The last century has witnessed a great revolution in communication. Technology has been at the centre of this disruption. Internet services have enhanced communication and made the world to be a “Global village”. I have always viewed the electronic media to have made a positive contribution to social interactions, entertainment and business environment. However, in-depth reading and close observance of the occurrences in the society has painted a different view of the effect of the Internet, mobile phones and social media networks on the society. The growth and development of electronic media have resulted in some issues, impacts, both positive and negative, on modern society.
Internet traces its birth to the US military whereby the first computer network ARPANET was developed to enable upload and download of data between connected mainframe computers (Volti, 2017). ARPANET usage by 1970s had moved towards sharing digitized messages later to be referred to as emails. Creation of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee in 1991 proved to be a game-changer in computer networks (Volti, 2017). Without restrictions for joining this web community, people could easily access other network sites for information and entertainment. Numerous websites have consequently been developed where people can access different information. The Internet has managed to gain a large number of users more than television or radio ever did. Every passing second the Internet has a massive flow of traffic with users accessing different files such as email messages, Web pages, videos and social media updates. The Internet has also, revolutionized the business world with the invent of e-commerce where buying and selling of products and services are done online.
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Humans crave connection with one another. Telegraph, telephone, radio and television expanded communication boundaries, but it is social media networks that have revolutionized the communication industry (Volti, 2017). Social media networks have not only increased the speed of digital communication but expanded the target audience. Some of the social networks that have witnessed enormous growth in their audience are Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. These networks have enhanced human connections globally. Facebook had over 1.71 billion users having Facebook pages (Volti, 2017). Several more people have Facebook accounts and using a device such as a phone, tablet or computer; one can connect with millions of people. This has led to the use of Facebook for advertising by organizations and companies.
Smartphones and tablet computers are used beyond the primary function of sending and receiving calls. There has been a sharp increase in smartphone ownership with more than two-thirds owning smartphones by 2015 (Volti, 2017). Smartphones are useful in social networking, gaming, emailing, GPS navigation and paying for purchases. Their portability and connection to the Internet enable instantaneous connection whereby one can reach an equally equipped person instantly. Development of applications for these devices has gone ahead to increase their functionality. This includes their use in banking, relaying news, and getting directions. Despite smartphone ownership being low in developing countries, the use of mobile phones has been transformative to the lives of locals. Mobile phones are useful in maintaining connections with family members living far away, such as in pastoralist communities. Besides, they help relay crop prices, agricultural, weather and health news.
Social media networks have been crucial in organizing social movements. Though social media networks do not start or sustain social movements, they are useful from a logistical perspective. Social media networks help bring to the public underlying social disorders such as corruption, economic stagnation and dictatorship. Social media networks are useful in creating communication channels for persons organizing social movements. They help in creating a shared sense of purpose and group identity, recruitment of members, scheduling activities and actions and informing members of these actions (Volti, 2017). An example of a social movement that used social media networks was the Egypt uprising in 2011 that toppled Hosni Mubarak's dictatorial regime. Facebook pages were used to voice grievances against the government, and this led to their motivation to demonstrate. Demonstration times and venues were communicated on Facebook while Twitter was used to pass up-to-the-minute information (Hamanaka,2015). Mobile phones provided communication links for the demonstrators.
Social media networks have also had their fair share of negative impacts. With people spending more time on social media networks, person-to-person relationships have been undermined. Face -to- face interactions have been hampered with more people preferring virtual connections on social media networks. This has had negative impacts on family units as members spend less time talking to each other. Most family members spend their time glued to the screens of their devices after a school or working day rather than sharing their day’s experiences. Individuals view social media networks as providing companionship and attention without the demands associated with traditional social relationships. Despite having expanded social interactions, social media has negatively affected everyday social interactions.
Another of the adverse effects associated with social media networks is cyberbullying. Cynical and cruel messages about persons are shared on social media networks such as Facebook. Sharing of ugly and nasty photographs and instances of body shaming are not uncommon on social media networks. This subjects individuals to uncalled for trauma and turns them into victims. In extreme scenarios, individuals have been reported to commit suicide as a result of cyberbullying. About 6.9 percent of students of age 12 to 18 had been cyberbullied in 2012-2013 school year, a part of this cyberbullying being associated with social media networks (Volti, 2017).
Social media networks have seen an increase in the sharing of sexually explicit messages and photographs. This is detrimental in various ways. One, it can limit one’s chances of securing a job opportunity if a prospective employer accesses the information that you share on social media. Despite sharing explicit texts and images with close friends, boyfriends and girlfriends, one’s right to privacy may be breached, and this may result in instances of cyberbullying. It can also lead to possible prosecution under child pornography laws.
