           We hear it said all the time: Facebook is a waste of time. Such criticisms, however, almost never evaluate what actually happens on Facebook. Consider the following results from a study of college-age young adults:

             This study should make it clear that Facebook is a useful tool that can be used effectively for positive purposes. The main reasons that Facebook is used according to the study above is to communicate with friends, in fact close to 85% of these college students used it for such. Only 25% responded that they used Facebook for entertainment, the category where procrastination and other time-wasting activities lie (Calvert, Pempek, and Yevdokiya). This suggests that the most common use of Facebook is communicating with friends, certainly a worthy endeavor, and Facebook is thus a useful way to accomplish this.

            Of course, if this all was an inefficient use of time, we would expect students to use Facebook less when they are busier, and hence have a greater desire to be efficient. Instead, that same study shows that, in fact, “Facebook use was integrated into students' daily lives, regardless of how busy they were” (Calvert, Pempek, and Yevdokiya). This suggests that Facebook is indeed a priority for many students, and thus that Facebook as a mode of communication is preferred for many students.

            Of course, all forms of social media can be effective means of communication. From employers wanting to learn about employees, to bloggers broadcasting themselves to the world, to celebrities “tweeting” their personal brands, ever-increasing amounts of people are turning to convenient social media sites to give and receive information between interested parties. In fact, such sites are becoming a necessity for any college-age young adults trying to keep in touch with the world around them. In our modern fast-paced world, it’s no wonder we need new ways to keep in touch. For this reason, social media provides a much-needed flow of information for college students that it would be self-defeating to ignore.

Works Cited:

Calvert, Sandra L., Tiffany A. Pempek, and Yevdokiya A Yermolayeva. “College Students’ Social 

             Networking Experiences on Facebook.” Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology 
             30.3 (2009): 227-238. Web.