Introduction to Social Media

Describe about social media ? Give a brief description about Smartphones and Tablets in Australia.
 

These days everything is getting digitalized. We have become a part of the digital world. Today we live in two worlds one is the real world and the other one is digital world. In this era of technology everything is taking a digital form. Big companies, organizations ,firms ,government ,education sector ,industrial sector and many more fields are using digital media for executing work and for promotion ,marketing as well as for advertisement. We can say that we are now addicted to the digital world whether we believe it or not. Now the most important part of digital media is social media. Yes social media is the most exciting and most popular trend these days .Now what is social media? Social media can be said platforms based on internet consisting of social sites and portals which connect people all across the world .It uses internet facility for its execution tools like mobile apps of social sites are the medium or the passageway to the social media world. Popular examples of social media is face Book, YouTube, Twitter etc.. These social media sites are very popular among all the sections of the society .And they are also very popular among different age groups starting from a kid of 10 years to an old senior citizen with his one leg in the coffin .The age group which is most influenced by this media is the teenage group. The teenage group is very strongly influenced by social media to the root level (Babin, S. 2007). It has affected their lives more negatively than positively the reason being addiction. They are trying to find an escape in the social media, they are frustrated from their busy educational schedule so the entertainment and pleasure which this digital world provides is kind of relief to their soul ironically. But a fact which is unknown or known but still ignored is that this addiction is hampering their lifestyle resulting in pointless depression, anxiety and damaged biological cycle .Late night chats and surfing has damaged the normal healthy routine of youngsters.  Actually these people are using these social media sites after seeing their close ones .They are just copying a trend and turning into slaves. And these slaves because of the addiction are destroying their own lives with their own hands. Not saying social media is the worst thing ever invented but an addiction to this thing is like hitting our own head with a stick. The usage of this media should be very limited; its usage should be restricted to the benefits which it provides. It should be part of our lives but there should be a boundary where it should be stopped. Attachment with social media is a compulsory these day, like food ,clothes, house and money social media has also became an important necessity to live life .Social media has changed lives of many people across the globe whether positively or negatively. It has influenced lives of many human beings, it can be said that it has influenced deeply the mindset and the working of human beings in the recent years the communication scene has been changed now connectivity is in click away. We can stay in a jungle and can still connect to our close ones just with the help of click or a tap on your mobile phones .Thus we can imagine how powerful communication has became in this era. Firstly the mobile phones were not so much powerful and advanced only talking over the phone was possible .Moreover people were not handy with that gadget. But now if we look at the scene then it is totally upside down even a kid studying in the primary section owns a mobile phone though he is not any business man, industrialist or any kind of busy person but still he is the possessor of that gadget only because that gadget is the latest hot trend. We can see the difference now that we human beings are turning ourselves in nomophobics (Beale, K. and Villeneuve, P. 2011). With the advancement in the mobile phone field the use of social media has also boosted it can be said that it has provided fuel to the fire. Now in this Smartphone era we can easily access any site just from a single touch or tap. These days these mobile phones are so powerful and advanced that their capability is far beyond average educated individual. Mobile phones have made the passageway to social media more easy and accessible, which has turned social media into an unstoppable monster. Now social media has also a bright side, it has also changed the lifestyle of smart and conscious human beings. Because of the power of connectivity it has given birth to new business and generated employment opportunities for some individual’s. Many firms, business, organizations, government, educational institutions and different entities of different sectors have utilized the benefit of social media for growth and expansion of their business. With the help of social media they have pushed the boundaries and they have taken their business to the next level. The government has also executed many plans and policies with the help of this medium. The government has made the citizens awarded about plans on sites like Face book, Twitter, YouTube and many more popular sites where public traffic is most. It can be said that social media has both good and bad side, it depends on us that which side we need to follow .Ultimately it depends on us because the usage of a thing makes it bad or good not its presence in our lives. 

