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Ashley House
Professor Deadrick
English102
3/29/16
Social Media in Todays World

The internet is the newest phenomenon of the twenty-first century. It is currently used
every day by more than half the worlds population. Most people have access to the internet both
at work and at home. The internet is a platform for social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter,
and various other networking sites where people can share their pictures, opinions, and ideas.
Social networking has advanced the world in many different ways for example, people can now
have more than just a few friends, it helps strengthen relationships in the real world, and people
are more aware of what goes on in different parts of the world such as North Korea or Iraq.
Social media allows people to be more conscious of what is going on in todays world, and
allows for people to be more conscious of what others are doing or feeling.
Mark Zuckerburg, widely known as the creator of Facebook, created Facebook in 2004
while attending Harvard. Facebook is a social networking site where people can add and
chat with their friends; there are options to share pictures, videos, links to other websites, and
anything else one might find interesting enough to share with their friends and family. Mark
started it as a networking site specifically for his university, but later with some added
adjustments, anyone in the world with access to the internet can create a Facebook profile. It is
now the most popular social networking site in the world. In todays generation, it is rare to meet

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someone who does not have a Facebook profile or at least know what Facebook is. Occasionally,
people will make conscious decisions to not create a Facebook profile because of their traditional
beliefs or values, or even to protect their identity and privacy.
Social Media can have a beneficial affect on peoples lives if used appropriately and
moderately. There are many studies that link too much time spent on social media sites such as
Facebook or Instagram can lead to major depression, personality disorders, and social anxiety
when face-to-face with people in real life. Social Media is easily addictive and has even been
known to ruin relationships and marriages. I personally have had friends end their relationships
with their significant other because of a post they saw on a social media. Spending too much
time looking and scrolling down a screen can lead to poor eyesight, weight gain, and other
complicated health problems.
Even though the risks of social media are more emphasized than the benefits, people can
learn healthy ways of using social media to their full benefit. It is useful to have access to the
internet and social media, but it is important to remember to take a break from all forms of
screens at least once a day. Setting time restrictions on the amount of time spent on social media
daily can also help decrease the unnecessary time spent on sites like Facebook or Twitter.
In the article The Professional Uses of Social Media written by Ian Peate, the author
emphasizes how social media can be a powerful tool when used correctly. Peate claims that
social media is defined as as a group of internet-based applications that allow the creation and
exchange of user generated content (Peate 351). The definition of social media can be
interpreted in different ways, but it is ultimately websites where one can share a variety of things
like pictures, videos, or news articles. Social networking is defined as the use of dedicated
websites and applications to interact with other users or to find people with similar interests to

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ones own (Peate 351). In Peates article, he has researched social networking statistics and
claims there are more than 890 million active Facebook users and twitter has 288 million active
monthly users. That statistic means than half of the worlds population has a Facebook profile.
People who work in the government or any other serious field of work who choose to participate
in social media must be aware of the guidelines and responsibilities that their job poses on them
when networking online. For example, people are not allowed to reveal any patient-related
information through the use of social media, people are also not allowed to reveal information
that is considered to be confidential. According to Peates article, It is unacceptable to vent or
air any grievances you may have online and to make reference to work situations, colleagues or
service users (Peate 352). Because of social networking in todays world, sometimes before
taking on a job, people may have to sign a contract stating that they are aware of the policies and
guidelines pertaining to the use of social media in accordance to their potential job, and also
promising they will not use social media to talk about things that go on in the workplace.
Breaching these contracts could result in losing a job or may potentially result in their
experiencing serious legal and professional repercussions (Peate 351). This article urges people
to remember to remain professional when using social media, and to keep your professional life
and personal life separate. Many people may not be aware of how social media can easily harm
ones career, and it is important to be know because not knowing may result in losing
opportunities that can have an impact on the rest of your life.

The first article I reviewed made me aware of the repercussions that can occur when
people are not careful about what they post on social media. The second article I found titled
Social Media: A Tool for Open Innovation by Matthew Mount and Marian Garcia Martinez,

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explains how social media can be more beneficiary rather than consequential. Social media is
where online communities let companies draw insights from a deep, diverse knowledge pool
that can be applied to organizational innovation (Mount 124). Social media in this article is
defined as a set of online tools open for public membership that support idea sharing,
creating and editing content, and building relationships through interaction and collaboration
(Mount 126). Social media is an effective tool for small businesses and companies who want
to connect with their consumers, and the fastest and easiest way to do that is through social
networking because consumers direct involvement in internal activities helps forge a deep
emotional bond with the company that can lead to enhanced loyalty, satisfaction, and brand
perceptions (Mount 125). This article emphasizes more on how social media can be a
business tool rather than just connecting with friends.
Throughout Mount and Martinezs research, they found Scholars argue that individuals are
motivated to participate in contests by a mixture of intrinsic incentives (fun, pride, and
satisfaction), extrinsic incentives (monetary rewards) and status incentives (recognition and
community reputation). Similar incentives are observed for participation in co-creation processes
for brand development (Mount 126-127). People are more motivated and creative when there is
a reward as an incentive. When I log onto Facebook, I see many contests and give-aways from
popular businesses and people online, it is a common strategic way of keeping consumers
interested. There are people in todays world who run businesses off social media, and there are
people who use social media as a tool to make money, and some have proven to be very
successful.
How you portray yourself is also an important part of social media. People would choose
flattering rather than unflattering pictures uploaded onto their profiles because the people who

