The impact of social media

Information and communication technology has changed rapidly over the past 20 years, with a key development being the emergence of social media.

The pace of change is accelerating. For example, the development of mobile technology has played an essential role in shaping the impact of social media. Across the globe, mobile devices dominate in terms of total minutes spent online. They put the means to connect anywhere, at any time on any device in everyone’s hands.

1. The Impact of Social Media on Politics

A new study from Pew Research claims that about one in five U.S. adults gets their political news primarily through social media. The study also finds that those who do get their political news primarily through social media tend to be less well-informed and more likely to be exposed to unproven claims that people who get their news from traditional sources.

2. The Impact of Social Media on Society

Social media and relationships
One particularly pernicious concern is whether time spent on social media sites is eating away at face-to-face time, a phenomenon known as social displacement .

Fears about social displacement are longstanding, as old as the telephone and probably older. “This issue of displacement has gone on for more than 100 years,” says Jeffrey Hall, PhD, director of the Relationships and Technology Lab at the University of Kansas. “No matter what the technology is,” says Hall, there is always a “cultural belief that it's replacing face-to-face time with our close friends and family.”

3. The Impact of Social Media on Commerce

The affirmation of social media platforms has radically changed customers purchasing habits and the way businesses develop their e-commerce sites. Indeed, e-vendors no longer invest money exclusively on advertisements on their e-commerce platforms; rather there is a fierce online competition among companies promoting their goods and services on social media channels. On the other hand, customers use social media to generate content and to network with other users so as they can gather and share as much information as possible about prices, product quality, customer service and e-sellers reputation. In addition, it is believed that social media facilitates social interaction among customers, leading to increased trust and intention to buy

4. The Impact of Social Media on Training and Development

There is a push towards the integration of technology in training environments to enhance the learning experience, but no set limit, no specified Structure, no curated approach that tells us how far we can go, or how creative we can get when leveraging technology for training. The tech savvy, next generation workforce, is a provoking force whose learning habits, characteristics, styles, and expectations can guide innovation in corporate training.

5. The Challenges of Social Media

Challenges on social media have gained much momentum over the past several year as a means of getting rid of indoor boredom that resulted from the coronavirus pandemic. With physical and social distancing measures in place, many people sought online methods of connecting with others, and challenging each other on social media became a way to do just that. 

From creating content that was made to entertain, to uplifting others in times of need, a number of social media feeds were inundated with online challenges that made the global lockdown a little more bearable. Social media challenges have since become a staple marketing method for generating content, engaging users, and growing one's follower count.