Social media is a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas and information and the building of virtual networks and communities. By design, social media is internet based and offers users easy electronic communication of personal information and other content, such as videos and photos. Users engage with social media via computer, tablets or Smartphones, via web-based software or web application, often utilizing it for messaging.
Social media originated as a tool that people used to interact with friends and family but was later adopted by businesses that wanted to take advantage of a popular new communication method to reach out to customers. The power of social media is the ability to connect and share information with anyone on Earth, as long as they also use social media.
Various companies use social media in order to launch new products on the market. This provides the companies a first mover advantage over those companies which do not use social media.
In the 21st century, social media has become very vast in nature and it facilitates services like E-commerce and E-business. It helps in spreading brand awareness and preserving the brand reputation. It is very cost effective and can also be used to boost web traffic to your website. It helps in evaluating the product and targeting a specific group of customers.
However, there are a few downfalls of social media. Getting the right resources is very difficult and most of the times it receives negative feedback from customers.
The social media has also helped people across the globe to stay connected with one another. Social media has various platforms which people use nowadays – Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp, Snapchat, Youtube, Twitter.
According to research and recent findings, Instagram is the most harmful social networking site, as it has some serious effects on the health of people, especially among teenagers.
Instagram is a social networking site that is now owned by Facebook. This allows us to share our pictures with others. When you post a photo or video on Instagram, it will be displayed on your profile. Other users who follow you will see your posts in their own feed. Likewise, you’ll see posts from other users whom you choose to follow.
There are many fitness models, celebrities, travel enthusiasts who share their perfect lives on Instagram by uploading pictures. Many people follow them and try to be like them. They are so blinded by their glory that they fail to see the years of struggle that came before. When the ordinary people fail to be like them, it affects their mental health. They struggle with simple things in life and cannot think clearly. This leads to sleep-deprivation, anxiety, depression.
There are many Instagram users who are victims of body-shaming. Instagram makes people feel lonely and makes them crave for attention. It makes the users forget who they really are. They always use filters and many other shades to cover up their real self on the social networking site. Instagram blurs its users from the reality.
In 2010, The United Kingdom chose 15000 haphazardly and they conducted a test. After all the candidates were accounted for, they were asked to use all the different kinds of the social network for a certain period of time. They were to devote as much time as they want on each social networking site provided they use all of them. Their mental health, excitement, energy, enthusiasm were all monitored for a period of six months. At the end of the six months period, the results were evaluated and compared. Results showed that people who had used Instagram less have better mental health and stability than the others. The most positive reactions were received from the people who used Youtube more.
One of the disadvantages is the possibility of the networking site being exposed to malware. Hackers can launch spam or commit fraud through this social networking site. This can be very dangerous for Instagram users’ safety and cause potential damage to the users’ reputation. Most users provide their personal information on this site, making them more vulnerable to the outside world. Technical support teams must do their best in order to protect and scan their systems for malware.