The influence of social media on

our ever evolving societyImage: viking_79 via Flickr

In the last 14 or so years, social network sites have changed our society

immensely.

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It all started in 1999 with the creation of sixdegrees.com – the world’s first social networking site.

There’s been no looking back since.

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For many people, sites like Facebook and Myspace have been a part of their lives for so long that they don’t

remember what it was like without them.

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Do you remember life before social networks?

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It surrounds us wherever we want it, not necessarily when it wants us…

…we dip into it whenever we like. Source: How Social Media has Changed Us by Mike Laurie

Ever since the introduction of social media, communication has become so convenient, that it's actually become ambient around

us.

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Out of all the changes that social media has brought to society, many have been good.

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The National Literacy Trust performed a survey and observed a correlation between children's

engagement with social media and their literacy.

Simply put, it was found that social media has helped children become more literate.

Source: How Social Media has Changed Us by Mike Laurie Image: Mark Stosberg via Flickr

A recent report by PEW found signs that social networks may be encouraging younger

people to get involved in politics. -Source: How Social Media has Changed Us by Mark Laurie

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After all, 35 global heads of state, every US Cabinet agency, 84% of US state governors, every major candidate for US President, and more than 40% of top global religious leaders are on Twitter.

Source: Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our Society? Via procon.org

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Marketing and advertising is also transforming itself from an industry reliant on mass market channels.

It is now focusing on many much smaller, niche and people-centric activities.

Source: How Social Media has Changed Us by Mike Laurie

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Because of this we now have more power and more choice.

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We're no longer lazy consumers of passive messages.

Instead we're active participants.

We now get news through the networks we've created, and the news we pass to one another says something about us.Source: How Social Media has Changed Us by Mike Laurie

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We can now also see that social media is being used as a force for good that leads

people to action. Image: marsmet546 via Flickr

The Kony video of 2012 had over 97 million views on YouTube after just a couple months of

being posted.

Few, if any, times before have initiatives pre-social media era had that much attention so fast.

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But with all the good that seemingly comes with social media, there is just as

much bad.

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In 2012, 49.5% of students reported being the victims of bullying online,

and 33.7% reported committing bullying behavior online.

Source: Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our Society? Via procon.org

Recently, cyberbullying has become a massive issue.

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Social networking sites have also been known to lack privacy and expose users to

government and corporate intrusions.

The US Justice Department intercepted 1,661 pieces of information from social networking sites and e-mails in 2011 alone.Source: Are Social Networking Sites Good for our Society? Via procon.org

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Studies have also shown that children who spend a lot of time online have poor interactive skills later on in life, and often end up feeling lonely.

Source: Are Social Networking Sites Good for our Society? Via procon.org

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Regardless, social media is becoming increasingly involved in our every day

lives.Image: kristiewells via Flickr

Social networking sites are now the top news source for 27.8% of Americans, ranking only slightly below newspapers (28.8%),

and above radio (18.8%) and print publications (6%).

Source: Are Social Networking Sites Good for our Society? Via procon.org

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Young people are now so addicted to social media via mobile devices that they feel as though they’ve lost a limb when they don’t have them.

Source: Are Social Networking Sites Good for our Society? Via procon.org

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It’s also been found that 10% of people younger than 25 years old respond to social

media and text messages during sex.Source: Are Social Networking Sites Good for our Society? Via procon.org

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In July 2012 alone, Americans spent 74 billion minutes on social media via a

home computer, 40.8 billion minutes via apps, and 5.7 billion minutes via mobile

web browsers…

a total of 121.1 billion minutes on social networking sites.Source: Are Social Networking Sites Good for our Society? Via procon.org

So is social media changing us for the better?

What do you think?

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As the debate continues to rage on,

why not just sit back and enjoy the HD retina display view.

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All images come from Flickr’s Creative Commons and have Attribution Non-

Commercial Share-Alike licenses.

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