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come across these profiles are going to look through them and get first impressions or an idea of
who someone is based on the pictures and content of their profiles, whether its someone who
was just recently met or a potential employer. In the article Social Media: The New Mantra for
Managing Reputation written by coordinators Asha Kaul, and Vidhi Chaudhri, this article
emphasizes how social media is important in portraying not only ones self, but the business or
company that one may work for. The company will rely on its employees to spread positive
reviews about their products or offers on social media. People should present themselves in a
friendly and professional way, as should businesss. After researching a statistic, the authors
discovered it took radio 38 years to reach an audience of 50 million, television 13 years, and
AOL just two and a half years (Kaul 457). The speed and the interactivity of social media is
changing the way people see the world, and it is quickly becoming unavoidable. After the
authors reviewed a survey conducted by MIT Sloan Management Review, they found that the
presence of social media is not going to remain ignored because The change is clearly evident
in 2015 with businesses talking about their social media initiative. Social media is the quickest
and most efficient way to communicate with people. Businesss can no longer deny the
significance of social media, it has come to a point where they are trying to adapt to the social
media world, but because the businesss tend to be run by older people who may not have the
smartest approach, they must rely on younger employees to navigate social media for them.
Those born in the turn of the century, another term is called millennials, who grew up with
internet and have had a social media background figure throughout their lives because they have
grown up around it, have an easier time using social media, working it to their advantage, and
using it for advertising.The importance of social media in reputation management cannot be
denied (Kaul 457). Businesss in todays world continue to come up with strategies on how to

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portray themselves and what content they should include in their social media platforms to attract
more consumers. As we move further into the twenty-first century, businesss are learning how to
adjust their business to social media, and that includes monitoring employee and consumer
reviews and profiles to make sure their reputation isnt jeopardized with the social media
platform that they set up.Companies have begun to adopt surveillance measures and tools for
monitoring, shaping, framing, and communicating messages (Kaul 460). Businesss take their
reputations seriously Arguably then, the most valued asset of an organization is its reputation.
Reputations are fragile and difficult to form, develop, and maintain (Kaul 459). They want
consumers to appreciate their product or service so much that they will make a Facebook status
or tweet about it or even just tell their friends in person. This is spreading and maintaining a
positive reputation, which is important in the business world because it takes 20 years to build a
reputation, and five minutes to ruin it (Kaul 459). With the speed of how fast word spreads in
todays world through the internet, I believe that analogy is correct. There is always more focus
on the negative aspects rather than positive ones in any situation shared on social media.
Celebrities are always being made fun of and included in false stories on different news sites on
the internet, and it is hard to erase something from the internet once its already been shared,
which is why celebrities have a difficult time maintaining positive reputations. Businesss will
also use social media to listen to consumers reviews and use peoples reviews to better their
products and servicing. There are many popular review websites such as yelp or yahoo answers
that I myself have used before, and many other of my peers use them also when trying to find out
about a certain topic or others opinions about a restaurant or clothing store. Most Americans
receive their news from social media sites, consumers have begun to view social media as more
trustworthy than the TV, radio, or other traditional sources (Kaul 458) and not everything read

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online is completely trustworthy because it could be misinformed or false. This article
encourages readers to use more than one source for news coverage, and to always use more than
one site for thorough research on an event or topic. Business and connections are being
transferred to social media in an attempt to keep up with the changing trends and to reach out to
the younger generation of consumers.
Social media can have positive or negative affects depending on how one may use it. Even
though social media has proven to be relatively unhealthy in excessive amounts of use, it is
something that has advanced the world and people must learn to adapt to it because it brings
more positivity and connectivity to the world than negativity. I personally have a Facebook and a
twitter account so that I can connect with friends that I dont get the chance to see every single
day. I use my social networks at least once a day, it helps me keep up with my friends, keep up
with current events, and I see new things that inspire me on social media every day whether it is
a picture or a quote. People enjoy using social media, connecting and sharing with friends,
getting inspired from different quotes, pictures, or stories they might come across, and learning
new things through networking. It is important to be aware of the pros and cons, and even though
there is much controversy over social media being good or bad, it is not going to die out anytime
soon so it is better to find healthy and appropriate ways of using it so that it benefits everyone,
whether it is individuals or growing businesss.

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Works Cited
Peate, Ian. The Professional Use of Social Media Professional July (2015). Web. 1 April. 2016
Mount. Matthew. Martinez. Marian G. Social Media: A Tool For Open Innovation California
Management Review August (2014). 1 April. 2016
Kaul, Asha. Chaudri, Vidhi. Social Media: The New Mantra for Managing Reputation
Colloquium (2015). Web. 1 April. 2016

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