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Uses of Social Media Dimpal Patel University of North Carolina at Charlotte

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Why do people nowadays spend so much time at the computer? Is this advancing technology a good thing? What has social media brought to the table? How has forms of communication changed in the past decade? As an active member of social networks I hear these questions all the time whether it be on the news, Internet, my parents, or in a classroom. I always have the same answer when it comes to social media and that is Get with the decade people! Yes technology is improving therefore more and more people are on the computer because you can do more online now than ever before. I love social networks and I use them every day. I love posting pictures on Facebook and Instagram and seeing notification saying someone has liked my picture/ status. However I do feel that social networks should be private so only your friends can see them. These new advancements are a great thing because they allow people to communicate all over the world. Throughout this paper we will explore the ever shifting space of social media. More specifically we will address potential dangers, how it has impacted our communication strategies, and reasons for use. Before we enter the literature review on this paper there is terminology that you must be familiar with. These are some key social media terms that I will be using throughout the paper. Terms: Media Logic- Media logic is a nationally recognized agency specializing in marketing for a social world; branding, owned media, and online community development. Social Media Manager- A social media manager manages a clients social media strategy. It is the social media managers job to make sure eighty to ninety percent of the companys employees are using social tools effectively. The social media manager develops a unique, individually tailored social media strategy for each of their clients. A lot of times they work for businesses.

Commented [DP1]: Insert category headings to make it easier to read. Have like a introduction heading, literature review heading, entering the conversation heading, and a so what/ conclusion heading

Commented [DP2]: Great introduction! Really gets the readers attention. get with the decade! is a good phrase. The questions are a good way to start.

Commented [DP3]: The terms do a good job explaining these words. They really make sense because I did not know what these word meant.

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Communication in Social Media Social media is in our everyday lives whether its in popular culture, surveillance, commercialism, marketing, military strategies, weapon systems, or social change and revolution. Social order is a communicated order and has shaped the way we live our lives. News, politics, religion, and sports all use media logic to communicate. (Altheide, 2013). It has not only shaped our lives but also it has also shaped the way marketers promote their products. Social-media is not just a "two-way conversation" between marketers and consumers but it is a one way conversation. If a company wants to promote something then they just have to put it online. We can only read what the company wants us to know about the product therefore it is a one way conversation from marketers. As we enter this modern social media advertising is becoming easier (Dumenco, 2012). Change in economic structure also leads to social change in the marketing world and how we communicate. Media logic has brought a wide spread interest in the use of the Internet, smart phones, and other social media (Altheide, 2013). Both Altheide and Dumenco agree that social media has made sharing much easier. The major difference is this new type of social media is easier to access because the Internet is everywhere and is basically free for the people to use (Altheide, 2013) and (Dumenco, 2012). Meyer argues that social media can actually be hurting the way the world communicates. With any social network there is one thing that must remain consistent and that is conversation. In order for social media to work conversation must be maintained in some manner (Meyer, 2009). Nowadays online lives are lived as fully as offline lives are. Social networking websites adjust to our most basic needs, and assist us in fulfillment of needs, allowing us to create and relate in an open community without having to have face to face contact (Ray, 2007). Social networks are asking you to connect with people but in reality it is not a conversation because

Commented [DP4]: The bold titles make it easier to read. I know what I am about to read by reading the heading. You should do that throughout the paper.

