Social media and it's impact on society/politics/ and personal relationships.

Introduction

  Today, social media is not only used as a tool for information seeking, but individuals have also turned to social media to create political presence, develop a sense of community engagement, and build healthy relationships. Social media has a real impact on politics, society, and personal relationships. In today's world, people are using different platforms to access and share information. For example, people use social media to establish and sustain relationships.   Social media allows family and friends to stay connected and hence improves their psychological well-being. Various factors have affected personal relationships, but social media has promoted personal connectedness and social interaction. Social media is not only strengthening personal relationships, but it is also making and connecting communities in a way that society now is made up of social relations patterns where people have formed social cohesion. In society, people have formed virtue communities that work together toward common interests. Politicians are not left behind as they are using the new media platforms as a communication platform and for conducting campaigns. The social media system has permanently changed daily lives in that today, citizens and politicians have shifted from traditional methods to digital media where they do political campaigns, it has enhanced the social life, and it has helped people create healthy relationships.

Social media and it's impact on society

Fleck & Johnson-Migalski (2015) assert that 73% of adults use social networking sites like Facebook, Instagram. Pinterest, Youtube, and others. Recent research and studies finds that social media users use these platforms to create relationships and to discuss the current social situation. In society, social media allow people to develop a sense of belonging in the community as they share information regarding community responsibility (Fleck & Johnson-Migalski, 2015). As people share information and understand the community, they improve the connectedness, and they form one community and engage in positive things. Rather than working as an individual, individuals focus on socially interested behaviors and work together toward a common goal. In communities, it is important to understand that social media improves personal lives as well as professional lives.  For example, social media improves personal lives in that focusing on the health-care industry, clinicians   provide care, support, and education on health living to patients through social media. (Fleck & Johnson-Migalski, 2015). Patients also use social media to access credible medical information, wellness ideas, healthy recipes, among other important things that help them create a healthy living.  Homebound patients also use social media to stay in touch and interact with friends. Therefore, social media can be defined as a tool that connects people in the community and allows them to share information, participate in community events, and, more importantly, stay in touch and create a sense of interdependency.

            Russo et al (2009) assert that in the community, social media provides informal learning and makes young people become cultural participants. Today's societies have shifted from traditional literacy to a ‘new literacy' where young people are required not only to read and write but also to interpret the meaning and create a permanent impression.  In other words, to be literate means to have the ability to read and interpret, and evaluate the meaning.  It is important to understand that various areas such as the global cultural economy and the learning environment are using the information and communications technology, and therefore, students are required to gain ICTs skills to adapt to the changing environment (Russo et al. 2009). Today, social media has established new ways of learning where students can now find information, share the information, and engage in participatory learning. Students interact and share new knowledge, and such interaction increases student-teacher relationship, and community engagement. An important point to understand is that students learn cultural education and gains cultural knowledge through social media. They come across museum content and share their opinions in a creative way (Russo et al. 2009). Note that as students share cultural knowledge in social media, they also interact with local communities in meaningful ways. Note that social media enable students and communities to hold cultural debates, and eventually, they gain new knowledge, and more importantly, they create and sustain strong connections.

Social media and it's impact politics

Opeye mi (2018) asserts that social media play a significant role in politics as it allows citizens to express themselves, participate, and learn. First, social media connect all people through various platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Citizens share political information, express their opinions and viewpoints, participate in political matters, and through political engagement, they gain political knowledge. Note that expression, participation, and learning play a significant role in creating political awareness, or in other words, citizens understand the government agendas (Opeyemi, 2018). Note that since citizens have freedom of speech, and thus social media enable them to participate in political matters. When it comes to agenda development, they can support the political policies and demand for adjustment.  Social media can be defined as the source of political knowledge, and people use this knowledge to make judgments. Note that interaction and engagement make the political leaders develop a feeling open, which influences them to increase accountability and responsibility.

Auter & Fine (2018), social media is giving members of Congress political presence, and they have increased political participation. They use congressional websites to conduct an online campaign. Social media allow politicians to communicate with citizens, update their messages without fearing message distortion, and use online political information to prevent themselves from threats. As politicians increase their mobilization effort, they can persuade citizens to vote, and the politicians can increase active connection and eventually get many votes (Auter & Fine, 2018).  Note that politicians compete in social media presences in that some candidates use different electoral parties. For example, some candidates, such as challengers, lack resources, and they end up using cheap ventures at a minimal cost, whereas incumbents use costly ventures to organize their campaigns. Therefore, politicians use different campaigning strategies in social media (Auter & Fine, 2018).  In general, social media not only increases political presence, but it helps politicians develop positive political outcomes in terms of voter turnout with respect to posting strategies.

Social media and it's impact on personal relationship

 It is important to understand that social mobility, which is caused by many factors, including migration, a search for employment, and urbanization has affected personal relationships. There are dramatic changes in how we relate with family and friends, and people are using digital technologies such as social media to connect to friends in and outside the world (Miguel, 2018).  Social media is doing a significant role in creating sociability. People are having a direct conversation, and they can also see and do other things together at a distance. Therefore, social media brings people to a domestic sphere where they interact and maintain personal relationships.

 Social media is social, meaning that social media strengthens personal relationships as users get the opportunity to build social networks and have close connections with family and friends. Social media works in amazing ways in that friends stay in touch always.  When one friend posts on Facebook or Twitter, the other friends will like and comment on the post.  It is a platform where friends stay close to each other, share information, solve problems, and share thoughts (Miguel, 2018). Rather than breaking bonds, social media is strengthening personal ties. In other words, people are using social networking sites to enhance the relationship they formed offline, and this means that people are encouraged to use social media to make personal connections (Miguel, 2018).  It is also important to note that social media users not only maintain friends they already have, but they go beyond and create new friends whom they share ideas and create meaningful lives. Factors such as economic decline and high costs of living have forced people to separate from their friends. It becomes too problematic to meet them face to face, and they prefer using social media to interact with friends, and therefore, people are living in an open and connected world despite the separation.

Conclusion

 Social media has brought social change in many aspects, such as social life, political life, and personal relationships.  In society, social media has created digital citizenship, where all people in the community have become active members of social matters. The Internet has enabled people to be politically active, which means that they are participating in society and politics as networked digital media has provided tools of participation.  In dealing with political issues, politicians are now engaging in political activity in an efficient way. Social media is giving politics a strong political presence, and they have the opportunity to have direct communication with voters and supporters. The research paper has found that social media is building communities by connecting individuals and giving them the opportunity to share information, thoughts, ideas, express opinion, and engage in other constructive things that make life meaningful.  Therefore, social media play a significant role in everyday life, and it will continue to protect the social and political life positively.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference

 

 

Russo, A., Watkins, J., & Groundwater, S. S. (2009). The impact of social media on informal learning in

museums. Educational Media International, 46(2), 153–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/09523980902933532

 

 

Fleck, J., & Johnson-Migalski, L. (2015). The Impact of Social Media on Personal and Professional Lives:

An Adlerian Perspective. Journal of Individual Psychology, 71(2), 135–142. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=103721598&site=ehost-live

 

Auter, Z. J., & Fine, J. A. (2018). Social Media Campaigning: Mobilization and Fundraising on

Facebook. Social Science Quarterly (Wiley-Blackwell), 99(1), 185–200.

https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12391

 

Opeyemi, O. E. (2018).  Role of Social Networking and Media in Political Awareness in Public. Journal of

Mobile Computing & Application, 5 (4), PP 06-09.

 

Miguel, C. (2018). Personal relationships and intimacy in the age of social media. Palgrave Macmillan,