The Positives of Social Media

This is a guest article by Broadbandchoices.co.uk.

Now a part of our everyday life, social media has radically altered the way we communicate and interact with one another. People had only just begun to settle into the internet revolution, when the key social media platforms Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube changed the face of new media once more.

Opening new channels of communication, the various social media platforms helped engage people in online information sharing who previously had little or no interest or experience in computers. Allowing everyone’s voice to be heard and opinion to be expressed, it can certainly be argued that social media has greatly improved freedom of speech, breaking down the barriers to communication.

Of course, mobile phones and emails had increased the ease with which geographically diverse people could chat, share important information and conduct business. However, while the social media platforms also enabled individuals to keep in touch, share media and conduct business, they also enabled social network sub-groups to form in which people communicated and shared information in accordance with their interests.

Effectively clubs in cyberspace, the social media sub-groups enabled members to share comments, information, different media (images, music and videos), conduct debates and exchange opinions. This aspect of social media, sub-groups formed around shared interests, added a different dimension to new media, while attracting a wider demographic of users based solely on their interests, establishing a sense of unity.

This sense of unity, of sharing, is certainly one of the most positive aspects of social media. People who, for whatever reason, be it illness or old age, find it impossible to interact socially, can do so online via the various social media platforms. The sense of being connected to family, friends or people sharing your interests is extremely important, particularly in communities which are not cohesive, in which many people can feel alienated and lonely.

Social media is even being utilised by the police to fight crime and keep neighbourhoods safer. In many cases, the police are liaising directly with the public using social media, which they feel helps to establish stronger channels of communication with communities and stops the force having to rely on the local press to speak for them, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies. Using social media as a communications tool breaks down barriers between the public and the police, making the force seem less aloof and distant. Police are even scanning statuses of less than cautious known criminals who sometimes refer to committed crimes!

Social media has also helped launch fast and effective humanitarian responses to large scale crises. For example, the horrific Haiti earthquake in 2010 provoked an instantaneous reaction from individuals, charities and disaster relief bodies using social media platforms to spread the word that donations to support emergency responses were needed quickly. The seismic response enabled everyone from every imaginable background to make a donation and spread the message, using their social media profile to play a small yet vital part.

What about the positive effects of social media on an international level? Can it bring countries closer? In the case of China, which has incredibly strict national level censorship, Facebook was banned, because it was believed Chinese citizens might be influenced by the lifestyles of different countries, thereby disrupting social harmony. However, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, has recently struck a deal with Chinese local search giant Baidu to launch a social network within China, which is perhaps the first step toward a new freedom of speech in the country?

The positives of social media – its power to open up the world, are well established, and will undoubtedly continue to evolve and strengthen into the foreseeable future.

This post was provided by Broadbandchoices.co.uk comparison site, for comprehensive and impartial advice.

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