Social Networking
Introduction
Social networking is an informal communication in a perfect world that facilitates associations using cutting edge mobile technology, with possibility of isolating participant from traditional socialization. Social Networking cannot coordinate the level and closeness of up close and personal intelligence in spite of its ability to keep us in touch and near the individuals who are far from the US. Social Networking brings us near the individuals our identity is not in contact with, but instead its endeavour to keep close separation associations with our loved ones, who we have are our companions via web-based networking media accounts (Kleinman, np). There are major differences between how people interact and communicate through the social media and face to face communication.
Social networking as a tool of social interaction is seemingly a paradoxical issue concerning electronic interactions. The main social networking such as Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare have a high interactivity functionality that promotes a close correspondence between friends in social media communications, and this has a great impact on our humanity. The aspects of face to face discussions are hardly communicable in online communications. Thus social media interactions are by far cold and somehow inhumane. It is with no doubts that misunderstandings from this media often occur resulting to inconveniences in communication. This is a problem that has persisted for years that these social media has existed (Kleinman, np).
On the other hand, the tools on the social media sites such poker are not useful to overcome or to compare to face to face communication such as hugging, and presented with a choice anyone would prefer natural interaction, that is face to face interactions, as opposed to electronic communication. For an instant, a post on Facebook receives responses which are not premeditated most of the times depending on the nature of the job. For instance, a friend on Facebook might post a picture of a comic character, and this draws attention to friends and people with a mutual interest in such a piece of media. These indirect interactions usually create a chain of communications that captures attention as though to create closeness, attempting to close the physical gap or the distance that exists. In some instances, the comments that pop up on such a post maybe taken out of context since they are seemingly emotionally toned, and they may be perceived and interpreted as what they are not.
The attempt of electronic communications through social networking as means of filling the emotional gap of communication does work as an efficient channel of communication that can replace or act in the absence of face to face interactions and achieve the intended impact. The way we use social media is very distinct and different from any other form of communication. It is a two-edged sword that ideally touches both worlds, that is, it enables us to communicate although we are far away from each as we are close to each other, but leaves us with an emotional gap, as it cannot provide or signal emotions of communication that facilitate interpersonal perspective of communication. The social networking platform is multiple platforms that do not replace or take away our natural communication channels in face to face interactions, but rather brings the inside of us to the entire world where we share and interact with on the internet (Wortham, np).
The difficulties we experience in our essential communications are exacerbated on social networks in which expression of opinions comes out as going too far. It appears people find somewhat easier to get crude in their interaction on the online platform that would engage in the actual world. For instance, some people express their anger or crude jokes online, and this makes the insensitive jokes a lot of problems in which consequent outcomes disrupt communication and result in conflicts. Subtle jokes are acceptable in natural connections but are incommunicable in social networks or rather electronic communication signal there is no reasons or practical ways to express emotional signals or gestures and tone variation or pauses to impact communication with and give the exact meaning.
In reality, social networks are quite natural modes of communication, especially among friends, and not much formality plays a regulatory role in the communication process. Thus, people do not at first analyze the potential impact of the messages and posts online but come to realize their inappropriate forms of expression after things go out of hand or a conversation turns sour. Learning the balance in the language used to achieve sensible and practical interactions with friends on social networks is not easy since language utilization and communication problems exist even in the natural interactions that have existed for centuries (Wortham, np).
The advent of social networking took the world by storm, at least with the convenience potential in communication and the excitement it brought. Therefore, most people came on board abruptly to join the social network era with much thought at all. For instance, the first time Facebook came into existence, it was not such a big deal as it is today. It was not a central part of our lives. Therefore, Facebook users at first created profiles freely and friend lists hurriedly without privacy concerns or any much though what implications this had. In reality, what this has come in the modern world where Facebook is a major part of our lives. Thus what we share on our Facebook timeline is shared with everyone on our friend list thus; personal information and data become available to all people. Some whom we are friends with only because we were excited in creating a Facebook friends list during its infancy, but not people we know or would like to share personal information with. It is the realization of this concern that we might consider redrafting our friend lists to suit what we really what to do and share on social networks and with whom.
There is also added functionality on Facebook that alters content, and we might find our participation in conversations or interaction that were fit at that particular time and would provide our line of thought that are now edited and has an entirely new implication which does not reflect our views. The importance of these simple considerations to our attention is affecting “the finding prerequisites” which we use in our actual lives by the standard of our limits to sociability and line of thought. It is evident when there are prior planning and mediation in the process of creating a network of friends; this would realize independent and sober friendship than the former, which was a random “friend request” experimental test without a purposeful strategy of logical reason. It is necessary to have a boundary of friends or a boundary of the interactivity that Facebook as social media website can have with our profile or information we have provided. Such as limiting those who can and cannot contact or have access to our information, either personal data posted on timelines of affiliate pages that we have liked and interacted with. This concern is linked to the Facebook itself which render information and brings about a presentation of information platforms such as applications we interact with and use on Facebook. These application modes of information present leave hints of personal data and a connection that links us more to the social network website which makes a central part of our lives.
Lastly, social networks pass the threat of a privacy violation especially in a modern day in which profit is the major priority that corporations, like social media network sites, have. The reality that we are connected to the world by social networks implies that we have information available to the world in a volume that we would never share with the world in a public audience in the traditional communication modes. Mere participation in social media leads to loss of privacy on a massive scale that is not possible in the traditional methods of communication. The social networking media take advantage of this information literally and use to make profits that are a significant revenue amount millions of dollars.
Advertisement and advertiser characterize social networking sites are ever busy analyzing user information to target advertising even though social networking sites pledge to protect the privacy of its users. The reality is such privacy policies employed by such websites are vague and a deliberate economic lie since they base advertisement on user data and activity on the social media platforms. To make the matter worse is the users’ lack of awareness of the privacy settings as well as limitations in its use and functionality. Furthermore, some applications, the greater percentage of them available on social networking sites, usually gather information on user activity to use it for advertising purposes. However, it is clear that social networking share and openly state that user information may be shared with third parties with whom they are partners with for the purpose of service improvement, which implies optimization of adverts and services that the user interacts with most frequently (Barry, np).
Despite its use, a communication channel favor of distance friendship and relationships social networking has a ton of problems to address as aforementioned. Although social networking is not new, it is still young regarding regulation and implementation both technically and legally. It is thus a personal choice to regulate what kind of interaction to engage in on social networking media and to what extent (Barry, np).
In conclusion, social network helps to connect with friends who are far, and it helps them to share ideas and views. People can interact with each other through online media such as Facebook and Twitter. However, there is a limitation to this type of communication as one can only communicate with friends on the social network and it is possible to give their emotional expression. This system may in some instances give a negative impression about an individual.
Works Cited
Barry, Ian. Social Networking and You: The Loss of Privacy in the Digital Age. October 31, 2012. Web. Accessed May 9, 2014.
Kleinman, Alexis. What Not To Do On Facebook Once You Friend Your Boss. 04/18/2014. Web. Accessed May 9, 2014.
Wortham, Jenna. It’s Not About You, Facebook. It’s About Us. February 11, 2012. Web. Accessed May 9, 2014.
