Online Social Networks
Online Social Networks
The social networking service can be defined as the specific web application, which any individual utilize for the purpose of building social networks as well as social relations with the various people, sharing similar career or personal activities, interests, real life connections or backgrounds (Perrin 2015). The various types of social networking services that are either built in or are stand alone that are available in today’s world comprise of several advantages and disadvantages on the society. Some of the most significant features of these online social networks services mainly include that these applications are completely based on the Internet connection and these are extremely safe and secured for any user. The daily life activities are properly executed with this type of network (Rennie and Morrison 2013). However, few risks are also incorporated in this type of network if these are not properly utilized.
The following research report outlines a brief discussion on the entire concept of online social networks or social networking services in daily life activities. The report will be providing a terminology definition with significant details of advantages or risks of social media. Moreover, various security mechanisms are present within this media. The final part discusses about the positive and negative impacts of social networks.
The research report discusses about the online social networks in the life activities of a user. There are various positive and negative impacts of social media and the risks occur for the improper utilization of social networks.
Advantages of Online Social Networks
There are various significant advantages of the online social networks. They are as follows:
i) Worldwide Connectivity: The first and the foremost advantage of this type of network is that it helps to connect with the entire world (Brenner and Smith 2013). No matter, where the user is present, he or she has the ability to search the world, anywhere and anytime. Due to this connectivity, any type of news could be easily accessed by these networks
ii) Commonality of Interests: The second significant advantage of the online social network is the commonality of interests (Salehan and Negahban 2013). The likes and the dislikes could be selected as per the interest of the user and they can find their peers or friends similar to their taste. Hobbies, crafts and cooking are the most important sectors here.
iii) Real Time Information Sharing: The third significant advantage of the online social networks is the real time information sharing. Various websites of social networking eventually incorporate the instant messaging application that allows the individuals in exchanging or sharing their information or data in real time through means of chatting (Oh, Ozkaya and LaRose 2014). Teachers often utilize this feature for facilitating their classroom discussions.
iv) Getting news: The fifth important benefit of the online social networks is the obtaining of news. Any type of news could be easily gained with this particular type of website. The users can get access of the news anywhere and at anytime.
Terminology Definition
Risks of Online Social Networks
In spite of having such significant advantages, online social networks do comprise of various risks or disadvantages (De-Marcos et al. 2014). The various risks or disadvantages of the online social networks in daily activities are as follows:
i) Backlash: This type of risk is mainly noticed in the youth generation. Any type of joke that affects the mental state of the user can cause major problem. When any such offensive thing is posted online, the feedbacks could be massive; however, the risk is high (Laranjo et al. 2014). The backlash could affect the victim’s future.
ii) Identity Theft: The second significant risk of online social network is identity theft. Any person can steal the passwords or necessary credentials with the purpose of stealing the identity of the authorized users. This type of problem could create massive havoc amongst the users.
iii) Cyber bullying: Another significant problem or risk with the online social networks is cyber bullying (Chu and Du 2013). It is the form of crime that is done with the help of social media by targeting any one person in offensive means. The victim can even commit suicide in these cases.
There are various security mechanisms available on the social media networks. These security mechanisms help the user in dealing with various risks or threats. They are as follows:
i) Usernames: Every social networking site provides a unique username to all its users so that there is no chance of data theft (Braun 2013). This username is kept secret by the user.
ii) Passwords: When the account is being created online, all the users have to enter a specific password. This password is the key to the lock of their social media account. All the passwords are kept secret and private and these passwords should not be shared with other persons in any aspect (Salehan and Negahban 2013). Usually, the passwords follow a specific manner, which is a lower case character, an upper case character, a special character and a number. The passwords should be changed periodically.
iii) Login Verification: The login is verified by sending verification code to the registered mobile number. If the code is not given within a specific time period, the login access is denied (Perrin 2015). This helps to keep away the hackers or attackers.
Positive Impacts of Social Media
Social networking sites have become one of the most important requirements in everyday’s life activities of a user. There are innumerable benefits and positive impacts of social media. The various positive impacts of social media are as follows:
i) Providing Education: This particular platform is often utilized for educating the youth generation with the help of this Internet connection (Brenner and Smith 2013). Social media is thus considered as the most effective and important requirement in modern world.
ii) Voice of Reason: The several sites of social networking are utilized as the voice of reason. People, who are shy, can easily connect over the social media through this effectively and efficiently.
