Why We Need Social Media Essay Example

By not using Social media a person becomes more isolated from the world and will surely struggle to live in society. In today's world, many people see it very appealing to leave social media behind, however, we live in a world that has made that much easier said than done. From trying to get a job, to attempting to have a modern social life with others, a person can’t go without social media anymore.

In the article "Consumer Psychology In a Social Media World", they reported that “75% of American Internet users visit social networks regularly, and an average user spent over three hours a day on these sites.”(Richard, 1) Internet Social media has already taken the liberty of integrating itself into our lives.  A survey taken from the same article says” 28% of daily users report checking and posting on social media even before getting out of bed in the morning.“(Richard, 1) Social media is where a lot of the world’s conversation happens. "Consumer Psychology In a Social Media World" even writes that “More than 80% of posts on Twitter consist of announcements about one’s immediate experiences”. (Richard, 27) In social media people make announcements, arguments take place and friendships are made. By not being part of social media a person is excluding themselves from what is now a modern social life. 

Over time, social media is also becoming a decision influencer. "Consumer Psychology In a Social Media World" claims that “More than half of teens indicate that social media impacts their purchases with Twitter being the most important, eclipsing Facebook, followed closely by Instagram.”(Richard, 97) That same article also found that younger people find “opinion seeking provides more valuable than simply the ability to make more efficient decisions.”(Richard, 70) Even in Business they also use social media to craft decisions. “if a company or brand made a decision that consumers felt strongly about, the company would get calls, letters and perhaps eventually see a change in sales as responses to the decision.”(Richard, 96) For this reason, many large companies test ideas out on social media for their response. 

Many people lack both digital and/or physical social lives and despite that "Consumer Psychology In a Social Media World" Found “virtual people-watching” was among the “most mentioned reasons for Facebook use.”(Richard, 4) The same article found that “Even though low self-esteem individuals are more likely to censor what they share they are still more likely to post negative content on online social networks.” (Richard, 8) Despite the negativity in their social media use they still engage in social media. It seems weird for someone in this situation to continue using social media, but it goes to show how society pushes everyone to use social media no matter the situation. 

The article "Culture and Social Media an Elementary Textbook" writes “92% of American children under age two have a social networking presence and even a significant number of unborn children have Facebook profiles.”(Acar, 2) Americans grow up realizing the advantage of not needing face to face interaction which allows for statistics like “A quarter of American couples break up on Facebook.”(Acar, 3) Anyone younger than 25 has been alive their entire life through this age of social media and in many ways adapted to it. 

In the book "Your Network Is Your Net Worth", they stress the importance of using social media to make some personal information available to the public. The main example they use is LinkedIn. They believe that “Even if you're not looking for work, you should keep an updated profile.”(Gale, 109) They stress that social media is a powerful tool for employers and with social media. It can lead to great opportunities because employers will find people themselves if there are exactly what they're looking for. There are many companies where strategies like this are their main source of finding employees and wouldn’t even notice someone without a social media presence. According to "Culture and Social Media an Elementary Textbook" “people who communicated with, their close ties on Facebook were five times more likely to find a new job.”(Acar, 76) There's always room and even need for personal privacy, but by putting even the most basic information up on social media and allowing people to do their research a person opens a lot of important opportunities for themselves. 

Another large pillar that holds up social media is the ability to retrieve information. "Culture and Social Media an Elementary Textbook" a survey found that “54% of communication between pairs that interact frequently were caused by Facebook's birthday reminder.”(Acar, 2) For those who do not interact with traditional news sites, social media is where people get their information. "Culture and Social Media an Elementary Textbook" also reported that “85% of tweets on Twitter were tied to news headlines.”(Acar, 82) Crowdsourcing is also really powerful on social media and has created huge opportunities for a lot of people. Large amounts of people's lives are saved due to being warned about natural disasters on social media. Both Facebook and Twitter have a warning and alert systems in place to alarm users quickly. 

Social media has also done remarkable things in people's lives. Your Media is Your Net worth Tells a story of “ 6 High school students at a charter school in Los Angeles that secured a 45 minute meeting with Sir Charles Branson”(Gale, 113) Charles Branson is a rich entrepreneur and founder of Virgin airlines and all kids only had to hit him up on social media to secure their life-changing meeting. The same book also describes a very common story of ”Henrik Werdelin and his wife, whom he met and dated long distance.”(Gale, 105) Online dating is huge today and undoubtedly makes lasting marks in people's lives.

The biggest argument against the use of social media is the surplus of negative it has on a person emotionally and psychologically. The article "Consumer Psychology In a Social Media World" talks about how it can leave a person harmed in their offline communication leaving a person depressed and lonely. The article Self-Effects in Social Media talks about Self-persuasion, Self-Concept and Political Deliberation as a list of negative effects that by using social media a person causes themselves. "Culture and Social Media an Elementary Textbook" actually has a really good list of problems with social media that Includes, our dependence on phones, disengagement from our surroundings and Social Obligation to answer a post. 

In contrast to the negativity of social media, a large portion of social media problems stems from over usage of social media. According to "Consumer Psychology In a Social Media World", “The average person spends three hours a day on social media and 60% of people log on daily.”(Richard, 1) Too much of anything is unhealthy and a person using social media needs to find their healthy balance of social media on their lives. "Culture and Social Media an Elementary Textbook" also has a list of positive effects of social media that include The ability to retrieve the desired information.

The ability to do more things on our own and The ability to almost instantly be engaged in an activity. We're so dependent on what social media provides that It’s very important for people to learn how to balance social media.Today social media is not just a luxury invented for our personal use. It’s built itself into our politics, our economy, our work, and our social lives. Just like anything else in our world misuse of social media is not healthy, but the absence of social media in one's life is over time becoming more and more unrealistic. People have overtime integrated Social media in human culture and made it incredibly difficult to remove. For this reason, by not using Social media a person becomes more isolated from the world and will surely struggle to live in society.    

Works Cited 

Dimofte, Claudiu V., et al. Consumer Psychology in a Social     Media World. Routledge, 

2016. 

Culture and Social Media: An Elementary Textbook: Adam …

www.amazon.com/Culture-Social-Media-Elementary-Textbook/dp/1443856177. 

Gale, Porter. "Your Network Is Your Net Worth". Atria Books, 2013.