{"id":9779,"date":"2014-03-17T08:49:06","date_gmt":"2014-03-17T13:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=9779"},"modified":"2014-05-20T13:23:28","modified_gmt":"2014-05-20T18:23:28","slug":"like-it-or-not-the-social-media-impacts-on-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/tartan-news\/2014\/03\/17\/like-it-or-not-the-social-media-impacts-on-society\/","title":{"rendered":"“Like” it or not: the social media impacts on society"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The impacts of social media can be seen in nearly every aspect of human interaction, from interpersonal communication, to how we think and act \u2014 even in the ways we do business.<\/p>\n

“It’s affected everything,” Sinclair Community College Marketing Professor Kevin Stephens said.<\/p>\n

In the past, Stephens worked for Cox Media and others maintaining interactive media websites. He said business and marketing tactics have changed completely since the introduction of social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re at a point where everybody involved in marketing knows they\u2019re supposed to be using social media, but the majority don\u2019t really know what they\u2019re supposed to be doing with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the rush to join the new marketing trends of the digital age, Stephens said only businesses with clear marketing objectives will know whether social media is working for them or not.<\/p>\n

“Are they trying to build awareness, generate leads, interact with customers or what? The answer should depend on an organizations particular marketing challenges,” he said.<\/p>\n

In recent years, many businesses have found profitable ways to interact with new audiences through social media. Stephens mentioned companies like Doritos, Heinz Ketchup and Converse, who have all had success encouraging customers to create their own ads and share them through Facebook, Intagram or Vine.<\/p>\n

“Eliciting user-generated content is a great way to leverage the internet in general, and social media in particular,” he said.<\/p>\n

Other companies like Panera Bread have found more direct ways of using social media to interact with their customers.<\/p>\n

“A few months ago, I tweeted about how good my sandwich was at Panera,” Amanda Beers, a business major at Sinclair said. “A few days later they tweeted me back, thanking me for the compliment and giving me a gift card.”<\/p>\n

Beers then took a screenshot of the replied tweet and posted the picture on her Instagram account.<\/p>\n

“I wanted to show it off,” she said. “It was just so cool.”<\/p>\n

According to Stephens, this is exactly what modern marketing is aiming to do.<\/p>\n

“They might have paid only $20 for that gift card, but the buzz created by everyone who saw it on Twitter and Instagram more than pays for itself,” he said.<\/p>\n

Stephens acknowledged that social media can be an effective marketing tool in the hands of smaller businesses as well.<\/p>\n

Former Sinclair student Mallory Landis, who started her own photography business last year, said social networking has helped her expand her business by reaching more clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust by tagging someone in a picture using Facebook, it shows up to most of their friends and sometimes friends of their friends,\u201d Landis said in an email interview. \u201cI typically get more people interested that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said one post could expose her photography to hundreds, sometimes thousands of people, giving her a wider audience \u2014 bettering her chances of finding new work.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key to growing my business through social media has kind of differed between what social media I’m using,\u201d she said. \u201cFor example, using proper hashtags on my work when I post onto Instagram, so that way other people interested can find it; with Facebook, tagging the person in the photo so that person’s friends can see it as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Landis is a believer in social media, she still finds it frustrating when Facebook prompts her to pay to reach more people. According to her, Facebook limits how many people her posts can reach.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial media hasn’t harmed my business in any way, but I still think the good ol’ word of mouth advertising can be the best \u2014 especially for starting out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

According to Stephens, the level of interaction made possible through social media can be an effective tool not just to businesses, but to grass-root organizations, bands, individuals, even schools and colleges. Sinclair itself engages with students and the community through social media on a daily basis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt plays a big part in reaching out to students in engaging ways, from a college-atmosphere standpoint,\u201d Sinclair’s Social Media Specialist said. \u201cAnything from events, to dates, to funny stuff happening around campus, just to engage [or] get messages out that maybe they wouldn\u2019t have seen otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the specialist finds that there are frustrating aspects as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get complaints about stuff that we can\u2019t necessarily handle, so it\u2019s hard to hand that off to other people,\u201d the specialist said. \u201cIt does allow us to give a little more personal customer service, but it seems that people [over-share] information.\u201d<\/p>\n