Social media networks can be used to entrench oppression by technologically aligned authoritarian regimes. This can be in the form of hacking email and social media accounts of dissidents and their associates. Creation of parody social media accounts, websites and videos of opponents to demean them can greatly sabotage liberation efforts and entrench oppression by a particular regime. Dictatorial regimes also prevent social change by limiting those who connect to internet services and censoring the content that individuals' access on the Internet. A good example is an attempt to impose taxes on social media networks in Uganda.
Internet may intensify social inequalities in society. This is reflected in the number of people with access to the Internet in different parts of the world. For example, despite 46.4 percent of the world's population having access to the Internet by 2015, in North America, 87.9 percent of residents had access while only a paltry 28.6 percent of Africa's population had access (Volti, 2017). In America, disparities in internet usage are evident across race, social status and one’s geographical location. Despite 84 percent of American accessing internet services in 2015 only 85, 78 and 81 percent of white, African American and Latino households respectively had internet access (Volti, 2017). Families with incomes of over $75000 had 97 percent internet connection against the 74 percent for families with incomes below $30000 (Volti, 2017). Households in urban areas have 85 percent internet connection against the 78 percent connected in rural areas (Volti, 2017). Access to Internet leads to access to information which empowers people, and thus disparities in connection have the potential to entrench social inequalities.
Video games and online gaming is another internet activity common with many individuals ranging from children, teenagers, men and women. Video gaming presents a leisure activity for individuals, but it has its detriments too. Playing video games involving violence is associated with aggressive and violent behaviour in individuals. This is because the gamers are participants in violence in the game. Excessive video gaming is addictive. Individuals become withdrawn from other routine activities, angry and depressed when prohibited from playing. The addicts are mainly young persons below 30 years, and they tend to have low self-esteem and a restricted real-life network. They find the virtual world of video games more attractive than the real world. Excessive gaming can thus be destructive.
The invention of internet services accelerated the growth of digital piracy. Respect for intellectual property has been trashed in the name of file sharing. Despite the various ethical, moral and legal issues surrounding the practice, movies, books and songs are pirated digitally every day (Thongmak, 2017). This has been robbing the authors of these creative works the financial income they are entitled to. To curb the illegal sharing and download of intellectual property, it calls for innovative ways beyond the usual strict legislations.
Digitization has resulted in the intrusion of personal privacy. Anybody using internet services to access different websites, applications or social media networks cannot claim to have a private space. One’s information is prone to access by cyberbullies, marketers, stalkers and blackmailers. Email messages are likely to being accessed by the wrong hands and being used for blackmail or causing embarrassment. Usage of internet search engines leaves digital footprints that can be accessed by data miners. Data miners collect information about individuals and analyze it for advertisements and political reasons. One's likelihood of buying a particular product or supporting a political candidate is determined and advertisements aligned to their interest created for them. However, this makes personal information vulnerable to misuse. One of the issues that raised the concern about the privacy of users’ data was the 2018 case whereby Cambridge Analytical had mined data of about 87 million Facebook users from a researcher (Meredith, 2018). The data was allegedly used for political reasons such as influencing the US election in 2016 and the Brexit referendum deal (Meredith, 2018). Despite the fines imposed on Facebook and the CEO’s promise of protecting users’ data, no much changes have been made so far (Wong, 2019) .
The Internet has helped increase the growth of electronic media. This has resulted in a revolution in the way that human beings communicate and resulted in broader social connections among friends. Human beings are being connected depending on their interests, political inclination and work relationships rather. This has made the world a “Global Village” not limited by geographical barriers. Electronic media has its positive impacts of enabling access to information, entertainment, communication and use in social and political revolutions. However, digitization has its detriments such as privacy intrusion, cyberbullying, addiction and entrenchment of oppression and social inequalities.
References
Hamanaka, S. (2015). The Role of Social Media in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. The Annuals of Japanese Political Science Association , 66(2), pp.2_189-2_211.
Meredith, S. (2018). Here's everything you need to know about the Cambridge Analytica scandal . [online] CNBC. Available at: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/21/facebook-cambridge-analytica-scandal-everything-you-need-to-know.html [Accessed 25 Nov. 2019].
Thongmak, M. (2017). Ethics, Neutralization, and Digital Piracy. " International Journal of Electronic Commerce Studies" , 8 (1), 1-24.
Volti, R. (2017). Society and technological change. New York, NY: Worth Publishers, Macmillan Learning.
Wong, J. (2019). The Cambridge Analytica scandal changed the world – but it didn't change Facebook . [Online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/mar/17/the-cambridge-analytica-scandal-changed-the-world-but-it-didnt-change-facebook [Accessed 25 Nov. 2019].
