Social Media: Benefits and Challenges

Social media is a new trend in the in the world that should readily be embraced by individuals. The use of social media has positively changed the ways that individuals interact, share information and transact businesses around the globe. Social media has become a channel which is used by almost businesses and many business entrepreneurs to nurture their businesses, it has also become a universal platform that allows individuals to communicate efficiently and effectively, a platform where individuals can express their views, and it has also played a major role in identifying offenders. However, there are several negative perceptions that have been associated with the use of social media especially among the young people and children. Some social media platforms have also been accused of collecting and sharing private data of their members without their consent, data privacy has become one of the major issues that adversely affect the use of social media by businesses and individuals (Jayson n.p). The use of social media platforms has been growing desipte the challenges facing its use, for instance, data privacy issues and cyberbullying, this is because of the benefits that users obtain from using the social media platforms.

               In the recent past, entrepreneurs, start-ups and established business entities have been using social media to market their businesses and increase their market share. Most businesses integrate social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to attract website traffic, create awareness about the products that they are dealing with, increased customer engagement, and maintain the brand of the organization. Statistics show that social media integration boosts the business’ lead conversions rates to 13% or higher corresponding to the average lead conversion rates. Consequently, access to universal markets, research, increased sales, instant client feedbacks, telemarketing, and trade shows are likely to be initiated using social media channels. However, this requires most entrepreneurs to deploy specific social media strategies and daily monitoring operations which, if not appropriately considered, it can lead to cyberbullying, fraud, and decreased business benefits.

            Social media networks have allowed people to effectively and efficiently share their ideas and communicate. Nowadays, relatives and friends, no matter how far they are, they are closely connected with enhanced social media channels. Furthermore, we effortlessly meet various friends and people, know the current trends, update, and news globally at a swift rate. For instance, platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram provides a channel whereby one can share pictures and updates about his or her current trends to others. Moreover, we can be able to chat, and video calls our long-distance friends and relatives from the comfort of our homes. Though social media makes communication convenient, its frequent usage leaves cyber footprints without our realization, and consequently, our privacy is subjected to risks.

            Through social media sites, people can be able to express their ideas, for instance, in the recent past there have been campaigns on Twitter through which people have shared their views. One of the most prolific campaigns which has proved that sharing views on social media can influence the decision-making process is the Black Lives Matter hashtag campaign (Garza 25). Myriads of people have deviated their interest in social life, where they express themselves in a way that they can easily be recognized worldwide. Social media provides a channel for one to express themselves and provide insights into their situations freely. This results in the universal recognition of a particular individual and makes it possible for them to attract necessary attention to potential followers, which will always follow up someone’s trends.  This freedom of expression of social media made most of the individuals to be celebrities while providing a public space for them seek for global attention. However, this can result in unnecessary cyberbullying.

               Social media websites have also been used by law enforcers to identify and point out criminals in the society. For instance, police departments like NYPD have embraced the use of social media to examine crimes. The law enforcers can share information to the public through the social media sites and also obtain information through the sites from the public. Cases of police arresting individuals engaging in illegal activities through the help of social media have been reported (DeLuca, Kevin Lawson & Sun 485). Most state police departments in the USA use social media to track offenders the departments have also allowed for the citizens to report any illegal practices and crimes occurring at a particular place. However, despite these advantages, most of the criminals use the same social media platforms to plan for their illegal activities, for instance, cybercrimes, fraud, and cyberbullying.

               Therefore, social media is an effective tool for enhancing business marketing, communication, individual’s expression, and criminal identification, and as a result, it should not only be incorporated but also be accepted in various aspects within the world. As long as we yearn to leave the world to a better place, we must embrace social media and utilize it with the correct purpose to achieve the best from it.

Works Cited

DeLuca, Kevin M., Sean Lawson, and Ye Sun. “Occupy Wall Street on the public screens of social media: The many framings of the birth of a protest movement.” Communication, Culture & Critique 5.4 (2012): 483-509.

Garza, Alicia. ”A herstory of the# BlackLivesMatter movement.” Are all the women still white (2014): 23-28.

Jayson, Sharon. ”Social media research raises privacy and ethics issues.” USA Today (2014).