For every two hours and a half hour a day, it is estimated that an average human spends this time on social networks. The statistics are further alarming with an ordinary citizen in America possessing more than seven social media accounts.  We live in a time when the internet and its important inventions are running the human setting. The impact has been both beneficial and detrimental at the same time, but the premise is arguable. On the one hand, business entities, educational and political partners endorse social media, whereas, sociologists present a two-sided view on the aspect (Fardouly et al., 2015). Numerous studies on the sociological impact of social media have shown an adverse effect with minimal positive influence on the human perspective. The current paper aims to delineate on the current phenomenon, social media and internalize the aspects of its powers, impact, and consequences from a sociological point of view. The paper, therefore, hopes to present a standpoint on what impact does social media have on humans in the current era.

Social Media

Social media is a collective term that refers to the virtual world collage of websites and internet-based communication platforms that allow clients and people to communicate in tandem. Social media is designed through technical adjustments to ensure usability and ease of communication is heightened from the client’s end. The modern gadgets including mobile phones, computers, and tablets among others facilitate communication. From the devices, the communication including the exchange of photos, videos, opinions, and messages is done in real-time (Fardouly et al., 2015). Social media platforms, therefore, are numerous and can differ based on region and geography. Common social media platforms include Instagram (1 billion active members), Facebook (2.32 billion users), Twitter (with 321 million members), YouTube (with 1.9 billion logged-in users), Pinterest (with 250 million active users) and LinkedIn (with 610 million users) while Snapchat (possess 186 million daily active users) (Newberry, 2019). From the statistics, it is clear that social media plays an impactful role in modern society based on day-to-day activities.

Social Media Usability

To grasp the extent of social media utility in America, it is necessary to understand the statistical outlook on usage. According to Newberry (2019), it is estimated that nearly 3.48 billion individuals around the world are active daily users of social media. In other words, 45% of the population uses social media networks (Newberry, 2019). The statistics are increasing with a report 9% increase since the 2017-2018. This means that a million new people use social media every day. The usage has been facilitated with the increased purchase and accessibility of modern technology including mobile phones and computers globally. In America, nonetheless, it is estimated that 88% of its citizens aged between 18 to 29-years of age use social media networks whereas, 51% of the population aged between 18 to 24- years of age are addicted to social media usage (Hootsuite, 2019). A critical review by Siddiqui and Singh (2019) elucidate that social media usage has had an impactful influence on users with an emphasis on sociological and health-based aspects.

Social Media: Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

• The benefits of social media networks across the globe and specifically America has been commendable from a sociology point of view. On top of the list is the use of social media to combat criminal and aid in investigations. America is a developed nation, and the increased use of social media sites have aided in the elimination and reduction of crime (Fardouly et al., 2015). For example, a significant purpose of social media is the public awareness programs that are used from a political entity to educate the public about drugs, criminal wrongdoings and their repercussions as well as how social media can be used as a tool to prevent crime.
• Additionally, social media has informed the world, and the notion of the ‘world as a village’ has been promoted. The connectivity that social media brings to the world has ensured an individual in Europe and that in Australia and its surrounding islands can articulate what is happening in the world. News delivery, therefore, has been efficient including political, human rights issues and environmental factors (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2016). Further, families and loved ones can communicate with each other despite geographical distance.
• A significant advantage of social media is the ability of individuals with speech issues and other disorders being able to connect with others on the platform. In a typical setting, a person suffering from cognitive disorders and emotional or neurological disorders cannot communicate properly with others. The issue of shyness and speech vocabulary are among the foundational factors that limit communication. With social media, the barriers are broken down, and the individuals use it as a powerful outlet to communicate with others (Fardouly et al., 2015). It has been reported that a proportion of the people diagnosed with such disorders have been able to improve on their speech cognition.
• Social media has developed a culture of call-out. It is argued that call-out culture allows individuals to express ideas, knowledge, expertise and form opinions about societal perspectives. These range from political, to social and familial. The power that comes with social media translates to physical strength where numerous political uprisings such as the Arab Spring stemmed from as well as the irredentist movements in eastern Europe.
• Social media has aided in business and built families as well. Social media is considered online marketing and sales platform where numerous companies have achieved success by selling items online. For example, companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Alibaba, and eBay have gathered billions in profit due to accessibility and ease of purchase by the customers globally (Deaton, 2015). It is also used by individuals to sell their products such as used items to new buyers.
• Social media has aided societies in aiding those in need. Considered as the best alternative to traditional marketing, corporations under charity funds and individual-based drives have gained monetary backing from social media users (Fardouly et al., 2015). As a result, special needs victims such as the Haiti Flooding, New Orleans disaster and raising awareness of child education in Asia have been successful.
• In summary, social media has provided companies, whether small or large, to measure up their customer dynamics, preferences and attitudes towards their products (Deaton, 2015). The call-out culture in social media has fostered an open-minded generation and followers which companies use to improve on marketing and sales. Another aspect is that social media has been used as a new mode of business by individuals who use it to earn money. Companies use them through endorsements which promote their products and services.

