How Have Social Sedia Buttons Changed the Function and Meaning of Sharing?
Sabrina Bouri
JSC224
Monday, September 25th
Sharing: Affects of Social Media Buttons.
The concept of “social media” gained acknowledgment with the “web2.0”. It is when “medias” such as radio, television and newspapers differed from newly generated “media platforms”. What distinguishes media platforms are by their societal performance. It is the reason why it is said that not all medias are social medias. Social medias are platforms where users generate the content, and no longer only the creators. Due to the technological advances over the past several decades, social medias have become today a two way street between users, technologists and operators.Users who were once just an audience who listened, watched and read, have today freedom within platform sharing spaces where each and every voice on this planet can be heard. Social media has thus become industrialized for the better but has caused positive and negative outcomes and consequences. This essay will study how have industrialized social media’s sharing buttons affected the function and meaning of sharing as a whole.
First of all, social medias allow established groups of people to communicate and to choose what to share, where gate-keepers are reduced to a minimum. It has become a primary getaway for people by accessing social platforms, whether it maybe Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Medium, Skype, Whatsapp Messenger, Snapchat and others, to form digital relationships. It is truly a way to experience a fast communicative world by following other people’s daily findings, updates, interests that might become personalized in one’s own life, and exposed opinions where one couldn’t imagine being able to say them face to face from fear.
“The emphasis lies on communication as conversation, a process through which people collectively experience and enact their world” (Taylor & Van Every, 2000) .
Social media buttons, apart from “following”, such as “likes” and “dislikes” can help people feel accepted, appreciated, heard and feel part of something bigger than what they experience in the physical part of society. It empowers people by creating links and relations to people across the planet. It’s about being part of an online world and system to connect to others under any circumstances. Taking into consideration all the terrorism and dangers happening around the world unexpectedly, it allows those in need for help or emotional stability to find this connection across the globe.
“Formed from a metaphor of geography or transportation” (Carey 1989).
Thus it facilitates the creation of new forms of societal interaction, in their own and unique way. Therefore it can be said that people are collectively join in one power and collaborate in situations of need and when in search for finding ones self. The fact that conversations fully respect everyone’s opinion in full spectrum, gives society the ability to create new cultures and values.
On the other hand, it’s obvious that social media buttons, as mentioned before, empower a new group target of people, those who are in for the business. Some are not aware that “liking” Youtube videos or famous Instagram icon’s photos, and even liking a certain newly updated image/link on the web, is all about information being fed into the bigger economical sphere. The tactics marketers and advertising companies use in order to promote content and advertisements discreetly, selling products and ideas “that might interest you”, are a way to influence and control mass media platforms to become part of the consumerism cycle. http://infographiclist.com/2011/11/17/facebook-marketing-strategies-infographic/ . With the advances of social media’s rapid algorithmic systems, people’s choices are based on the internal marketing information gathered by companies through questionnaires to receive “sale updates/new arrivals/birthday gift card reduction ect”. Yet, one cannot experience different versions of commercialized products, it has gotten to a point where it is only based on one’s very personal interests, that they no longer are able to try new ways. We can say that this algorithmic structure, in favor of those in power who control social media platforms and profit from this mayhem, that branches out into personal lives where one loses him/herself in the media. Relationships get destroyed, peoples experience bullying and threats, and some experience severe health problems because the ideal beauty icons and products are being promoted into our psych, creating a smokescreen for who we really are; as individuals that have interests, relationships with no problems, and loving ones self.
“In addition to ruining close relationships, the internet and other new media are often depicted as causing social isolation.” (BAYM, Making New Sense Make Media, p.8).
In conclusion, social media buttons on all platforms have given society positive outcomes, they’ve redefined connectivity on a scale nobody thought was possible and has helped people find meaning through their lives by creating relationships, businesses (such as bitcoin or eutherium, not only in favor of marketing channels), organizations to join for a purpose so and so forth. But it has also caused negative outcomes with the growth of consumerism/surveillance/competition, loss of democracy/credibility, wealth inequality, body image and affects social standards as a whole. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2017/sep/25/the-revolution-will-be-tweeted/.
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