Is Social Media Good or Bad for Society?

Just like with relationships, I believe social media has a complex effect on society. Depending on how it is used, it can have positive or negative effects on society as a whole. However, weighing the pros versus the cons, I believe that as a whole social media is ultimately beneficial for society, and we're better with it than we would be without it.

The connectivity that social media provides allows us to communicate across the globe more quickly and easily than ever. That alone is enough to make it a beneficial tool for society. News spreads infinitely faster, whether it's trivial or important. This has huge implications for society in a number of respects. In terms of safety, social media makes crisis communication is more thorough and effective, while also giving us better tools to track down criminals. Nowadays, it's much harder for criminals to act without leaving any traces of their behavior on social media (Rupert). Whether they post something incriminating, or someone else posts a witness account, social media makes it much more difficult for the average person to eliminate all evidence pertaining to a crime. That combined with the rapid spread of news makes it easier for law enforcement to keep society safe and secure.

Outside of safety, social media can serve as a strong political tool. Platforms like Twitter can unite people across the country with similar interests and allow them to be heard. The "voice of the people" is often a cliche when it comes to politics, but social media allows each person to truly make a difference and have their opinion heard. The result is a society that is more in sync with the views of the people, which in democratic countries is exactly what politics are supposed to be about.

Social media also affects consumer engagement, which I think is good for society. It gives people the platform to communicate with the people, companies and brands that matter most to them. Similar to the political example, it allows their voice to be heard. This could in turn lead to the people, companies and brands being more in tune with what their fans and/or consumers want. This means not only better communication, but better products as well.

With all those good things happening, how could social media be bad for society? Well for one, the connectivity aspect could lead to the spread of misinformation. Whether it's an inaccurate news story or a straight up lie, the pace at which social media allows news to spread is almost too fast for its own good. Before we can evaluate the validity of some stories, they've already spread to millions of people, which can have huge implications. If you need an example, look no further than the time the stock market declined after the Associated Press Twitter account was hacked and tweeted that President Obama had been injured in an explosion. In an instant, the S&P declined by 0.9%, wiping out $130 billion in stock value (Matthews).

Additionally, social media can be a detriment to society based on privacy issues (Jung). The same force that helps us capture criminals can prevent honest, hardworking people from getting jobs. Any post you put out on the Internet can be found later on, and often times this ends up hurting employees. Whether its a raunchy photo album or an insensitive post, the content we put up on social media is low-hanging fruit that can undermine our merits in the real world. While some might say its better to weed these people out, I believe that most people with this type of content are more or less average people that would otherwise be contributing members of society.

This issue with privacy plays off of another detriment of social media: the made-up personas and false connections that it often fosters. By allowing people to hide behind a screen, social media often brings out negative traits of people, which can in turn influence the behavior of others. It can also lead to inauthentic relationships, which can undermine the relationships we've established in the real world and create conflict.

There's a lot going on with social media right now, but I believe most of it benefits society. Though the pitfalls and absurdities of social media are still alive and well, I think most of what social media has been able to accomplish is good for society as a whole. The global connectivity, speed of communication, and potential for engagement make social media an asset for society going forward.

References:

Jung, Brian. "The Negative Effect of Social Media on Society and Individuals." Small Business. Chron, n.d. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://smallbusiness.chron.com/negative-effect-social-media-society-individuals-27617.html>.

Matthews, Christopher. "How Does One Fake Tweet Cause a Stock Market Crash?"Time Business & Money. Time, 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://business.time.com/2013/04/24/how-does-one-fake-tweet-cause-a-stock-market-crash/>.

Rupert, Samantha. "Social Media's Top 5 Contributions to Society." Social Media Today. N.p., 18 Apr. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2014. <http://socialmediatoday.com/slrupert/1393636/social-media-top-5-contributions-society>.