The use of social networking has been commonplace in today’s
digitally connected world. It is used to brings us closer to family and friends
through making updates about our lives and everyday thoughts, sharing news or
posts that we read on a specific social media platform, discussing interests
with like-minded strangers on the internet, buying or selling items between individuals,
and connecting us to new goods and services through convenient targeted advertising
as well. The benefits of social networking include having immediate access to
information and opinions on a particular topic, communicating easily and almost
instantly with others, and utilizing social networking to engage with and to find
potential opportunities for companies. As discussed in the Network World
article “Carnegie Mellon students to exploit social networks to predict success
of Internet startups” by Bob Brown, Carnegie Mellon students melded social networking
with a forecasting method to determine the next successful company.
In the corporate world, social networking has become a method
of returning profit for many larger companies as well as a place of great competition.
Our information is precious to established companies like Facebook and Google. According
to the Wired article “Great Wall of Facebook: The Social Network's Plan to
Dominate the Internet — and Keep Google Out” by the Wired Staff, there is
currently a struggle between Google and Facebook in terms of how people should be
searching for their information and news. Personal information, email
addresses, and friend lists are examples of information on Facebook’s users
which is kept on the company’s own servers. On the other hand, Google has access
to unique information such as an individual’s Google search history and YouTube
video history. Both platforms have competing search engines that they want
users to use to spend more time interacting on their sites as well as allocating
web traffic to outboard sites. They gain access to our digital footprint and
are able to profit from this through methods such as targeted advertisements.
The dark side of social networking is the question of whether
or not the privacy of individuals is maintained even with all of this personal
and sensitive information being recorded and used by large companies. It is
increasingly unclear how defining individual characteristics such as our full
names, birthdays, interests, occupation, and facial features are being used by
large companies as well as what safeguards are in place to protect this
information from malicious entities. According to the Wharton article “'Leaving
‘Friendprints’: How Online Social Networks Are Redefining Privacy and Personal
Security”, websites should make privacy policies easier to comprehend for the
user. Because of the complexity of many of these policies, most individuals do
not thoroughly read what they are agreeing to when they allow companies to access
their information. With the prevalence of social networking among the younger
generation, it is more important than ever to ensure that everyone is mindful
of what personal information about ourselves is posted to the web.
In the future, social networking will work to help more people
than just news agencies, large and small businesses, and everyday individuals
like our family and friends. As we have already seen with President Obama, President
Trump, and Bernie Sanders, political campaigns will soon almost exclusively be created
and funded through social networking to bring those of similar political views together
in support of a candidate that best represents them. In fact, the New York
Times article “How Obama Tapped Into Social Networks’ Power” by David Carr stated
that it was through social networking that President Obama created a movement
that helped elect him into office. His campaign also received a database of
supporters that could be galvanized into action at any time. Finally, in the
coming years, the use of social networking should extend to large companies striving
to be more transparent with how our information is used and what level of privacy
they are obligated to give to the public. As a result, children will become
more mindful of how important data privacy is as they interact with social
media sites.
References
Yes, there is a big question regarding privacy in the social networks. Most of the social media sites have information that’s required, like your birthday and email address. Identity thieves can get your personal information from the information available on the social media sites, so you should pay close attention and protect your sensitive personal details.
ReplyDeleteEven though there are several advantages and disadvantages, social media platforms share a common goal of bringing people together. A place where different voices, perspectives, opinions and knowledge is brought under one roof.
ReplyDeleteSocial networking sites have their pros and cons, but they do share a common purpose of connecting people all around the world. It still amazes me that the Presidents of the United States use Twitter as a platform to speak up on, but that is what social networks are evolving into. They are letting every person be heard no matter what age, race, job, etc. one has.
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