Today, people and businesses, and so many sectors of the world economy, are highly dependent on social media and the internet.
Ideally, you should be aware of social media’s pros and cons.
Social media has become a brave new world for people from various walks of life to stay in touch with the trends of people’s lives on these social media platforms.
Our world has become a society that is more concerned about their Facebook friends than with the people they interact with face-to-face in their daily lives.
Social media statistics will shock you, with over 5.27 billion unique active users worldwide.
Pros of Social Media
We can’t question whether social media has profoundly impacted how businesses communicate with clients.
But, only some businesses are taking advantage of what social media has to offer. The article will focus on social media’s benefits and cons and how it affects society.
1. Media Promotion and Advertising
Advertising and promotions are first on our list of pros and cons of social media.
This is so because the entire world is connected, and most of its population uses social media.
Hence, people use it to share their products and services worldwide. More than half of online users use social media for advertising and promotion.
Non-online businesses use it to promote their products and services. You can do this for free or pay to have your advert appear on a social media platform.
2. Connecting People
Connecting people is next on the list of pros and cons of social media. One of the true beauties of social media is that it allows people to connect, even from the most remote places in the world.
As a beneficiary, I have used social media to connect with people we still share friendships with.
Social media lets you connect and follow each other on various platforms; even some organizations might contact you through their social media account.
Social networking is the most robust platform for exchanging ideas with people of like minds.
3. Good Source of Up to Date Information and Trends
Next on the list of pros and cons of social media is keeping up to date with trends, information, news, and trends.
Formerly, people used to wait for the news houses to break out a story before they were aware, but with the help of social media, this news is shared within an instant of happening.
The idea of sharing information and trends has never been made easier since the inception of social media, and it has changed everything. It’s like viewing the world in the palm of your hands.
4. It Is A Place for Noble Causes and Practices
In our everyday lives, social media has played a significant role in influencing and assisting individuals.
There are different communities on social media dedicated to social work. People can join these communities to share and talk about how they are affected by other things around them.
People in these communities can assist and provide them with a counselor or financial assistance.
Government-sponsored communities are also not left out; they undertake various social works and resolve societal concerns because social media is mostly the fastest way to interact with its people.
Other people you will find on social media are those who help out with charitable work. Doing so may assist people in resolving complex and life-challenging problems, making them comfortable and happier.
5. Website Traffic
The easiest and fastest way to drive internet traffic to a website is to use social media.
Visitors to your website can learn about your products and services and learn more about you from social media.
To generate these visitors, most internet businesses and bloggers seek the aid of social networking.
You can boost the amount of important, organic visitors to your website. Connecting to your website, you can create adverts to sell your business to a bigger audience.
6. Governmental Benefits
Regular people are not only the benefactors of social media; as I said earlier, the government uses social media to interact with its citizens as it is faster and better than a town hall meeting.
Social media reduces the amount of money the government spends on crime fighting.
Social media can monitor what people do as images and videos of happenings surface on the internet faster than they can get to government authorities.
Since the general population uses various social media platforms, the government can also use them to raise public awareness.
7. Entertainment
Social media is a new and acceptable form of entertainment, and most people use social media to pass the time. This is why it’s on our list of pros and cons of social media.
As humans are social beings, they desire to communicate with each other and initiate conversations about different topics from different regions.
People exchange various forms of media on social media. They can also watch other people’s videos and photos for pleasure.
When they are satisfied with such content, they like and leave comments on such posts.
With the likes of Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat, many users consider social media platforms a new form of entertainment as they can quickly get content before they get to the big screen.
Cons of Social Media
We have highlighted the pros of social media above, and it is also appropriate to highlight some of the cons of social media. Below are the cons of social media;
1. Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying makes the list of pros and cons of social media. The amount of bullying that takes place on social media is alarming.
Most people who indulge in cyberbullying use fake social media accounts to tease and bully others.
Most of the time, cyberbullying is untraceable because most bullies use false accounts. These bullies send others derogatory videos, memes, and images to mock and shun them.
Regrettably, social media has made bullying very easy. They make individuals feel uncomfortable by making horrible remarks and teasing them in different cruel ways.
Cyberbullying most especially affects teens and children, but they have up their game to find ways to bully adults.
People subject to these attacks experience some forms of anxiety, despair, and a high stress level.
2. Hacking
Hacking is the most severe of all the cons of social media, as it affects almost everyone. Hacking cannot be left off the list of pros and cons of social media.
Hacking is an act that is prohibited; it is the act of gaining access to someone’s personal information.
These hackers target younger youth and kids because some are the most vulnerable on the internet.
In January 2019, many people on Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp were a victim of hacking.
They often go after social media accounts they are interested in, some with a huge following, while others with a respectable reputation.
3. Fake News
Another crucial social media con is spreading fake news across social media.
People will create false social media posts and share them on their timelines across various social media platforms.
Social media plays a lot of role in the spread of fake news. Anyone can cook up fake news on a trending topic and post it on social media without verifying it.
Other people can also pass it on to other platforms without verifying the authenticity of the news.
4. Addiction
One of the cons of social media is its ability to become addictive. Most users become addicted when they constantly browse their various newsfeeds and timelines.
People who use social media rapidly develop a significant addiction to it. Addiction to social media is most common among teens.
When focusing on social media, these people cut themselves from society and the natural world. They are unaware of the realities around them and the real world.
Conclusion
The world would have moved a little slower without the emergence of social media, as it has shown us its positive and negative impacts on society. However, if it is used with caution, it can be less dangerous.
It is worthwhile for people to collaborate, comment, connect, and share, which is the true aim of social media.
Knowledge is power, and people can use information if it is correctly verified.
Let us know in the comment section if you see any way that social media has impacted you or your surroundings, and we will wait to see what you guys come up with.
