Over the past few years social networks have grown and in my opinion the two major networks at this point in time are Twitter and Facebook as they are used on a daily basis by a majority of those who are users of these networks. It is also said that social media sites have overtaken porn as the number one activity on the internet. There are obviously many advantages of these social networks but there are also drawbacks. This is what I want to discuss in further detail.
As we all know social networks are used by people of all ages be it 16 or 80. It is a way of keeping in touch with childhood friends and family for older users, whereas the younger generations use it to organise events, meet new people and find friends in some cases. Social networks are also a good way of keeping up to date with current news and features such as music, films and other means of entertainment. When I myself log on to Facebook I instantly become aware of events and incidents that occur every day as these are posted by friends and mutual friends. I have learnt a lot by being a user of networks such as Twitter and Facebook such as news headlines and happenings in the entertainment business which I would have never known unless I read newspapers daily. Marketing is also used on social networks as I mentioned in a previous blog where companies use networks such LinkedIn and Facebook to advertise and promote their business. Nowadays we also see adverts and posters of companies who advertise themselves on Facebook in order to extend their fan base and make it easy to view their services and products online in the comfort of users’ homes. This provides instant and accurate information directly from manufacturers which show the quality of the product being purchased by customers.
These were a few of many benefits or shall I say “tweets” of using social networks. In contrast the main disadvantage or drawback in my opinion as well as other people as seen in recent news articles are that social networks are very time consuming. I have been a user of Facebook for around 4 years and it must have taken me around 6 months to get used to it. Once I had all my friends connected to me via the network it got more and more addictive as we would use it to regularly to upload photos and talk to friends when organising events such as birthdays and nights out. These networks are an easy way of sharing videos, messages and photos with friends and families. By using them we reduce face to face communication with friends and family which are one of the most important things in life. Facebook has taken over our lives so much that we spend hours on it whereas we can spend that time doing something productive such as hobbies like football, going to the gym and completing assignments on time. Could I really imagine myself using Facebook as much when I am married and have children? Well you never know? I use it when I walk to university, when on the bus and even while watching TV. It is so easily available on phones and other devices that some people just can’t resist checking their notifications and news feeds.
So what are your views on this matter? Should we cut down on using these networks or do we continue and reduce the time we spend with our families? Just a thought which I feel needs to be considered.
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