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there is no physical contact. In social media you can create profiles and share pictures but if you share yourself in social media then you are not actually communicating (Meyers, 2009). Altheide and Snow put it best when they said We urge researchers to recognize the role of a highly rational and bureaucratized media logic in transforming and shaping the meanings of knowledge of social institutions, including politics. We believe this approach will not only demystify and delegitimize the media culture being produced, but will once again elevate relevant decisions to the respective institutional arenas. (Altheide & Snow, 1979, p. 247). It has been researched that approximately 128 million Americans 18 and older are always checking email, surfing the web, blogging, downloading music and games, online banking, shopping, instant messaging, and living a full online life. Online social networking websites have caused a major jump in computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the past few years (Ray, 2007). An example of this is when Americas ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, made news when she responded in 140 characters to sarcastic comments by her Russian counterpart, after she met with the Russian protest group Pussy Riot. Ambassador Power responded via tweet that she would go on tour with Pussy Riot. This shows us an example of diplomats communicating with each other online for the world to see. A lot of well-known people are using social media now to communicate news. Twitter and social media can be used tactically by presidents, prime ministers, and foreign ministers to make news and to shape the news the way they want to without the intermediating of traditional media (Twittersphere, 2014). Computermediated communication is also a good way for people to stay in contact with one another. The Internet is good for people who cant get around well because they can do practically anything they have to on the Internet (Ray, 2007). This new form of communication has also effected how news is reported, it used to be that TV networks would only use videos from other news
Commented [DP5]: Great way of explaining how social media is becoming more prominent. Commented [DP6]: This sentence is repeated again in the social media and teenagers section. This is a great sentence and gives us perspective. But one of the sentences need to be reworded since the same sentence was used twice.

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organizations but now TV networks use YouTube, Internet, and smart phones as means to get their information. A lot of networks now try to find feel good videos (Altheide, 2013). Social Media and Teenagers Research has shown that approximately 128 million Americans 18 and older are always checking email, surfing the web, blogging, downloading music and games, online banking, shopping, instant messaging, and living a full online life (Ray, 2007). Teenagers are using social media to figure out how to present themselves in different contexts. They're trying to figure out the boundaries with regard to their peers. As teenagers get older they update their social networks to look cooler (Blair, 2014). A study recently showed that Facebookers sought social acceptance with their profile presentations. On social media sites people often portray themselves as totally different from what they really are. They have a social sphere identity (Knight, J., & Weedon, A., 2013. Jamahri Sydnor, one of the teenagers Boyd interviewed for her book, says, "My phone is my escape from all of the things at school and other things that stress me out. So I think that being on your phone is a good thing. And like games, social networking, it's a good thing because you can escape. (Blair, 2014). Some teenagers however are against social networking websites. The primary reasons for not using social networking websites were that they were perceived to be a waste of time and unnecessary. People believed it might lead to an addiction, violate privacy concerns or share unnecessary information (Turan, Z., Tinmaz, H., & Goktas, Y., 2013). However more and more teenagers are using social media networks every day. They are using social networks to escape the real world. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. So much of social networking is not monitored or cant be monitored which can cause problems. Context is everything and teenagers behavior online in misinterpreted without it (Blair, 2014).

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Social Media and Bullying Both Patel and Sydell agree that the biggest down side to using social networking sites it cyberbullying. More social media sites are appearing. Some sites are easier to bully people off of like Ask.fm. This is a fairly new social website it allows people ask someone questions anonymously. The fact that it allows users to be anonymous is more dangerous. Several cases of bullying and even one suicide have been reported from the use of this website. Ask.fm is responding by adding new features where it makes it easier to report and block abusive comments (Sydell, 2013). In my figured world of Pretty Little Liars there are these four girls (Hanna, Spencer, Emily, Aria) who keep getting bullied via text message and email. The development of all this new technology, like social media, allows for A (the unknown bully) to easily blackmail the girls. A threatens to tell lies and hidden secrets of the girls to the world via social media if they dont listen. The main character Allison has someone after her because she was a bully. She did all her bullying secretly through social networks. Since everything was done on social media it was easy for her to keep a secret identity (Patel, 2014). The point Sydell argues in her article is that teenagers all over the world get cyberbullied on these social networks and theres nothing law enforcement can do about it. Social networking sites allow people to hide behind a mask but still say anything they want to and not get in trouble for it (Sydell, 2013). This is exactly what is going on in the figured world of Pretty Little Liars. The girls cant tell anyone about their cyberbully because there is nothing the law enforcement can do since the messages are anonymous (Patel, 2014). Social Media as an Information Source

