Unlike a decade ago, when social media was an insignificant and optional element of social life, it is now fully integrated into daily human life. Social media’s profound impacts extend well beyond social life into other crucial dimensions like business. In fact, media psychology researchers are proposing that social media is no longer a simple utility like a water pump where people only care about the service they get from it, but a far more complex tool that affects how people act, behave and think about themselves and the world around them (Allen, 2019). That said, if social media were banned from tomorrow, multiple dimensions of my social life would be impacted, as discussed below.
In the absence of social media, I would lose touch with the virtual friendships I had made over the past few years. While this does not mean I will lose friends, what will happen is that I will lose some aspects of the communications I have today. For instance, I will no longer be able to chat with groups of friends from remote locations over the phone. Certainly, this would be a disappointment and reflects the vital role social media plays in gluing remote relationships together. As well, the disappearance of social media might harm my economic aspect of life. Given that some of the commodities I buy are advertised and sold over the social media, its demise would mean less variety in purchases.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Besides, I have friends who build personal brands on social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat, and they would be so emotionally hurt if they woke up to nothing. That suggests the fourth effect – depression. Since I might be surrounded by dejected friends whose career aspirations would have been ruined, I would be equally affected, since sadness, like cheerfulness, is contagious. However, a sudden disappearance of social media might have untold benefits on my wellbeing. Scientists have established that social displacement – a phenomenon where virtual friendships over social media devour face-to-face bonds – contributes about 36% to unhappiness, irritation, and emotional aloofness in youth dependent on social media (Wharton University, 2019). If social media were to be banned tomorrow, I might be happier, more contented, and satisfied with my relatively small social circle.
Social Media for Enterprises
Businesses use social media for product promotion. Mangles (2017) reports that with techniques such as search engine optimization (SEO), companies can reach tailored markets on particular social media sites to advertise their products and services. He adds that companies prefer social media over mainstream media since the former is cheap and has a more profound effect on consumers. That possibly explains why companies not using social media are less competitive.
Enterprises also use social media to recruit a section of its staff. With the understanding that most social media users are vibrant and energetic youth, firms can invite applications over some social media applications (e.g., Facebook) from where they can evaluate an applicant’s portfolio online to match its workforce needs. Such companies often benefit from less costly hiring processes than traditional hiring.
As well, companies utilize social media to build and sustain competitive brands. PlayStation, the gaming arm of Sony Electronics Inc., is an excellent example. PlayStation heavily relies on Twitter to generate conversations on its new products, which then builds the reputation of the products, as well as the parent company Sony Electronics (Ogino, 2018). In the release of the PlayStation 4 console, the firm generated over 23,000 retweets and 8,000 favourites. Various firms take the same approach with different products on diverse platforms.
Companies use social media to obtain feedback on their products and services. Many times, reputable firms build and promote their social media awareness as the ultimate client feedback channels. The advantage is that social media enables personalized customer engagement and a quick means of lodging complaints and addressing issues. On the other hand, companies without social media presence are deemed docile, and customers are likely to shun from their products in fear of slow conflict resolution.
Also, businesses use social media to track the progress of their competitors. With the intensifying commercialization of social media, companies such as Twitter have launched analytics services and utilities that track the statistics and performance of activities regarding a company’s products (Zote, 2020). Such data helps firms understand market trends and hence design more effective means of service delivery and advertisement.
References
Allen, S. (2019, September 20). “Social Media's Growing Impact On Our Lives.” American Psychological Association. Retrieved 17 September 2020 from https://www.apa.org/members/content/social-media-research
Mangles, C. (2017). “How Businesses Use Social Media: 2017 Report.” (Report No. 18-0033-EF). Smart Insights. https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/businesses-use-social-media-2017-report/
Ogino, S. (2018, June). “Social Media Wars: Xbox One Vs. PlayStation 4.” Annex Cloud Marketing. Retrieved 17 September 2020 from https://www.annexcloud.com/blog/social-media-wars-xbox-one-vs-playstation-4 /
The Wharton School. (2019, July). The Impact of Social Media: Is it Irreplaceable? Retrieved 17 September 2020 from https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/impact-of-social-media/
Zote, J. (2020, July 13). “6 Twitter Analytics Tools to Amplify Your Strategy.” Sprout Social. Retrieved 17 September 2020 from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/twitter-analytics-tools/