Advantages of Online Social Networks
iii) Creative and Innovative: The third impact is that the user becomes creative as well as innovative (Oh, Ozkaya and LaRose 2014). They can show their skills online through this sector. The information is unique here.
iv) Being More Confident: The users become explicitly confident with this particular type of networking and thus reducing the chances of being under confident. Through the social media, the users gain popularity and hence become more confident than in other aspects (Laranjo et al. 2014).
The above mentioned facts clearly state all the positive impacts of social media on regular daily life.
Although, the positive impacts of social media help the society to gain popularity, there are some of the most degrading negative impacts that are extremely harmful for the society (Fox and Moreland 2015). The various negative impacts of social media are as follows:
i) Decreasing Productivity: The excess utilization of social media is responsible for reducing or decreasing the productivity of the users. This mainly affects the youth generation as they are unable to balance both of their professional and personal life on networking.
ii) Lack of Concentration: Another significant problem with the presence or excess use of social media is the lack of concentration (Karpinski et al. 2013). The children have to concentrate on their studies or other extracurricular activities. However, when they are indulged with the social media or online social networking sites, they are eventually unable to concentrate on their education and other necessary staffs.
iii) Loss of Privacy: This third impact of social media is the loss of privacy (Hajli 2014). Privacy issues are incurred here and the confidential information often gets lost.
iv) Health Issues: Another significant impact of the excess use of social media is the health issue. This can affect the eye sights; can cause neck pain, obesity and many more (Laranjo et al. 2014). The children and the youth generation are mainly affected by this.
These above mentioned facts clearly define the various negative impacts of online social networks on daily activities.
Conclusion
Therefore, from the above discussion, it can be concluded that an online social network is the website, which eventually allows the users with same interests or backgrounds in coming together and sharing all types of information, videos and photos. The people, who are solely engaged in the social networks, can be using this for business or personal purposes. The people, who are engaged on the online social network websites for their personal purposes, use this website for discussing their interests or personal lives. The most significant and popular social networks for the familiar interactions are Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Apart from the personal utilizations, these social networks are also used for business purposes. Marketing is the most common factor for any business to use the social media. The online social networks play the most important roles in everyday’s life. It comprises of both positive and negative impacts on the user. The above mentioned research report has clearly stated about the broad topic of OSNs or online social networks and the advantages it provide to the regular life activities. The detailed research on the various advantages of social media and the several risks by the facilitation of improper behaviour of users are provided here. A critical analysis is done at the end of the research report.
References
Braun, M.T., 2013. Obstacles to social networking website use among older adults. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), pp.673-680.
Brenner, J. and Smith, A., 2013. 72% of online adults are social networking site users. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Chu, S.K.W. and Du, H.S., 2013. Social networking tools for academic libraries. Journal of librarianship and information science, 45(1), pp.64-75.
De-Marcos, L., Domínguez, A., Saenz-de-Navarrete, J. and Pagés, C., 2014. An empirical study comparing gamification and social networking on e-learning. Computers & Education, 75, pp.82-91.
Fox, J. and Moreland, J.J., 2015. The dark side of social networking sites: An exploration of the relational and psychological stressors associated with Facebook use and affordances. Computers in Human Behavior, 45, pp.168-176.
Hajli, M.N., 2014. A study of the impact of social media on consumers. International Journal of Market Research, 56(3), pp.387-404.
Karpinski, A.C., Kirschner, P.A., Ozer, I., Mellott, J.A. and Ochwo, P., 2013. An exploration of social networking site use, multitasking, and academic performance among United States and European university students. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), pp.1182-1192.
Laranjo, L., Arguel, A., Neves, A.L., Gallagher, A.M., Kaplan, R., Mortimer, N., Mendes, G.A. and Lau, A.Y., 2014. The influence of social networking sites on health behavior change: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 22(1), pp.243-256.
Oh, H.J., Ozkaya, E. and LaRose, R., 2014. How does online social networking enhance life satisfaction? The relationships among online supportive interaction, affect, perceived social support, sense of community, and life satisfaction. Computers in Human Behavior, 30, pp.69-78.
Perrin, A., 2015. Social media usage: 2005-2015.
Rennie, F. and Morrison, T., 2013. E-learning and social networking handbook: Resources for higher education. Routledge.
Salehan, M. and Negahban, A., 2013. Social networking on smartphones: When mobile phones become addictive. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(6), pp.2632-2639.
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