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RUNNING HEAD: Effects of Social Networking.

Social networking has become a part of everyday life. Facebook, MySpace,
LinkedIn and Twitter are a few examples of social networking. Every day we hear
the impact these sites are having on our lives and day-to-day events. Research
the effect of social networking, with special focus on Facebook, Twitter, and
LinkedIn. How have these sites influenced/shaped society? What has been the
effect of social networking on areas such as marketing, education and politics?

Submitted to: Abanti Chakrabarti
Submitted by: Md Akib Akhter (100890863)








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Effects of Social Networking
Social networking has become a part of everyday life. Facebook, MySpace,
LinkedIn and Twitter are a few examples of social networking. Every day we hear
the impact these sites are having on our lives and day-to-day events. Research
the effect of social networking, with special focus on Facebook, Twitter, and
LinkedIn. How have these sites influenced/shaped society? What has been the
effect of social networking on areas such as marketing, education and politics?
The social networks as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others are all virtual places
where people find themselves and share information. Nowadays, social networks are
the best tools for communication, though in the first place they were used only for
university purposes, where students and colleagues stayed in contact with one another
after works or studies. But these websites affect our lives negatively, positively, and a
lot more than we think. We all have our different causes for liking social media, but we
don't always realize the important effects they are having on our lives (Hill, R., n.d.).
Although social networking is extremely useful, it is also dangerous for the society as
well. People are bullied over the internet; especially number of kids being cyber bullied
increasing every year. According to recent studies, 43% of the kids in the United States
have been bullied online in the past few years (Benzmiller, H., 2013). Some studies
imply that social networks could have negative impact on people social health. These
can cause people to stray from reality and immerse themselves in the virtual world of
social community. The next effect that many scientists have warned about is the
influence that social networks can have on human health as well as the human brain
(Derbyshire, D., 2009).

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Effects of Social Networking
Social networking has its positive impacts on our day-to-day life, considering it allows us
to connect with friends and family in a matter of seconds. Social networking sites, some
more than others, are often used as a kind of self-expression and creativity and allows
people to get inspired and define themselves. They use it as a way to set themselves
apart from the crowd. The content that users post on social networking sites also is a
form of representing themselves. Certain people may always seem to have funny
statuses, while another may always post quotes. Social networking has also helped to
connect us with people all around the world. It has the potential to really bring us all
closer together, and gives us all a more open minded attitude about each other.
In business sector, social media has its great effect. Online social networking is the
newest weapon to get customers. Twitter and other social networking websites like
Facebook have become must-use marketing tools for just about every business (Cash,
M., 2009). Marketers can advertise their product so easily and even they can create a
survey about what people want and they dont. Its an easy way for building up a good
relation between marketers and consumers. E-business is incomplete without social
network (Agarwal, H., n.d.). Also there are some direct benefits of social sites in
business like, it helps us to advertise the product, know the sales, research the market
and most importantly interact with customers.
Social media, internet-based tools that promote collaboration and information sharing
can be used in academic settings to promote student engagement and facilitate better
student learning (White, T., 2008). These tools provide opportunities for individual
expression as well as interactions with other users (Arnold & Paulus, 2010) including
blogs, wikis, media (audio, photo, video, text), sharing tools, networking platforms and
virtual worlds. Some research reported that students who use information technology
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Effects of Social Networking
for academics also have a higher likelihood of contributing and participating in active,
academic collaboration with other students. This collaboration indicates that as
engagement with technology increases, engagement with academics also increases,
promoting a deeper connection between the students, educators, and course content
(Mehdinezhad, 2011).
Social media tools including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have dramatically
changed the way political campaigns are run and how Americans interact with their
elected officials. The value is in its immediacy. Politicians and campaign do absolutely
nothing without first knowing how their policy statements or moves will play among the
electorate, and Twitter and Facebook both allow them to instantaneously gauge how the
public is responding to an issue or controversy. Politicians can then adjust their
campaigns accordingly, in real time, without the use of high-priced consultants or
expensive polling (Morse, T.,n.d.). They have made politicians more accountable and
accessible at the same time allowing campaigns to carefully craft and customize their
candidates images based on rich sets of analytics in real time and at almost no cost
(Morse, T., n.d.). Some ways for politicians should be included like, advertising without
cost, direct contact with voters, message customizing, fundraising, survey and feedback
as well.
In conclusion, as stated before, today social networking sites are the main tools for
communicating between nations to worldwide. Networks like Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn and so on can have a great impact on human life and influence positively or
negatively the social life, health and as well as on marketing and politics. But for some
cases, I must say, there needs to be a break from social networking so young people
can once again live a real life in the real world.
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Effects of Social Networking
References:
Derbyshire, D. (2009, February 22). Social websites harm children's brains: Chilling
warning to parents from top neuroscientist. Mail Online. Retrieved March 27,
2014, from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1153583/Social-websites-
harm-childrens-brains-Chilling-warning-parents-neuroscientist.html
Cash, M. (2009, July 22). Social networking = successful marketing. Winnipeg Free
Press (MB). p. B6.
Hill, R. (n.d.). In Social Networking and Its Effect on Communication. Retrieved Mar. 26,
2014, from
http://www.teenink.com/opinion/social_issues_civics/article/539423/Social-
Networking-and-Its-Effect-on-Communication/
Mehdinezhad, V. (2011). First year students' engagement at the university. International
Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 3(1), 47-66.
Benzmiller, H. (2013). THE CYBER-SAMARITANS: EXPLORING CRIMINAL LIABILITY
FOR THE "INNOCENT" BYSTANDERS OF CYBERBULLYING. North-western
University Law Review, 107(2), 927-962.
Arnold, N., & Paulus, T. (2010). Using a social networking site for experiential learning:
Appropriating, lurking, modeling and community building. Internet and Higher
Education, 13, 188-196. doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2010.04.002
White, T. (2008, June 13). Social networking changes everything. B&T Magazine. p. 20.
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Agarwal, H. (n.d.). Benefits of using Social media for Business. ShoutMeLoud Shouters
Who Inspire RSS. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from
http://www.shoutmeloud.com/benefits-of-using-social-media-for-business.html
Morse, T. (n.d.). How Social Media Has Changed Politics. About.com US Politics.
Retrieved March 27, 2014, from
http://uspolitics.about.com/od/CampaignsElections/tp/How-Social-Media-Has-
Changed-Politics.htm

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