FACEBOOK AS A COMMUNICATION TOOL OF INFORMATION REFARDING NEWS

AND CURRENT AFFAIRS

ADVANTAGES

DISADVANTAGES

A RESEACRH PAPER PRESENTED TO

SYNTHESIS SUBJECT

BY
I. INTRODUCTION
Communication has been used since the beginning of time to

relay information, implement knowledge and skill, manipulative

views and beliefs, create and manage disputes and

disagreements, develop connections and relationship among

people and parties, instigate new ideas and innovations, and

to assist in cultural, behavioral, and psychological beliefs

(Anderson-Wilk, 2009). Communication in these trying times is

crucial for every family, friends, colleagues etc. Limiting

factors have been set by this global crisis in the aspect of

socialization. People have to find substitutes for the

greetings, gestures and other nonverbal cues we used to take

for granted

Social Media

Social networks and other online media are great tools for

engagement and two-way communication. According to Brogan

(2010), people are necessary to make conversations happen,

which is the overall purpose of social media, “to empower and

enable conversations digitally”. Forms of social media include

blogging, podcasting, video blogging, and all other various

social networks. Its gives people the feeling of being heard

and feelings of respect (Brogan, 2010)

 Social media and networking technologies help people connect

with one another based on shared interests, political views,

or activities. Some social media and networking Web sites are

broad and offer practices to diverse audiences, while others

focus specifically on certain hobbies and interests. Sites

also vary in communication tools they offer to users,

including mobile connectivity, blogging, and photo/video

sharing (Boyd & Allison, 2007)

Social media’s ability to break news and to go back and

forth with voters and constituents directly is invaluable.

Serving as sort of alternative to traditional newscasts,

social media video empowers politicians to break their own

news and have conversations with constituents in real time. It

also serves as news source. To say that political news moves

quickly would be an understatement

Facebook

In the present, Facebook is the most popular form of social

medium of communication and is used as a means of interactions

among people in which they create, share and exchange

information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

Facebook is a vessel of information for everybody and what

you put out there will affect not only your life but can

affect those the read what you publish

II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

There are many advantages of using social networking sites

like Facebook. These sites are not merely for entertainment and

communication. A study done by the National School Boards

Association (of America) in 2007, shows that there is a positive

correlation between the use of Facebook and students’

performance. Social networking sites allow students to acquire

skills that are important and relevant in the digital era. Thus,

Facebook can create communication opportunities for discussion

about current news affairs. Thus, it is essential to introduce

students to social networking sites and how to optimize the use

of these sites to enhance the learning experience. Teachers can

provide additional training for students to open a Facebook

account and invite students into the Facebook pages and promote

news reading suitable for their age.

A new study co authored by Yildirin finds political

newcomers can get a substantial boost in support by using social

media channels, which cost next to nothing and are easily tapped

by anyone with internet connection. The finding is important

because it indicates how social media can help level the playing

field in politics, where money and access to formal communication

channels pose huge barriers to new entrants. Beyond communicating

their policy views, new candidates can humanize themselves

through their social media accounts, and that help voters feel

more connected to them. The scholars believe the intersection of

social media and politics is ripe for more research, and their

paper makes a notable contribution in the field. The finding

suggests that, with enough strategy, social media could erase the

incumbency advantage. The scholars said that as political

campaigns are becoming increasingly more expensive and the need

to reach out to constituencies is becoming more vital, social

media will undoubtedly play a more important role in determining

electoral outcomes as it gives young politicians a platform.

III FINDINGS

Facebook as the most famous social networking site and

used by many has advantages and disadvantages according to the

researcher’s factual findings.

Advantages

1. Open platform for all networks. One can easily share

his/her opinion about the information presented, one

can easily share his/her perspective about the news

2. News sites and social media feeds are updated every

second with new data from regular users who share news,
 events experienced, photos, gossip, scoops and the

latest topics.

3. Easy access. Whoever has an account can access almost

anything in facebook

Disadvantages

1. Not optimized to provide factual news accounts. There’s

too little space for reporters to give full account of what

really happened.

2. When people do not log in often, they can suffer

information overload when they access their accounts. They

find it hard to cope with the sheer amount of issues,

discussions, long threads, weird information, lies, spamming

and concerns in the social network where they belong.

3. Absence of proofreading, fact checking or stylistic

corrections. False claims and misinformation are difficult

to contain once they’ve been made.

4. too open and have high chance of exposing sensitive

information to teenagers or kids that might influence some

behavior and might not be suitable for such young minds.

5. technically speaking vulnerable to spams, hackers, dummy

accounts and other Facebook misstatements

IV CONCLUSION

The study concentrated on the advantages and disadvantages

of using Facebook as communication tool about news and current

affairs and the misuse of social media for political campaigns.

As the finding of this study suggests, Facebook is a great tool

to use for emergencies, when it is crucial to spread a message

quickly and efficiently. A coin always has two sides and with

efficiency there comes the technical vulnerability of the

software that can mislead social media users to false

misstatements and information.

Social media is another set of an ideal world especially for

those introverts. It is an open platform that can be used based

on how the user desires to use it. It is an ideal world made by

those living in the real world where one will share and post what

they want others to see and same goes with news and current

affairs and the political campaigns. The use of social media

platforms has some drawbacks to the users themselves and with

continuously increasing number of profiles added everyday a high

probability of scams, hackers and other misuse of social

platforms.
V RECOMMENDATION

Social media, news and current affairs and politics have

become inseparable these days that’s because almost everything

happens with the use of social platforms or vial social media.

Its ability to break news and to go back and forth has been

proven efficient. Navigating social media and politics can be

tricky for those responsible for managing public accounts,

though. Social as news source can be a bit misleading some times

so it’s important to do factual checking or the proactive

approach against misinformation. This also includes making

statements or comments that you might need to walk back because

you didn’t take time to fact check. Anyone running social media

for political campaigns has a responsibility to be responsible.

There is no single platform when it comes to media and politics.

This also speaks to the importance of cross posting your social

content to multiple networks when possible for the sake of saving

time and reaching votes.

V REFERENCES
www.revistaespacios.com
https://communication.tufts.edu/marketing-and-
branding/social-mediaoverview
https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam?product/gamble
https://news.temple.edu/news/2020-09-16/coronavirus-
pandemic-has-made-communication-more-important-ever
https://www.i24news.tv/en