In today’s world, it is common to hear someone speaking of their Facebook or their Twitter accounts. Social Networking as a whole has woven itself into the very fabric of our daily lives. Thousands of lint balls we call “updates”, ranging from the everyday random joke, to the ever irritating photos of food that barely looks edible decorate our “News feeds” and our personal pages. Every tidbit of personal information is willingly uploaded, tweeted, posted and video recorded for anyone with even the mildest set of access to view, comment on and scrutinize. For My Project paper in this New Media and Business class, I would like to discuss Social Networking and its advantages and disadvantages. I’d also like to look more in depth at its users and there, what I call,” purposeful loss of privacy”. I would also like to conduct an analysis of Social Networking and its impact on our lives and the way we conduct business. Social Media has completely re-faced the world of commerce and E commerce and it is the very “purposeful loss of privacy” that fuels companies research efforts and Marketing campaigns.

The first question that I’d like to address in this paper may seem simple. What exactly is Social Media? In its simplest and most understandable definition, Social Media are platforms, apps or websites that enable users to create and share content or to participate in social networking. It’s a way to stay in touch with people who are in your life and keep them updated and possibly even meet new people. It can be a place where Elderly people can view photos of their Grandchildren who might live too far away to visit. It can be a place where parents can post videos of their babies growing up or maybe share their first steps. It can be a great place to maintain relationships without actually socializing physically or even leaving your living room. Some of the more know social networking apps and sites are Facebook, which is the largest social site to date. I’ve heard some people claiming that their use of Facebook is diminishing, however, a research study discussed by Margret Weilgel, Author of “Why Facebook most Facebook users get more than they give” says the research found no evidence that Facebooks popularity is fading, and that in fact, the more time that passes since a user first starts using, the more frequently they make status updates, use the “Like” button and comment on friends content. Then there is Twitter, a social site that is very simple and takes the messaging platform and utilizes it to create groups and lists of “Trends”. Twitter also has the added benefit that its company actually pays attention to the users wants and needs, and integrates it into their application, which is where the interactive options of liking a post came to play. You also have Instagram, where users can post pictures and short videos that they can edit with Instagram’s built in picture and video editor. Other users can then comment and or “like” the picture or video. Another growing app that allows users to upload videos or pictures is Snap Chat. The difference with Snap Chat is, these videos are not preeminent, and will disappear in 24 hours. Fundamentally, Social Sites can be a great tool to create a user space where one can post things of interest, view friends and family’s updates as well as likes or dislikes. It can be a great tool to keep in touch

With acknowledgment to all these seemingly positive attributes, one might consider Social Media to be an amazing feature and component of our lives. Businesses can interact with users and optimize content for their specific wants and needs. Customers can seek information and communicate directly with agents on these Social sites, such as Twitter and Facebook. But here is where the lines begin to get blurry. On the one hand, it might seem great to have Ad’s that are mostly unavoidable to be at least catered to your tastes. But in order to have that, many aspects of your “privacy” must be exposed. But according to Kate Murphy, Author of “We want privacy, but can’t stop sharing”, There is no privacy. She goes on to say that the Ad’s targeted by companies such as Google are “creepy”. The article points out many key aspects of users willingly giving up their privacy as they use these Social Media sites. Adam Joinson, a Professor of behavioral change at the University of the West of England in Bristol coined the term “Digital Crowding” to describe excessive social contact and loss of personal space online. He states with all the focus on the Legal aspects of Privacy and the impact on Global trade there’s been little discussion of why you want privacy and why it’s intrinsically important to you as an Individual”. It’s up to the user to decide how they will protect their information. And here lies the paradox. Its becoming ever increasing and easy to connect almost any site you visit to your Facebook. You don’t even have to create an account on most sites now. You can choose the option to “Log in with Facebook” and consequently, you agree to allow the site to post, view and use your information. It is a willingness to give up just a little more privacy for the sake of convenience.

How exactly do businesses use your information? It’s obvious how they obtain it. You post it, like it, tweet it, Snap chat it. Simple apps and trackers can be used on Twitter to see what companies, products and trends are popular at the moment. You can actually get full statistics breakdowns on this type of information. It’s cheap and it’s extremely useful in the right hands. According to Sujan Patel, Author of Forbes article “How Businesses should be using Social Media in 2015”, it has been reported that about 73% of all Americans in America alone have created at least one social media profile on one of the major social media sites or apps. Five years ago, the number was around 48%. With these numbers growing so rapidly, it is obvious that Businesses are having a hard time keeping up. But they are learning fast! Companies such as Axiom make big bucks selling your data as “Analytical Services” on 144 million households according to CNN. In the article “Why big companies buy, sell your data” written by Jason Morris and Ed Lavadera for CNN Tech, Acxiom Chief Executive and former Microsoft Executive Scott Howe, in an attempt to shed light on how companies use your data stated “Companies like Acxiom are trying to get intelligent about what you might be interested in and who you are. Such that we can deliver more relevant advertising to you, and we can deliver offers and products and services in which you might have interest,” He continued by stating, “All the information we collect and utilize is secure, appropriate, and legal.” He went on to elaborate that your data presents unlimited amount of value for not just businesses, but the people as well. You’re always going to be subjected to advertising, your data can help fine tune what’s being targeted to you as an individual.

