TCL (L4:2) The Good and Bad of Social Media

The Good and Bad of Social Media

While social media is an effective way for people to find friends and build relationships online, social media leaves a digital fingerprint of who you are and your passions.  This has both a good side and a bad side to consider.

Good:  The common connection that is created when many people come together on social media helps them find others who may share their interests, passions, concerns, or needs.  The sharing of personal profiles helps followers get to know each other.  There are ways to create privacy, but posts and comments show who you are and your interests as well. 

Another benefit is that the content created by those within the social groups can be shared easily among the whole group.  This sharing leads to the increase in the numbers of people who meet based on their common interests. 

‘Going viral’ is the term for content that spreads quickly online by being frequently shared with a number of individuals.  This quick distribution grows exponentially, multiplying the reach of the original message to possibly very large audiences. 

Another good point about social media is the way online interactions can lead to offline connections.  For example, people who love horses can talk online about animal doctors who treat injuries, allowing followers to know what options might be available nearby.  Or mothers with young children can find playgrounds in different neighborhoods. 

In short, social media is a valuable meeting place for people to come together and connect over common interests.  Social media platforms use your information and user history to help you connect with others who share your interests.

Bad:  There are negative points to social media platforms that result from them gathering the digital fingerprint of so many people. 

The problem is that anything a user posts is saved as part of their demographic and psychographic profile.  This data could be online forever. The platforms then use this data not just to keep you entertained and informed.  Social media platforms make money by selling this user information to advertisers hoping to reach target audiences.  As one marketing expert described, social media platforms are in the business of selling eyeballs!

A second problem is that a user’s history will follow them forever.  The platforms will make decisions about who you are, your likes and dislikes, your interests and passions.  These decisions then guide them in choosing what to show you in the future.  And it makes choices about what content is too insignificant to share with you, even if it might be something you chose to follow. 

For this reason, social media platforms can sometimes seem to work against users.  Their choices for sending content are made by algorithms which are meant to make money on advertising, rather than on keeping the user engaged in meaningful interactions.

The result is that social media platforms create a constant flow of information that may be totally useless to the user.  This flow of posts often wastes the time and attention of viewers, and can seem silly at best, manipulative at worst.