Disadvantages

• Social media is reported to encourage an open-minded society that is not as peaceful and considerate in real life. Social media provides people with the license to be hateful and shrewd to others, and this has had detrimental consequences from suicides to broken marriages to emotionally depressed teenagers (Deaton, 2015).
• Another issue with social media is the increase limitation of face to face communication especially with the millennial generation (Fardouly et al., 2015). The phenomenon is that social media does not require or emphasize on face to face communication since the popular social media sites do not promote such dialogue.
• Social media is credited with increasing forged expression. Instances of features such as emojis have been used often compared to ‘real life expressions’ while in a real sense this is not true. Evolutionary use of social media has allowed people to use such features to ‘portray’ their emotions while their actual facial expressions are not identified.
• Since the inception of social media, the quality of conversations has dwindled. It is believed that people are spending more time online and do not always portray their feelings and emotions. As such, the character of a person is ruined through the disrupted thought-process. According to Siddiqui and Singh (2019), the consensus is that avid social media users cannot relay communication as effectively. For instance, they cannot complete a sentence or communicate effectively with another person physically compared to social media.
• Further, social media emphasizes on self-image. Celebrities in modern times have been blamed for influencing the social media culture where followers are required to keep up to certain standards that the society has placed. Idols such as Kim Kardashian to Candice Huffine have created a full spectrum of what is considered ideal (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2016). The results are that the gullible followers subject themselves to hardcore diets that are not ideal for them and these have led to severe health defects.
• Finally, social media has increased the issue of being distracted. Distraction has severe consequences to a person’s health, living and cognitive growth. In some instance, physical injuries and worse, death have been documented among millennial users (Deaton, 2015). The statistics are worse in a developed nation where teenagers and young adults have been reported to be addicted to social media.

Impact of Social Media and Solutions

Social media has caused more problems than solutions and merits when it comes to society (Fardouly et al., 2015). The primary impact of social media is the alteration and effects on behavior and attitude of people. For example, social media has been linked to increased sexual immoralities and violence. According to the social learning theory, media is a teacher to the users who often learn from it directly and indirectly (Deaton, 2015).  The phenomenon today is that ‘sex sells’ regardless of age, gender and generation (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2016). This has placed numerous questions when it comes to content produced on social media. On the other hand, social media has been connected with increased violence. The influence that people have on each other should never be downplayed. The social media platform plays as a mirror to the society’s thinking process as well as changed behavior and attitudes. The platform allows people with increased frustrations to speak openly about the issues of the world.

Another impact of social media is the increased call-out culture. Social media has an added advantage compared to real conversations and face-to-face meets. Social media is characterized by the accounts that do not require the person to have a face to face communications (Fardouly & Vartanian, 2016). The mask that social media offers allows people to speak freely and, in most cases, can be too harsh to others. A proposed solution to the issue is the society should be programmed to be more empathetic and humane. This may be a long shot but, it can be achieved through consistent advertising of the advantages of being sympathetic compared to being inhumane. The strategy could include the introduction of canned responses- canned responses require personalized messages which are sieved off any lousy content.

Another perspective would be to introduce an acknowledgment of the issue of social media. Acknowledging the problems that surround the use of social media and its effects on society can improve its outcome. For example, holding forums with teenagers and young adults on what they think is the leading cause of social media to the emotional, psychological and social issues. By addressing the problem, a probable solution from an individualized perspective can be provided. Therefore, another proposition is the research of the problem. With the current generation, there are evolving issues surrounding the use of social media. From this approach, solutions can be provided from a specific point of view.

Conclusion

The paper has provided a tentative description of social media, its impact on society and solutions towards limiting its impact. The paper in detail has presented the advantages and disadvantages of social media from a sociological perspective. Additionally, the paper has shown the effects of social media on society on a sociological level. From this paper, it can be concluded that social media has had a more negative impact than a positive one and it is estimated that it will get worse. The paper recommends that sociological research is conducted from a generational level to produce information that is relevant to society to generate possible solutions.

References

Siddiqui, S., & Singh, T. (2016). Social media its impact with positive and negative aspects. International Journal of Computer Applications Technology and Research, 5(2), 071-075.

Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young women’s body image concerns and mood. Body Image, 13, 38-45.

Fardouly, J., & Vartanian, L. R. (2016). Social media and body image concerns: Current research and future directions. Current opinion in psychology, 9, 1-5.

Deaton, S. (2015). Social Learning Theory in the Age of Social Media: Implications for Educational Practitioners. Journal of Educational Technology, 12(1), 1-6.

Newberry, Christina. (2019). 103+ Social Media Statistics That Matter to Marketers in 2019. Hootsuite. Retrieved from https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-statistics-for-social-media-managers/#general