Essay Example: The Impacts of Social Networking Sites (SNSs)

Due to the technological revolution, the world experiences changes in how people relate and socialize. One of such technological products of interaction is the social network site (SNSs). In numerous ways, social media has led to constructive changes in manners individuals share information. According to statistics, 74% of American adults use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Greenfield says that this figure is likely to increase since a lot of people are getting exposed due to the rise of the devices that access the sites (201). Although it benefits people in many ways, the use of social network sites has certain negative impacts that should be controlled to prevent the short and long term effects it has on users.

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Social media diminish the privacy of the users. The users believe that after setting long passwords then they are safe. However, this is not the case: a study done by Kuss and Mark reveals that there is a possibility of hacking these sites hence personal information is exposed (3022). Additionally, a photo of friends doing shots at a party may be harmless; it may appear less attractive to the employer doing a background check that may lead to losing the job (De Vries et al. 88).

Social media has led to Cyber-bullying. The proximity provided by social media is accessible to marauders as well as associates. Kids especially are susceptible to the practice of cyber-bullying where the perpetrators, incognito or even posing as individuals their victims trust, intimidate people in front of their aristocrats. Cyber-bullying has gone viral among youth, with about 42% reporting that they have been victims (Muchnik et al. 650)

Moreover, social media has led to a false sense of connection. As one of the interactive sites, people use it to find their soul mates and friends. As found by Brandtzaeg, 60% of these individuals are not real (480). Most of them disguise themselves as rich yet they are just jokers who have ill motives.

Lastly, social network site has led to decreased productivity in most companies. Nucleus Research reveals that Facebook shaves 1.5% off office productivity while Greenfield claimed that British corporations lost 2.2 billion a year to the social phenomenon (203). New technology products are available that allow such social networks to be obstructed, but their efficacy remains spotty.

Work Cited

Brandtzaeg, Petter Bae. "Social networking sites: Their users and social implicationsA longitudinal study." Journal of ComputerMediated Communication 17.4 (2012): 467-488.

De Vries, Lisette, Sonja Gensler, and Peter SH Leeflang. "Popularity of brand posts on brand fan pages: an investigation of the effects of social media marketing." Journal of Interactive Marketing 26.2 (2012): 83-91.

Greenfield, Patricia M. Mind and media: The effects of television, video games, and computers. Psychology Press, 2014.Kuss, Daria J., and Mark D. Griffiths. "Online social networking and addictiona review of the psychological literature." International journal of environmental research and public health 8.9 (2011): 3528-3552.

Muchnik, Lev, Sinan Aral, and Sean J. Taylor. "Social influence bias: A randomized experiment." Science 341.6146 (2013): 647-651.