It’s not every day that you would hear a person say “I do not want privacy.” What exactly is “Privacy”? Privacy is basically the freedom from being observed. It’s a direct contradiction to Social Media. Social Media is a platform to do exactly the opposite of creates privacy. It is the equivalent of saying “I don’t want privacy” every single time you post a picture of you at an event, or a post of what you just ate and where you ate it. But that you will not hear. In fact, what you will hear is everything from small talk to huge debates about how our “privacy” is being invaded by big businesses in order to turn a profit. In the article previously mentioned from CNN, it stated that Critics of data-Brokering companies claim that the regular average users have no idea that their intimate personal information and details are being sold. The argument is that having this information available at a single click could be a privacy risk. And while much of this may be true, and organizations such as Epic.org will exist, it is the same people complaining about a loss of privacy that willingly and daily post updates of their lives to hundreds of “friends” or “followers”. And it this time there are no real federal regulations for data brokers, the ones who sell your information. People still contribute despite this fact.

It is a contradiction that baffles me fully. In many cases you may hear the rebuttal “I’m posting these updates for my friends and family and it is private”. But let’s take a closer look at those friends’ lists. My son, who is fourteen, has three thousand followers on Instagram. I do not even think he has three thousand occupants in his entire school. Who are these people? Where did they come from? And when he posts a video of some silly thing he does at home, how can anyone consider this “private”? It is completely idiotic to believe your information and web browsing habits are “private”, especially when in most cases, you broadcast it to the world.

This brings me to my next question. What are the effects social media has on our teenage children? The answer is pretty simple. The effects are huge. Growing up already has so many emotional hurdles with self-esteem, social awkwardness and bullying. Even more disturbing is the fact that many of these teens starve for attention and now have a huge media platform to achieve it. Teens that commit self-harm or “Cutting” has been a huge problem. Author Kimberly Leonard of the article “Is Social Media Making Self-Harm Worse for Teens?” writes that despite efforts of social media sites to curb the amount of disturbing materials users post online, images of “cutting” and self-harm continue to show up on sites like Instagram and Tumblr. Executive director of the Newport Academy, Jamison Monroe Jr. says “They are seeking a connection to normalize the behavior, to make them feel OK about the way they are coping,” Monroe says. “The fact that they are cutting means they need help.” It’s these dark corners of social media that people do not want to see. It’s the decay of physical social interactions being replaced by the ambiguity of a computer screen. Cyber bullying is also a huge issue. Cyber bullies use information technology to harm or harass people in a deliberate manner. Where in the past, a teen would only have a small handful of people that could potentially harasses, make fun of or bully them, be it physically or emotionally, not they are faced with hundreds of thousands of possibilities. A bad photo or a revealing tidbit of embarrassing information can go viral, causing unimaginable regret, pain and anxiety. These attacks have actually led to many teens going as far as to commit suicide. Programs like “Don’t Laugh At Me” created by Peter Yarrow have created programs for schools and other institutions to attempt to battle these problems, as well as countless other programs.

Social Media is here and I believe it’s here to stay. With the shift of Internet use and ecommerce moving to Mobile platforms, it’s only going to get bigger. Will Face Book be the next Myspace? Who knows, as only time will tell. But today it is here and it has a major impact on our lives and the way we conduct business. Our lives are on display and it is our own faults, as we continue to post every second of our existence on some form of social media. The only advice I can fathom for battle this trend is to simply not use them. Scoff away.

Bibliography

Patel, Sujan. “How Businesses Should Be Using Social Media in 2015.” Forbes. Forbes

Magazine, 24 June 2015. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Morris, Jason, and Ed Lavendera. “Why Big Companies Buy, Sell Your Data.” CNN. Cable

News Network, 23 Aug. 2012. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Et.al. Dwyer, and Trust And Privacy: A Comparison Of Facebook And Myspace. Trust and

Privacy Concern within Social Networking Sites: A Comparison of Facebook and MySpace (n.d.): n. pag Web.

Leonard, Kimberly. “Is Social Media Making Self-Harm Worse for Teens?” US News.

U.S.News & World Report, 29 Mar. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Weigel, Margret. “Why Most Facebook Users Get More than They give – Journalist’s Resource.”

Journalists Resource. N.p., 22 Feb. 2013. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Murphy, Kate. “We Want Privacy, but Can’t Stop Sharing.” The New York Times. The New

York Times, 04 Oct. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

Murphy, Kate. “We Want Privacy, but Can’t Stop Sharing.” The New York Times. The New

York Times, 04 Oct. 2014. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.

The next new thing, and you can quote me on this, will be VR Social Media. I can picture sitting in my living room, but immersed in a virtual vacation for an hour with a group of friends. You can be anywhere, anytime, with anyone. wear whatever you can imagine. Be whoever you want to be. With VR Tech now a reality, such as Oculus Rift and HTC, the possibilities are endless.

I recently received my Samsung Gear VR Headset that pairs with my Galaxy S7 Edge. I was amazed at how well it works. I’m sure the “real Vr headsets are far superior, but the experience I had with this headset was very positive.

A few negative aspects were a distinct blurry texture at times as well as some uncomfortably with some apps. But the positive aspects were HUGE compared to that.

I can imagine some social apps being used to have VR settings and interactions. Its a new world!