The Impacts Of Social Media

THE IMPACTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media as a means of connecting with people over the internet, came into existence in the late 1970s. Like any tool it has made an impact in our lives, both positive and negative.

Social media has made positive impacts in lots of people’s lives. People like Olajumoke Orisaguna whose life was impacted positively when she was caught on camera by photographer TY Bello. She used it as a platform for her photos and was ultimately discovered.

Social media has made it possible for people who need financial help for medical care to garner help by posting on about the patients’ details on social media and also by creating accounts on sites like GoFundMe and sharing these accounts all over Facebook and other social media.

Many people have found jobs through job adverts placed on social media.

Social media has made it possible for companies, organizations or individual businesses to reach wider audiences by placing targeted ads for advertisements for creating groups on social media to advertise their products and services.

But social media is not limited to positive impacts. It can also have a positive impact in our lives some of which can be dangerous if care is not taken.

Social media has made it easier for cowards to hide behind a screen and bully others. There have been cases of cyberbullying where the victims either heartbreakingly commit suicide or are left with the emotional, mental and psychological scars which will forever be indelible in their minds.

Cybercrime has been made easy on social media when information about would-be victims are easily accessible because the would-be victims have posted their personal information including residential addresses on social media. Many females have fallen victims into scams by unknown men they met online who profess fake undying love all in a bid to either extort money, trace the females to their houses to rape or kill them. People both males and females have been conned on social media to part with their money by online scammers out to milk them dry.

Some people have become so addicted to social media, their personal, professional or educational lives have suffered. They develop an inability to focus on what is real.

In conclusion, social media has made a lot of impact on our lives. It is up to us to be careful and be self-conscious about how we use and interact on social media.