The specialist said it\u2019s important for students not to share personal information online such as their financial aid details, and added that Sinclair is also careful about what they post.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe get a lot of requests from outside businesses, but we really try to keep it [focused on] Sinclair,\u201d the specialist said. \u201cWe try to stay away from posting individual department [or student group] stuff, because then it\u2019s like if we post one, do we post them all? We don\u2019t want to exclude anyone \u2026 it might leave some people feeling left out, but that\u2019s not the goal \u2014 it\u2019s actually to include everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The specialist wishes their identity to remain anonymous so students feel they are connecting with Sinclair, instead of an individual.<\/p>\n

On another level, the effects of Social Media have gone beyond the changes seen in business and public relations, influencing how people interact and communicate.<\/p>\n

Whether someone is \u201cliked\u201d has taken on new meaning in the year 2014. Generation Y, those who range from the age of 18 to 32, have taken over the internet by using social media, often for their own personal benefit.<\/p>\n

The numbers increase daily. The Huffington Post reports that there are 575 likes and 81 comments by users every second on Instagram alone.<\/p>\n

Communication Faculty Member John Ulrich said students feel connected through social media because it enables an alternative outlet for emotions and interaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see this as a group who is not concerned about privacy anymore,\u201d he said. \u201cNow in this generation, people put their life on public display.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report by the Huffington Post agrees, adding that 25 percent of users on Facebook don’t bother with any kind of privacy control at all.<\/p>\n

According to Psychology Professor Mark Humbert, the lack of privacy should be one of the biggest concerns to people today.<\/p>\n

“A little privacy is needed for dignity and self-respect,” he said. “It may take a while for people to find a balance in how personal they get on sites like Facebook.”<\/p>\n

Still, many agree that social media sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter can be a useful tool in connecting people world wide, and can also serve as a benefit for those who may not be as skilled at traditional interaction.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who are not as adept to communicating face-to-face have an outlet now that they didn\u2019t have before,\u201d Ulrich said. \u201cThe downside is that we have become increasingly focused on creating an image of ourselves to put out into cyberspace, and for some people that\u2019s not a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said individuals are now able to present their own ideal image of themselves online through social media by carefully constructing what they say and how they appear, but in doing so, have become less accountable for their actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople should really start thinking about this a little more, and the implications,\u201d he said. \u201cI think it is hurting this next generation because they don\u2019t know how to constructively deal with conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

Many are concerned that Generation Y, or the \u201cgeneration like,\u201d is one seemingly absorbed with creating this image and the status gained in doing so, whether it be through likes on Facebook, pictures on Instagram or getting retweeted on Twitter.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can get into this environment and become dependent upon the responses that you get from other people,\u201d Ulrich said. \u201cIs the culture as a whole becoming too narcissistic? Are we thinking too much about our [physical appearance], and not thinking enough about how we are interacting with other people and the impact of those interactions?\u201d<\/p>\n

Humbert agrees, and said he also worries about the sense of alienation created through too much digital interaction.<\/p>\n

“How do people cuddle on Facebook,” he said, “Is it through likes?”<\/p>\n

Ulrich believes this system of “likes” that has become a social media norm is too simplified and no longer about true connection, but rather the instantaneous benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a sense of immediacy, and assuming that you\u2019re as hooked as I am when I send a text or comment or like \u2014 if you immediately send it back, that\u2019s instant gratification,\u201d Ulrich said. \u201cOur brain likes that. It\u2019s immediate payoff for what you send.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nursing major Rachel Greene agrees, believing instant gratification received from using social media can feel almost addicting.<\/p>\n

“If I post a picture on Instagram, I’m constantly checking to see who liked it,” she said. “I remember when I used my first hashtag and got more likes than usual, I thought I had found the ultimate secret.”<\/p>\n

Social Media jargon like hashtag, retweet, newsfeed and selfies, among many others, are another aspect of social media that when used, help users feel part of the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs technology has evolved, there are certain words that have evolved with it that are specific,\u201d Ulrich said. \u201cIt shows that you are part of the co-culture \u2014 it\u2019s your right of passage, or your way into the group.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he admits many downsides still exist, Ulrich believes that we as a culture can adapt.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the people agree as to what is acceptable and correct, then maybe there will be some standards that will evolve and become the new norm,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In addition to certain standards becoming the norm, Ulrich believes that technology will continue to advance and benefit those who learn to use it correctly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s enormous possibility,\u201d he said. \u201cTechnology has created a global sense of community [for us] to participate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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