Positive and Negative Effects of Social Media Addiction

Social media has affected the Australian society in a crucial manner. It has changed the lives of many young as well as old Australians positively as well as negatively totally depending upon the usage. Now internet has become very important or vital these days. It is eating a large quantum of time in their lives. As they grow they are getting more addicted to its usage because of the advancement of society, psychological reasons and escape from busy life (Mandal, P. n.d.). Moreover they are getting entertained by social media stunts; ironically they are finding a sense of relief by living a life in a digital world .This digital world is purely different from the real world. This digital world is just an establishment based on profile, images and statuses copied or created whichever possible. Teenagers are fascinated to this fake world because of real insecurities they have in their lives .They can make a great profile of their own according to their needs and the connections which they want to make .Like other people Australian children’s and elders are living lives in a busy environment. They are living lives in a scheduled format consisting of activities arranged according to the priorities .Basically they just need a sense of refreshment from their lives so usage of social media is quite an appropriate one. But slowly and steadily the interest in their organized schedule starts disappearing as they get more involved and active on social media. Teenagers of Australia are getting more attracted to this media like teenagers of other society which is common in nature as beneath that uniform we all are the same. For the teenagers social media is like a sort of a “completing” activity. The content on social media is very broad and easily accessible as stated earlier. This availability of large content is a strong attraction for the youngsters, slowly this attraction and fascination turns into a strong addiction which cannot be cut off easily. Now we are living in an mobile dominant age where smart phones, tablets are occupying our lives. These days’ smart phones are getting cheap day by day because of the stiff competition and increased mobile producing companies (Ferguson, A. n.d.). Because of this cheapness every young Australian can afford a Smartphone which is equipped with internet and other advanced facilities. Once they get their hands on this gadget they can enter in the world of social media without any blockage. Nobody can stop these independent individuals, parental control is very limited so they can easily enjoy surfing and browsing easily over the internet .Now days these smart phones contain in built social media apps and the user can also download apps .Apps is the short form of applications or mobile software’s made for a particular use and suitability. Mobile phones consist of in built social media apps like face book, YouTube, twitter etc. They just need to enter the ID and Password and with a one click they can enter in the digital world. The main use of social media is communication with closed people like family members, friends and acquaintances with whom you have a strong offline relationship. But as the available content is more than the expectations the young individuals start making connections with unknown people who may be attractive to them in a sort of way. But at the end of the day they are still unknown because they have not interacted with each other in person. This whole cycle of texting at night as well in the free time results in an mutual addiction .This addiction turns into poison killing slowly from inside because of the insecurities which they posses under their skin (Beale, K. and Villeneuve, P. 2011). The people of Australia are getting attached to this gadget. They are turning nomophobic which is quite dangerous. It seems like mobile phones are becoming survival necessity which is humorous. The overuse of mobile phones and social media is the reason why the young individual’s as well average aged individuals are facing many health problem, they are facing mental as well psychological problems .Their lifestyle is getting hampered from over use of these gadgets. Many accidents are also caused by the use of mobile phones. While driving the attention gets divided resulting in an accident. Half of the population of Australia is addicted to mobile phones. This results in diversion from the goals, depression and anxiety among young Australians. Majority of the Australians are getting attached with this gadget .Habits are getting affected, daily lifestyle, health and the mindset is also getting affected when the attachment gets strong. 

The Importance of Smartphones and Tablets in Social Media Usage

Facebook the most popular social media platform has influence the whole globe; it has left no corner of the world untouched. It has more than eight hundred million users and still counting as it increases day by day vehemently. Facebook has changed the whole scenario of the communication world

Positive Impacts

Facebook has greatly influenced the Australians minds. Facebook has brought people together with the power of connectivity. Facebook has helped many Australian companies to expand their business at a national as well as at an international level .It has given them the power of advertisement, promotion and marketing at a wide scale. Facebook has given them a channel to excel in the business through exposure to wide amount of people. These days one of the best ways to stay in touch with each other is facebook .No other social media site can beat facebook in terms of connectivity and easy usage. The environment which facebook provide is very ideal. Using facebook is also not complex. People can easily learn and stay connected with their closed ones .They only require an internet connection and an ID to use this site. The people can easily find their closed ones on facebook they just need to type their name and they can recognize them with the help of the profile picture and personal details. Facebook is also a good way of making new friends. A person who is not so social and shy in nature can easily make new friends with the help of this site. On this site you can add many friends from all over the globe. The people are free to post about anything on this site (Cottom, N. 2014). They can express their views, ideas, beliefs and state of mind without any restrictions. The teenagers as well as the elder people can easily post pictures on this site. Facebook is also helpful in times of natural calamities; the groups on facebook provided a helping hand in times of 2011 floods in Australia by making the people aware about the flood based areas .These groups played an important role in sharing information and pictures of flood, it helped the whole community by keeping it updated with all the consequent events .The people who stayed near the flooded area were keeping the other people aware by posting status updates and sharing images on the site. This shows the power of connectivity which is possessed by this site. This site proved to be more powerful than any other site in terms of communication.

