Social Media Impacts: Advantages And Disadvantages

Social media is now used by more than half of the world's population (58.4 percent). Around the world, 4.62 billion individuals use social media, with 424 million new users joining in the last year. The average amount of time spent on social media each day is 2h 27m. In this article, we will look into both social media advantages and disadvantages and see for ourselves how to use Social media.

Social media is a place where many career opportunities are available. Along with top social media certification courses, you can become a top professional in this field. So let’s dive into the pros and cons of social media. Over the last two decades, information and communication technology has evolved swiftly, with the introduction of social media being a crucial breakthrough.

However, there are two sides to social media and the users must know both social media merits and demerits to make use of the advantages of social media and take caution against the advantages of social media. The rate of change is quickening. Understanding social media advantages and disadvantages is not only beneficial for the consumer so that he/she can use it wisely, but it is also a skill needed for a top digital marketer or a social media manager.

Along with top social media courses and free social media certifications, you could become a social media professional by understanding the social media merits and demerits. The New York Times Consumer Insight Group surveyed sharing information on social media. The results were fascinating. The participants expressed their motivations for sharing information on social media. And they were:

• The desire to supply people with helpful and entertaining information
• The wish to develop and maintain connections

From just a medium to keep in touch with one's loved ones to become a medium that plays a crucial role in deciding what happens in society, social media has come a long way. We can see social media's advantages and disadvantages in almost every field: politics, business, education, careers, global culture, innovation, and so on.

Have a look: 15 Best Online Courses on Social Media Management

Social Media Advantages and Disadvantages

Here we list out some of the advantages and disadvantages of social media for students as well as others across various fields like politics, society, commerce, and many more. Having an idea about the social media merits and demerits will help the professionals to take advantage as well as be cautious while putting out something professionals on social media.

1. Social Media Impacts on Politics

The pros and cons of social media outweigh each other in such a paradoxical way. Let’s see an example. In the United States, about one in every five people utilises social media to keep up with the news (according to a new Pew Research research). According to the study, those who get their political news primarily from social media are less well-informed and much more likely to be exposed to unsubstantiated claims than people who get their news from traditional platforms.

Now the pros of social media are for politicians to some extent. They can wield it as a powerful tool to popularise their campaigns. In comparison to prior types of media, the impact of social media on political campaigns has increased substantially. The candidates have fully taken advantage of social media in the election in almost all the countries around the world.

2. Social Media Impact on Society

The effect of social media merits and demerits is so obvious and vivid in society. About a quarter of the world's population uses Facebook. This platform is used by about 80 percent of all internet users in the United States. Because social networks rely on human interaction, they grow in power over time. Because social networks rely on human interaction, they grow in power over time.

With the internet, anyone with a minority position can see that he is not alone. When these people interact through social media, they may create memes, newspapers, and an entire digital universe that supports their viewpoint, eventually breaking into the mainstream.

One of the benefits of social media is that it ensures that ethical, social, political, and environmental challenges are noticed by the public. As challenges have become more evident, the power balance has shifted from a few to the majority. The demerits of social media are aplenty in society like the 'slacktivism' is steadily eradicating true activism.

While social media activism creates awareness about societal issues, it is uncertain if this awareness results in real change. Some argue that social sharing has allowed people to use their mobile phones to express their concerns about social issues without needing to participate in legitimate campaigns. Their participation is limited to clicking "Like" and sharing content.

Thus the societal impact is both: social media advantages and disadvantages. You can use it as a powerful tool of communication, but it can also lead to miscommunication, as well as lack of action. The goal of public endorsements is to please others' opinions. However, researchers found out that private donations are made because the cause aligns with one's ideals.

This peer pressure may be a major consideration in the latest phenomenon of political polls in the United States misreading voter intentions: people responding to polls may answer as pollsters expect or as they believe will please their peers, but the anonymity offered by the voting booth allows them to vote according to their interests (or at home with a mail-in ballot). You can consider this last part as a positive in this discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of social media.

3. Social Media Impact on Commerce

When it comes to the pros and cons of social media in terms of commerce, it gets complex. One cannot do away without social media. Companies understand the importance of social media in communicating with customers and growing revenue. Businesses have realised the potential of social media for gathering information, increasing demand, and generating specialised product offerings. E-commerce as well as the old brick-and-mortar businesses, require social media.

Implementing social networks in the workplace, according to numerous studies, can promote information exchange. Due to this, project management operations improve, and expert knowledge can spread. When completely applied in the workplace, social technologies serve to break down barriers, minimise silos, boost contact, and generate high-quality work.

A low number of social shares, on the other hand, may result in negative social proof and impair a company's credibility. Although sharing via social media has become the norm rather than the exception in the business world, some companies have chosen to go against the trend and remove social sharing buttons from their websites after witnessing firsthand the detrimental effects of social media.