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Radio is changing as advancements in technology are being made these changes have brought about changes on radio practice and cultures especially in the production of news. Radio can now be a virtual space, network space, mobile space and at the same time still remaining a physical space in the studio. The multiple platforms of websites, social media, podcasts, online and mobile streaming makes radio be easily accessed by many social classes (Moyo, 2013). In the past companies (like radio stations) would have to hire a social media manager to help them learn how to do work online and set up their website on social media. But nowadays social media jobs have been declining because of the modern age of technology. The era of the social media manager is over because technology is becoming easier to use by businesses (Holmes, 2014). Social media has also made an impact on the way people find information. Recently social media has been used to research on some serious topics such as health information and other crises. One social media site that holds great promise as a social medium for information is Twitter. Nowadays more news is being told via social media sites before it is shown on television. The question however is how credible these sites are (Westerman, D., Spence, P. R., & Van Der Heide, B., 2014). All media technology have been shaped by the nature of capitalism and all of them have been used for forms of communication that are marked by the kind of society we live in. The average number of people that view a radios website per day was shown to be 225 people in 2010. Advertising has also become very popular in radio because a wide range of people can be reached (Moyo, 2013). One social media site that holds great promise as a social medium for information is Twitter. Social media is designed to cater to those who want information in real time and that is why Twitter is popular in reporting news because of it immediacy of messages. The study found that more the more a site is updated the more

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credibility it has. This is why Twitter is so popular for a source of information because it is continuously updating itself (Westerman, D., Spence, P. R., & Van Der Heide, B., 2014). Increasing use of social media has changed the way people communicate with each other. This can be looked at in both good ways and bad ways. It all depends on the way people use social media. Social media however has brought about many new problems to our society. One of the major problems many students face nowadays is cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is becoming harder to stop because there are more and more social media sites. Since cyberbullying is happening online and there is no actual physical damage being done the law enforcement cannot do anything (Sydell, 2013). There should be more information out there on cyberbullying because many people are not aware of how often it happens. All high schools should offer a workshop on how to deal with cyberbullying. This workshop will help students recognize when they are getting bullied online and then know a way to stop it. The workshop will teach students signs for what to look for such as unwanted comments of personal websites such as on Facebook and Twitter. A lot of kids who are getting bullied dont know what to do or how to stop it so they keep quite. In all honesty there are several ways you can block a person or secure your website better but many people dont know about them. The workshop will explain to the students ways that you can block people on multiple social media sites. When you are setting up a social networking site, lets say Facebook for example, when you are setting it up there are multiple options about the privacy of your page but these options can get confusing. The workshop will go over how to set up accounts on different social networks. This will help the students know how to set up their privacy settings so they dont have unwanted friends or followers.
Commented [DP7]: Great workshop idea. It really goes along with the whole paper about social media

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A lot of cyberbullies dont realize the effects of their comments on peoples pages. The workshop will do activities like watching movies about someone who has been cyberbullied and how dangerous it can be. Watching movies like this can help the bully see what damage they are actually causing. Hopefully this activity will encourage people to stop cyberbullying. Advancing technology has made it easier to live a life completely by using social media. A lot of people rely on social networks because they feel thats the only way to communicate nowadays or they have a hard time communicating off of social networks in real life. The workshop will do activities to help students learn how to socialize better and how to start conversations. There will be a communications specialist at the workshop who helps people with communication skills. They will go over tips of how to start conversations, how to be social, and how to get over your fear of embarrassment (many people dont talk in public because they are afraid of embarrassing themselves). These tips will teach students to be social without having to have a social network. After these tips/ advice is given the students will split up into small groups (three to five students). These groups will be split up based on personality traits which they will acquire through a personality test. The groups will have an open discussion about how they feel about social media. This will stimulate communication and socialization skills for the students. They will make new friends whom they share common beliefs with. After the workshop with the students the parents will also be trained on recognizing signs of bullying. Many parents are not aware that their child is being bullied. The workshop will explain signs that their child will show if they are being bullied. Parents will be trained on what the right steps are to take if their child is being bullied. Tips will be given on how to get students off of social networks if they are having a negative impact on their lives. Sometimes kids will have social networks but hide it from their parents. In this case parents will be given advice on

