Social networking created changes to the way we communicate with one another.

It alters our
idea of what it means to start a business. We can get our fix of current events through this
medium, share our favorite websites with one another, and capture moments using pictures and
video to share with family and friends.

There are many positives to consider when looking at the latest form of social networking, but it
can also be a world filled with many negatives. You can use websites like Facebook to launch a
new business idea, sell products or services, and extend the reach of your brand. These platforms
can also become an inescapable place where peer pressure can push people toward choices they
would never make without its influence.

We look at brands like Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram for social networking today, but this
communications tool has been everywhere since the early 2000s. Six Degrees earns recognition
as being the first official site, founded in 1997 by Andrew Weinreich, with a peak of 1 million
members. People were going into AOL chat rooms before then. Friendster then emerged in 2002,
a year before LinkedIn, to set the stage for what we see today.

The pros and cons of social networking are often more about your priorities when using it and
the pages and people with whom you choose to interact. How can you take advantage of these
critical viewpoints today?

List of the Pros of Social Networking

1. Social networking gives you a chance to connect with people around the world.
One of the most obvious advantages of using social networking is the opportunity these websites
provide you to reach people from anywhere in the world. As long as there is a connection to the
Internet and a profile created, you can become “friends” or a “follower” of someone and check-
in with them at any point in time.
Some people use Facebook to stay in touch with family, talk to old high school friends, and share
their political feelings. Twitter is a micro-blogging platform that is used for comedy, current
events, and general observation. You can even connect with people from places you’ve never
seen or heard of before.

2. This technology gives us access to easy, instant communication tools.

Social networking gives us the chance to stay connected with one another wherever we happen
to go. You don’t need to have access to a landline to call someone with this technology today.
Sending a letter through the traditional mail seems like an eternity. Forget about answering
machines or voicemail – just leave a comment on someone’s page and they’ll get a notification
about it immediately.
When we stay connected to social networking, then all we need to do is pick up our smartphone,
boot up the computer, or open the laptop to start communicating with someone. You can even
use an app that connects to your profile to take advantage of these benefits no matter where you
are in the world.
3. Information happens in real-time blocks on social networks.
Before the Internet came around, we all had to wait for the daily newspaper or the news
broadcasts on television to know what was going on in the world that day. Even when cable
news came around to give us 24/7 access to stories, we had to sit, watch, and wait for the stories
we wanted to see. Thanks to social networking, one simple search is all that is necessary to
access the current events notifications that we want to see.
You can even go a step further and set alerts through your social networking profile so that you
receive notifications when a specific page has new information to review. This process allows
you to customize your news feed, allowing the information discovery experience to follow the
exact path you want.

4. Social networking creates brand exposure for businesses.

Any type of professional organization can use their social networking presence to connect with
their current and future customers. Most platforms allow businesses to sell their products, either
directly on the social media site or through a link to the company’s sales page. This process
makes it easier to expand the reach of a company through the use of these one-to-one
connections that are possible.
There are numerous small businesses and entrepreneurs who have thriving companies today
which survive almost entirely on what they can create through a social network. Some of the
brands would be unable to operate without it.

5. Being on a social network is a lot of fun.

The average person in the United States spends between 35 to 45 minutes every day on their
favorite social networks. Some might call this behavior an addiction, but it wouldn’t be that way
if people weren’t having fun checking in with others or staying up-to-date on the latest news and
information. Humans are naturally social creatures, so it feels satisfying to have likes, hearts, or
comments left on a posit. You can create friendly conversations in the comfort of home while
seeing what everyone is doing without needing to ask them.
6. Social networks are a useful law enforcement tool.
73% of law enforcement officials in the United States say that they believe social networking
sites help them to solve crimes with more speed. 85% of the police departments in the U.S. use
social media to investigate local offenses. It is a tool that helps officers track down and arrest
those who brag about their crimes online. This advantage has led to numerous prosecutions,
including hate crimes, and identified multiple people in videos where inappropriate actions occur
so that the proper charges can be brought against them.

7. This tool can help students perform better at school.

About 3 out of every 5 students say that they use social media to discuss educational topics if
they have access to the Internet. Half of students say that they talk about their school
assignments with their friends thanks to the tools offered by these platforms. George Middle
School, which is located in Portland, OR, introduce social networking programs to engage their
students and found a 50% increase in grades. There were also declines of chronic absences and
an increase in the voluntary extra-credit.
8. Social networking helps people who are shy or socially isolated to connect with others.
About 1 in 4 teens say that their experiences on social media have helped them to feel less shy
when interacting with others in real life. Almost 30% of the young people in that group say that
these encounters help them to feel more outgoing, while 1 in 5 say that their confidence got a
boost.
Some kids, teens, and young adults are not as socially adept as others, which is where the
anonymity of social networking can help. This online resource gives them an opportunity to feel
more comfortable, become vocal, and practice interactions with other people in a way that
creates a safety net for them.

9. The elderly can feel more connected to society because of social media.
The Pew Research Center conducted a study in 2015 to see how senior citizens felt about the use
of social media. For those in the 65 and older age demographic, which is one of the fastest
growing groups on social networks, they felt happier because of the online contacts that were
available to them because of this technology. They could talk to their family, see pictures and
video of their grandchildren, or access the bulletin from their church.
Only 2% of senior citizens were using social networking in 2008. That figure climbed to 35% by
2015 because of this unique advantage.

List of the Cons of Social Networking

1. Social networking exposes us to a lot of information.
When social networks first started, the platforms became a place of meaningful connection. You
would share videos, photographs, and letters with the essential people in your life. Now that
there are millions (and sometimes billions) of people on a platform, there can be a lot of white
noise that drowns out these conversations. Between the political arguments, posted selfies,
shared links, and brand videos that enter the average news feed every day, it becomes pretty
overwhelming to have all of this information at a glance.

Most people tend to create bloated news feeds with a collected group of friends and followers
that contains irrelevant content. It becomes a challenge to stay connected with people because
you might lose their conversations in the blizzard of data that social networks have become.

2. There are privacy issues to consider with social networks.

Because there is so much data sharing happening with the modern social network, the amount of
privacy that we have for the average person is shrinking a little bit every day. The user
agreements that you agree to follow when signing up for this service might even create a license
which allows the platform to use your content without attribution – including your pictures.
You might become a target if you share your current location over social media. Your employer
can choose to fire you if they disagree with something that you shared over your network. If you
share too much with the public, there could be problems that develop which will never resolve as
the information releases.
3. Cyberbullying and peer pressure are significant issues.
If you struggle to fit in with your group of peers, then you might feel some pressure to behave or
communicate in specific ways to feel accepted. This disadvantage tends to impact teens and
young adults the most, but it can also influence anyone. It is not unusual for the negative
behaviors to be worse online than at school or work because bullies feel like they can be
anonymous when sitting behind a screen or using a smartphone.
In extreme cases of this disadvantage, the bullying and negative comments that occur over social
networking can lead to anxiety, depression-like symptoms, and high levels of stress.
Cyberbullying makes teens and young adults twice as likely to attempt suicide or attempt to
harm themselves in other ways.

“Prevention of cyberbullying should be included in school anti-bullying policies, alongside

broader concepts such as digital citizenship, online peer support for victims, and how an
electronic bystander might appropriately intervene,” Professor Ann John, of Swansea University
Medical School, told The Telegraph. “Suicide prevention and intervention is essential within any
comprehensive anti-bullying program and should incorporate a whole-school approach to include
awareness raising and training for staff and pupils.”