According to a case study, when Taloon.com, a Finnish e-commerce website removed share buttons from their shopping sites, conversions climbed by 11.9 percent. These studies show how social media platforms have a two-pronged effect. Sales can be raised when products receive a large number of shares. When the contrary is true, customers grow wary of the services as well as the company.

Read more:

• 10 Reasons to Enrol Yourself in Social Media Marketing
• 15+ Online Courses for Social Media Managers

4. Social Media Impacts on Work

Social media has had a tremendous impact on recruitment and hiring. Anyone aiming to establish a reputation for themselves in their field should use LinkedIn and other professional social networking platforms. They allow anyone to create and market their brand. Talent acquisition managers depend on social media for 19 percent of their hiring decisions. 70 percent of businesses use social media platforms to review job applications (source: CareerBuilder 2018 social media survey)

5. Social Media Impacts on Training and Development

Job seekers who master the most cutting-edge social media strategies have a significantly better chance of getting hired. On behalf of Pearson and Connections Academy, OnePoll surveyed 2,000 U.S. parents and their children in high school on the "new normal" of high school in 2020. Social media will be a helpful tool and part of the new high school normal, according to 68 percent of teenagers and 65 percent of their parents. Thus here, it leans on the advantages of social media.

Many educational institutions now use Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, wikis, podcasts, and blogs as learning tools. Long-distance online learning has become more popular and this adds to social media advantages. Despite privacy issues and reports of fraud among long-distance students, social media platforms are widely used for education.

6. Social Media Impacts: Social Evils

One of the demerits of social media is that it creates many social ills. Social media has been blamed for promoting social ills such as cyberbullying. One of the social media disadvantages is cyberbullying. Teenagers are driven by a tremendous desire to fit in, be popular, and achieve better than their classmates. This can lead to cyberbullying and peer pressure. When social media networks such as Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are added, kids are suddenly under stress to mature too soon in an online environment.

According to a 2019 survey of middle and high school students in the United States conducted by the Cyber Bullying Institute, more than 36% of students have been subject to cyberbullying at least once in their lives, with 30% of students having been victimised twice or more. Nearly 15% admitted to cyberbullying someone at least once, with nearly 11 percent admitting to doing it twice or more. The disadvantages of social media for students are so high that it could negatively affect their future lives.

7. Social Media Impacts: On Relationships

When it comes to the disadvantages of social media, we should look into this as a main concern. Social media is that it encourages people to form and cherish "social media connections" over real friendships. "Friend" conjures up a wobbly idea of traditional relationships on social media. Thus it is one of the social media disadvantages.

The difficulty is that the pros and cons of social media are balanced. The above paragraph is about the cons, now let us see the pros. Information is seen as a potent instrument. Without a mechanism to transmit information, people will be unable to harness its power. In today's society, social media has a positive impact on knowledge distribution. Platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and others have made information available at the touch of a button.

According to Parsely's research, an article published on the web has a 2.6-day life expectancy compared to 3.2 days when shared on social media. When you consider that billions of people use the internet daily, this is a significant difference.

Benefits of Social Media

Have a look at some of the benefits of being associated with social media:

1. Global Connectivity

Social media platforms help break geographical barriers which makes it possible to communicate and share information instantly. This evokes a sense of global community, thereby allowing people to stay connected with friends, family, and acquaintances regardless of distance.

2. Information Sharing and Awareness

Social media serves as a vast collection of information on different topics, ranging from news and current events to educational resources and personal experiences. Users can easily access and share valuable insights, news updates, and educational content, contributing to increased awareness and knowledge.

3. Networking Opportunities

Social media platforms offer networking opportunities for both personal and professional purposes. Users will be able to connect with like-minded individuals, potential collaborators, mentors, and industry professionals. This will enable them to expand their social and professional circles. This networking can lead to new career opportunities, partnerships, and collaborations.

4. Brand Building

Social media platforms provide businesses with powerful tools to promote their products and services, engage with customers, and build brand awareness. Through targeted advertising, content marketing, and influencer collaborations, businesses can reach their target audience more effectively, increase brand visibility, and drive sales.

5. Community Engagement

Social media facilitates the formation of online communities that include shared interests, hobbies, causes, and support groups. These communities provide individuals with a sense of emotional support and belonging. Whether it's seeking advice, sharing experiences, or advocating for a cause, social media enables individuals so that they can connect with like-minded individuals fostering a supportive and inclusive online environment.

Top Providers Offering Social Media Courses and Certifications

• Simplilearn Social Media courses and certifications
• Getsmarter Social Media courses and certifications
• TCS iON Social Media courses and certifications
• Digital Vidya Social Media courses and certifications
• Futureskills Social Media Courses and Certifications

Conclusion

So here we have gone through the social media advantages and disadvantages. While life would be a lot slower without social media, it has also had negative consequences. However, the benefits of social media much outnumber the disadvantages of social media. So there you have it. Hope that these social media advantages and disadvantages make you a better user. If you wish to lead a career in this field, then knowledge about them will make you a responsible social media professional.