Diving into the Digital World : Social Media
Introduction
Currently, we are living in a highly digitised and technologically advanced world, with new innovations being made at a rapid rate. For instance, by the time you finish reading this blog, there has been some form of digital advancement in a part of our world. Social media is one such development that transformed our lives into a digitally-dominated world. Living in this online era controlled by social media platforms has implications that influence the ways individuals engage and understand themselves and others. Let’s dive into it.
More than two-thirds of Internet users are on social media today. As per Statista, in 2022, over 4.59 billion people were using social media worldwide, a number projected to increase to almost six billion in 2027. The growing popularity of these platforms facilitate social engagement, allowing accessibility to resources digitally worldwide. However, quoting Sophocles “nothing vast enters the life of mortals without a curse.” Social media is a double-edged sword, so we must consider the consequences of its dual nature carefully.
Bridging Gaps
Social media plays a powerful role in connecting different parts of the world instantly. Can you imagine how much harder studying away from home would be if we didn’t have access to WhatsApp or Instagram, connecting us to friends and family in a single click? Additionally, it provides access to important information and creates a space for self-expression. Replacing the analogue approach of reading through the newspaper every morning, credible news channels such as BBC offer live updates and real-time news on their Twitter and Instagram stories easily accessible worldwide. However, being over-reliant on inaccurate sources cause the spread of misinformation and fake news, leading to widespread confusion.
Digital Dependency
The excessive use of these social media platforms can result in users developing addictions, and becoming dependant on the digital world. Yes, you can easily connect online with your friends, but does that beat inviting them over for dinner to catch up? A study in the EU demonstrates how the time young people spend online has doubled in 2020 compared to 2010. This holds significance because people start perceiving things based on what they view online, leading to self-doubt, FOMO, and insecurities.
Studies by Khan et al. have found a strong correlations between heavy social media usage and increased risk for depression, loneliness, self-harm, and even suicidal thoughts. As Kevin Gates claims, “comparison is the killer of all joy.” Individuals start comparing themselves to catfish photographs on Instagram, causing a decrease in self-esteem. As fellow Digital Society writer Omar observed, “Snapchat dysmorphia” - a body image disorder caused by filters, has taken over a vast population of teenagers. One must be aware of these facades and actively make an effort to keep a safe distance.
“Social media isn’t a tool waiting to be used. It has its own goals, and it has its own means of pursuing them by using your psychology against you” — Tristan Harris
Get the Business Bloomin’
The advancement of social media can be used by organisations to better their practice, and develop stronger networking skills. Platforms offer businesses unparalleled chances to connect with broad audiences, irrespective of their scale. For instance, Boohoo’s social media strategy has been integral to its success, as they spent £80M on influencer endorsements enabling the brand to reach and engage their young target audience.
Although, have you ever been looking for a new Prada bag and suddenly it shows up on your Instagram feed? Initially, I thought it was a coincidence but later I realised it’s far from that. Let’s delve deeper into how that works!
Engaging vs Using
Instagram and other social media platforms not only prompt you to use the apps for entertainment and informative purposes, but also digitally engage. Platforms don’t just provide you with the resources, they also track and collect our data. Customised and target advertising filter out unnecessary information, and display content based on your search history. For example, Snapchat uses AI to create personalised social media ads and recommendations to facilitate a better user experience. Personally, I find this feature extremely beneficial as it targets customer preferences and enhances my content options based on my interests.
However, is Instagram also recording or listening to my conversations? And how is my personal data and search history being used? Where do we draw the privacy line here?
Invaders of Privacy?
Pete Cashmore, the chief executive of online news source Mashable, once said “privacy is dead, and social media holds the smoking gun.” Along with social media come the security concerns of maintaining a presence, sharing, and consuming data online. In 2021, 90,000+ people were victims of social media fraud, resulting in $770 million losses. Evidently, digital data privacy is a rising concern. This is due to lack of regulations and ethical considerations of online information usage.
Although most companies claim to use our data for algorithm and interface advancements, our personal information is susceptible to being hacked and leaked. This can lead to cyberstalking, threats, and harassment, creating irreversible emotional and sometimes physical consequences for the victim. In combat, platforms such as Facebook offer the option to manage our privacy settings and be in control of the data collected through our usage, thus, reducing privacy breaches and risks for users. Another solution is enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), a free security feature that gives you an extra layer of protection online.
“The time has come to recognise that privacy is now an illusion” — Former Amazon scientist Andreas Weigend
Our Role
As Digital Society citizens, we must take careful precautions protecting our privacy on social media. Spreading cybersecurity awareness, managing our online presence and activity, and digital information literacy - all these skills must be embedded in order for us to secure our place in the digital society. Existing in the world of social media comes with its set of pros and cons, but it is simultaneously unavoidable, transitioning from a part of our world to the world itself. As Cooper claims, “social media is what you make of it” — the choice is ours and we must act responsibly.
Reflection
Description and Feelings - As a drama and film student, I’ve always been at the centre of the media world, intrigued by our digital presence but never really had the chance to explore it in depth. My idea was to study a course outside my home department, and this module grabbed my attention immediately due to the extensive list of topics covered. However, it was my first time taking a module outside of drama and film, so I was hesitant and didn’t know what to expect. Although the course content seemed extremely interesting, I had also never undertaken an online-taught module. Therefore, I was slightly worried about the challenges of remote learning but drawn into the idea that I could choose when to fit this module within my weekly classes schedule. Primarily, the reason I chose to study it was due to my keen interest around the core content, including how we play a role in our digital world and cause subsequent impacts in society.
Evaluation and Analysis - As I covered each week’s content, I gained knowledge about certain topics that I thought I knew everything about, such as ‘The Internet’, only to find out that there was so much more to learn. One of my favourite modules was ‘Digital Engagement’ because social media and online presence are topics I’ve always wanted to delve deeper into, allowing me to gain different perspectives. The ‘prepare and reflect’ tool on Blackboard was one I used for the first time, that really helped me stay on track with the content without feeling overwhelmed.
Studying the course also helped me develop my blog writing and critical evaluation skills. Since my brain had been conditioned into writing more formal academic essays, I found it challenging to switch from this style of writing initially. However, gradually the assessments were actually something I greatly looked forward to, as blog writing allows a certain freedom of expression and structure, which I found most fascinating.
Upon receiving feedback for the second assignment, I learned that there must be a balance between an informal and critical writing tone. Thus, through referring to the guidance pages provided and reading work from my peers and past students, I aimed to shape these skills further.
Medium was a platform I had never used before, and this course enabled me to not only utilize the platform extensively, but also introduced me to Medium’s innovative features that make the writing process so much more enjoyable. Additionally, learning about the Pecha-Kucha style of writing has been extremely intriguing and is another skill I will certainly employ for future writing.
Conclusion - In summary, this module not only enabled me to strengthen my evaluation and writing skills, but allowed me to delve deeper into an area closely related to my film career, which will undoubtedly benefit from my digital understanding in the future. Furthermore, gaining insight into how technology shapes the world was eye-opening and allowed me to expand my viewpoints on being a member of the Digital Society.
