Alexis Kestler
Because of the way the internet has changed the way we communicate and interact with one another on so many levels; it’s become necessary to explore the pros and cons of social media and its effects on our society.
The Pros
1-Increased criminal prosecution because of social media
The NYC police department began using Twitter back in 2011 to track criminals foolish enough to brag about their crimes online. When the Vancouver Canucks lost the Stanley Cup in 2011, their Vancouver fans took to the streets and rioted, but local authorities used social media to track and tag the people involved, and they caught people who were stealing during the riot.
2-Social networking creates new social connections
Statistics show that 70% of adults have used social media sites to connect with relatives in other states, and 57% of teens have reported making new friendships on social media sites.
3-Students are doing better in school
This is an interesting statistic about the pros and cons of social media and its effect on students doing well in school. Students with internet access at a rate of 50% have reported using social networking sites to discuss school work, and another 59% talk about instructive topics.
4-Better quality of life
If you want to talk about the pros and cons of social media, take a close look at all the support groups on Facebook. Members of these groups discuss their health conditions, share important information, and resources relevant to their conditions while creating strong support networks.
5-Social media as a source of employment
Job sourcing has gone modern thanks to social media. Sites such as LinkedIn are a major resource that 89% of job recruiters take advantage of when looking to hire potential employees.
Now let’s take a look at the Cons of social media.
1-Social media and the news
Much of the news information that people read about comes from social media websites, and that figure estimate is around 27.8 %. This figure ranks just under print newspapers at 28.8%, greater than radio’s figure of 18.8% and far outpaces the figure for other print publications at just 6%.
2-Too much misinformation
With the advent of the web, people started to create their own websites and blogs. While many of those blogs were just basic diaries, a few of them were about topics like health and politics while others were how to blogs.
Many blogs have turned into rumor mills, spreading misinformation that people tend to believe just because it’s on the web.
Rumors about hurricane Sandy and gunfights in other countries like Mexico have been picked up by reliable news services, and this misinformation has been shared without the proper vetting of the sources providing the information.
3-Pupils spending too much time on social media sites have lower academic grades
Here is another argument about the pros and cons of social media as it pertains to students. Statistics show that pupils using social media too often tend to have GPA’s of 3.06 compared to GPA’s of 3.82 for pupils who don’t use social media.
An even scarier fact is that students who use social media tend to score 20 % lower on their test scores then their counterparts.
4-Social media sites to blame for lost productivity
Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are a direct cause for lost productivity at the workplace. In a survey 36 % of people said that social networking was the biggest waste of time in comparison to activities like fantasy football, shopping, and watching television.
5-Social media is the cause for less face to face communication
One last discussion about the pros and cons of social media is a lack of one on one communication. In a 2012 study families who reported spending less time with one another rose from a level of 8% in 2000 to 32% in 2011.
The study also reported that 32 % of the people in the survey either were texting or were on social media sites instead of communicating with each other during family gatherings.
