The impact of social media

The Impact of Social Media in our Lives

By: Christopher Henriquez

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“Social media has enabled greater political awareness and organization, which has in some

cases rewritten entire political landscapes.”

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In the past, media provided a filter. If something was on

the front page or the evening news, it was

considered important. If not, it wasn’t. Yet today, anyone can broadcast—

whether it be a distraught mother or a crusading

journalist. Nobody needs to ask for permission, even in a corrupt, authoritarian

country.

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The new tools of social media have reinvented social activism.

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• “Having a constant focus on what is happening somewhere else effectively removes people from staying connected in the face-to-face interactions they could be having, or are having at the moment, as those interactions get constantly interrupted by electronic signals from the phone or computer,” Ross told the Daily in an email. “Social media can provide the appearance of connection without an authentic connection.”

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• Based on research, nearly 65 percent of people use social media to search for gifts and more than 90 percent of those surveyed said they trusted earned media (word-of-mouth) more than any other form of advertising.

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Social networking has been a source of concern among privacy advocates around the world. It’s certainly true that social media sites collect and disseminate a fair amount of personal data about us.

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• Earlier this year, British charity ChildLine found cyberbullying to be on the rise; with children reporting 4,507 cases of cyberbullying in 2012-13 compared to 2,410 in 2011-12.

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Recent statistics show that 63% of American Facebook users log on to the site daily, while 40% of users log on multiple times a day.

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New study by Fifth Quadrant found that 70 percent of Australian companies are offering social media as a customer service channel, while only 31 percent of consumers are making any use of it.

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A year ago, social networks are the new homepage seemed like an (almost) original observation. Today, it's just a boring fact.

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If your status is separated or going through a divorce, you might want to stay off Facebook. An overwhelming 81% of the nation’s top divorce attorneys say they have seen an increase in the number of cases using social networking evidence during the past five years, according to a recent survey of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML).

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To not have an account on a website like Twitter is keeping you from being on the same level as everyone else.

In today’s society, getting information quickly is very easy and free.

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Almost suddenly people who seldom took pictures of their daily life encounters, began to photograph the world around them on a daily basis, increasing and discovering a love for photography. Some have gone even further and consequently decided to study photography.

Social media sites like Twitter that impose a character limit force users to condense their thoughts. For many, this results in excessive use of textspeak. This type of shorthand involves a whole new language of abbreviations.

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• This interconnection of hubs thus means that an enormous level of traffic can be circulated between different social media sites, and at an incredible pace. As more social media platforms are created, the potential for this massive interconnectivity further increases. Such is the power of social media, and one that can be leveraged by companies like never before for their own business advantage.

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With a click of a button we can change the world therefore we must understand the importance of our actions on social media as a result

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It is undeniable Social Media impacts our lives significantly it can no longer be ignored

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