How Social Media has Affected Australian Society

Negative impacts

Just like two sides of a coin facebook has also a dark side or the negative side. The young teenagers of Australia are getting too much addicted to this site .As we all know excess use of anything can be dangerous similarly too much use of this social networking site can be very harmful to the health and can create psychological problems. It can cause problems like depression, anxiety, memory loss, too much late night texting can affect the biological cycle of young individuals .Moreover getting too much attached with this site can cause diversion from important activities of day to day life. Teenagers are trying to find an escape from reality and responsibilities .but in this process they are ruining their lives without being aware of it. One of the recent trends which is popular on this site is entering into an digital relationship the base being long duration of chats and calls. And after few months the tie becomes loose as the attraction decreases (Issott, A. and Addo, N. 2008). This thing is very common in teenagers these days as they are dedicating a huge part of their time to this site ignoring the important activities. Many researchers have agreed on a fact that entering into a useless relationship on this site is nothing but just a waste of time. The aftermath of this relation is quite toxic affecting the mindset of the young teenagers who are not so mentally strong. Cyber bullying is also quite common and easy on this site. Especially teenagers are getting bullied and harassed on this site. Some people are especially targeted by a group of people. As there is no parental control the problem of bullying is more which results in depression among weak minds. The people of Australia are also being cheated by fraudulent practices .Some individuals are sending emails purporting to be from famous companies and obtaining their private information, like passwords and credit card numbers. There are scammers who harass facebook users by obtaining their personal information from their ID, they make a fake ID with the same name and similar picture, they post status which can hamper the relations of the real individual .Even they can send distress messages to their closed ones with the same ID and create tension in their lives (Mansfield, H. 2012). Facebook cannot be whole heartedly reliable as sometimes the information which is posted is not accurate fully. Sometimes wrong information is posted intentionally just to disturb people and cause havoc reason can be personal or anything else .Facebook also causes anxiety about oneself, lack of confidence as people start comparing each other with other people which is quite unhealthy and useless. Facebook is a very open site the restrictions are very less so stalking is very easy on this social networking site. Any individual from any corner of the world can stalk your ID and steal your information just by viewing your profile and facebook wall which is quite dangerous. 

Smartphones and Tablets: Widespread Usage and Impact on Society

Positive Impacts

Smartphone’s have also affected the Australian minds and their way of living to a great extent. Smart phones are getting very popular these days among teenagers. Moreover they are more affordable because of the cheap rates. The reason behind these cheap rates is the stiff competition among mobile producing companies. Mobile phones had made communication very easy and powerful, this is why it is becoming an important necessity for survival (Mulliner, C. 2012). Mobile phones are well equipped with a variety of facilities which has made living life easy. These days mobile phones come with in -built apps which are very useful in our day to day activities. There are so many business related apps as well as heath related apps which are quite beneficial for the people These smart phones are very easy to use they are not so complex. Smart phones provide a great scope to learn and explore many things, they develop personality of people. Mobile phones are also a source of entertainment we can play games, surf over the internet visit new sites and download many applications. With a single Smartphone we can do many tasks at a single time. Day after day more advanced and updated smart phones are launched in the market. Smart phones are also beneficial from educational point of view many schools, and colleges have official apps which are used to connect all the students. These apps also have in built lessons and tutorials which guides the students in homes in case if they miss anything in their class. Smart phones also provide utility from business point of view many business companies execute their business through specially designed apps. Many business units have used mobile phones as a medium to promote and expand their business activities all across the globe. Smart phones are used by employees to to remain in touch with their work any colleagues from any place (Pollentine, B. 2011). Smart phones have changed the whole communication scenario through video chatting meetings can be done among people living in the different parts of the world. A large amount of the Australian youth use smart phones to satisfy several needs and their mobile phone usage is regular with everyday lives. Through this gadget they are using social media apps to connect to their closed ones. Smart phones are easy way to stay connected with friends, family and relatives with single touch we can remain in touch with people. Many developers have made applications which are based on health and these applications have helped people to fight diseases .Thus smart phones have a changed lives of people in a better way .It has improved the life style of people and provided them the faculties to better their lives.

Negative Impact

As stated earlier too much of everything is bad. Similarly using too much smart phones can be very harmful for the health. Half of the population of Australia is addicted to this gadget. Their life without this gadget is impossible to imagine. They are becoming slaves of this gadget by overusing it (Stephanidis, C. 2013). This addiction is very deadly from health point of view as stated earlier. Because of the popularity and acceptance and affordability young Australians are getting access to internet without any blockage. Research has proved that teenagers are becoming victims of cyber bullying which is quite common on social sites these days. Moreover excess use of these gadgets results in distraction and long term depression .Late night texting on social media and messenger apps have ruined lives of teenagers. They are creating a habitual cycle by using smart phones too much than required. Because of this addiction many people check their smart phones every five to ten minutes which is quite comical. Many people sleep with their smart phones which is a very harmful habit as smart phones release some radiations which are bad for health (Wiederhold, B. and Riva, G. 2012). The gaming apps are causing diversion in the young children; they are not studying and wasting time by playing games on their smart phones. This results in bad academic results and poor education. People are chatting over texts they are not meeting people in person .With the advancement in the texting world of smart phones face to face conversations are getting disappeared slowly and progressively. People are forgetting about the surroundings they are living in they are so focused on their mobile screens that they forget that they are walking on a street or they are coming down through a stairway .They run into poles and trees sometimes accidents occur just cause of the dedication they show towards their mobile phones. Family and social relationships are also ruined because of the excess use of smart phones. Parents are talking to their children while they are busy checking out status and pages which is quite strange (Yang, B., Zheng, P. and Ni, L. 2007). Everything starts with mobile phones and ends with mobile phones. Through long term chats people get addicted to strangers and they develop a mutual addiction which is pointless and useless. And when this addiction ends it results in pain, depression and trauma which affect the life deeply. They lose focus on their work they live lives in a state of distress. Concluding it can be said that this device should be restricted to the benefits it provide one should not become slave of this device by getting addicted.  

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