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how to monitor their kids internet usage and what rules they should have in order to maintain their kids safety online. I have talked about multiple uses of social media nowadays. There are several new ways people can communicate in todays society. Whether it may be in the form of social networks or in the form of text messages. These new forms of communication make it easier for people all over the world to communicate. Social media makes peoples lives easier because they can do practically everything online. Teenagers are using social networks more than ever before. Teenagers turn to social networks for social acceptance. As more and more social networks pop up the more dangerous the Internet becomes. Cyberbullying is becoming more prominent in these social networks. There should be workshops given to better warn parents and teenagers about the dangerous of social media. Social media brings about new ways to present news. News channels are finding new ways to retrieve and present their information such as on social networks. So why is it important for people to know about social media and how to use it? It is important for people to be aware of the role of social media in todays society because as technology advances more and more things are being done on the Internet. If people dont learn about this new technology and accept it then they will get left behind. Nowadays most good jobs require some knowledge of social media. Everything is becoming paperless therefore people need to know how to operate things online. It is important for people to be aware of the dangers of social media also, like on social networks. People need to know how to be safely operate online. People need to know how to be safe and conscious online because you never knows who is watching them. More studies need to be conducted about the responsibilities of the
Commented [DP8]: There is a lot of repeating of ideas. I should narrow down my ideas so they are different. Maybe change the wording of the sentence.

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government with social media. The government can monitor everything that people are doing online. More research needs to be done of whether this is ethical or not and what guidelines there should be. People need to know what the government does with this power of surveillance. If people knew how in depth the government can spy on you then people would be more careful of what they put on social media. More research needs to be done on why the government does this and if it is for our own safety.
Commented [DP9]: Try to state something that brings the whole paper together. Have a closing sentence how all this relates back to cyberbullying. Then talk about my workshop plans. Right now it ends abruptly. Commented [DP10]: Talk about how peoples rights are violated. Talk about why this makes social media dangerous. State specifically what rights are violated.

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References Altheide, D. L. (2013). Media Logic, Social Control, and Fear. Communication Theory (10503293), 23(3), 223-238. doi:10.1111/comt.12017 Blair, E. (Writer) (2014). Online, researcher says, teens do what theyve always done. National Public Radio. [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2014/02/25/282359480/social-media-researcher-gets-how-teenagersuse-the-internet DUMENCO, S. (2012). The brutal truth about social media: It's OK to be a little antisocial. Advertising Age, 83(9), 2-3. Knight, J., & Weedon, A. (2013). Social media and debates in 3D cinema. Convergence: The Journal Of Research Into New Media Technologies, 19(4), 389-390. doi:10.1177/1354856513494671 Meyer, M. (2009). Give more and get more out of social media. Communication World, 26(6), 48. Moyo, L. (2013). The digital turn in radio: A critique of institutional and organizational modeling of new radio practices and cultures. Telematics & Informatics, 30(3), 214-222. doi:10.1016/j.tele.2012.10.003 Patel, D. (2014). Pretty little liars. Ray, M. (2007). Needs, Motives, and Behaviors in Computer-Mediated Communication: An Inductive Exploration of Social Networking Websites TOP STUDENT PAPER Nr 3. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association, 1. Ryan Holmes The evolution of the social media manager. (2014). Communication World, 31(1), 9-11

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Sydell, L. (Writer) (2013). Raising social media teens means constant parental learning. National Public Radio. [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2013/10/29/241605525/asdfd Turan, Z., Tinmaz, H., & Goktas, Y. (2013). The Reasons for Non-Use of Social Networking Websites by University Students. Comunicar, 21(41), 137-145. doi:10.3916/C41-2013-13 Twittersphere lets us in on diplomats' 'normal' banter. (2014). National Public Radio. [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2014/02/11/275087481/twittersphere-letsus-in-on-diplomats-normal-banter Westerman, D., Spence, P. R., & Van Der Heide, B. (2014). Social Media as Information Source: Recency of Updates and Credibility of Information. Journal Of ComputerMediated Communication, 19(2), 171-183. doi:10.1111/jcc4.12041