Social Media: A Two-edged Sword
Introduction
- Social media consists of websites and applications that enable users to create, share, and modify information in the form of audio, text, and videos; share ideas; and exercise other forms of communication with other users around the globe.
- Some popular examples of social media are Facebook, WhatsApp, Tumblr, and Twitter. There has been a tremendous increase in the use of social media in recent years because of the availability of cheap smart phones and Internet connection.
- Social media may be called a two-edged sword because while it provides many benefits and advantages to its users, it can be greatly misused-first by children and youth through indiscreet use and second by antisocial elements, who have started using it for carrying out criminal activities, which is abuse of this otherwise useful platform.
- Main argument of the essay: Social media is a two-edged sword that we cannot dispose off because of its increasing utility and usage. As a result, it should be used with care and consciousness in order to encourage its positive use and check its misuse.
Body
Benefits of social media:
- Social media stands out from traditional media such as newspapers and TV channels because it allows users to play a more active part by creating, modifying, and sharing data.
- Social media instils a sense of connectedness to the rest of the world among its users and allows people to connect with like-minded individuals around the world.
- Corporations, advocacy groups, non-profit organizations, and small entrepreneurs can effectively use social media to connect with their target groups and disseminate information to raise awareness.
- Social media has allowed content creators such as bloggers and writers to earn money and get livelihood opportunities. For instance, some of the YouTube video makers are among the highest earners in the entertainment business.
Problems caused by social media
- There is rising addiction to social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter, especially among youngsters, which leads to other psychological problems such as depression and eating disorders.
- Instances of cyber-bullying, online harassment, and trolling have increased. There have been instances of women committing suicide because of online harassment through activities such as their private videos being circulated on WhatsApp and Facebook.
- Terrorist organizations and drug dealers are also using social media to recruit people and earn income to be used for criminal activities. Many of the Indians who have joined ISIS were recruited using social media sites such as Facebook and were influenced by incendiary videos shared on platforms such as You Tube.
What is the future of social media?
- Currently the trend is that users spend more time on social media sites than any other kind, and it seems this will only increase as more and more users, especially in rural areas of India, gain access to the Internet.
- More and more career opportunities will come up that will allow users to earn through the use of social media.
- Users will be able to generate more and more content implying that knowledge creation and sharing will also increase.
- However, there is also the danger of enhanced negative impacts of social media and users finding newer ways to carry our criminal activities and related communication.
- What should be the way forward?
o Freedom of use of social media should be given so that users can gain knowledge, share views, and raise awareness.
o However, there should be systems put in place to check the misuse of social media by antisocial elements. The cybercriminal laws and surveillance technology and procedures should keep pace with changing technology and usage patterns.
Conclusion
- Social media is a two-edged sword because it provides immense benefits but at the same time immense threat to the physical, economic, and psychological well-being of its users.
- The use of social media has steadily increased and is expected to increase further due to the ease of use and access it provides to users for functions such as communication, e-commerce, and business development.
- The way forward for our society with regard to social media is to understand and encourage the positive use of social media for the benefit of the masses and recognize the threats 1t provides in order to put preventive checks on its misuse.
Notes
- Keywords: social media, two-edged sword
- This is a topic with numerous arguments and examples; choose carefully to avoid writing a very long essay given the time constraint.
- This is a contemporary topic and clearly one that many aspirants would want to write on. Therefore consider other topics before choosing this one, so that you do not write on the same topic as everyone else unless you are sure that you cannot produce a good essay on other topics.
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