Benefits Of Social Media In Contemporary Society
In the past five years, the popularity of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace has skyrocketed. These sites are growing at an alarming rate. Every day it seems like more and more people are joining these sites. The effect on society can even be seen in language, with “friend” now being a verb as well as a noun. All this hype begs the question: What are the benefits of social media networking?”
The benefits are manifold, as well as the benefactors. The creators and administrators of the sites see definite benefits. So do the users. Advertisers also see benefits from the sites. Each contributes to the system in its own way, and each receives its own reward.
Social networking sites remove this problem. In most social networking sites, users are prompted for, and willingly give, personal information about themselves. The idea is that by disclosing oneself on the website, one can find other people similar to oneself. Users regularly disclose information like their age, place of residence, interests, hobbies, educational background, and other key information.
However, they don’t just give users the ability to meet people right around the corner, but also to meet people on the other side of the world. Many of these sites have built in translators, making it so that you don’t even have to speak the same language as someone to befriend them. A person living in Massachusetts could befriend a Russian based on a commonly listed interest. For many users of these sites, life without them is unimaginable. They make managing friendships, appointments, and activities easy and seamless
With social media sites, that advertiser could agree to pay X amount of dollars for each advertisement that gets posted to the page of people who have listed “paintball” as one of their interests. Right away that advertiser has found a way to reach thousands of people who know about and enjoy paintball, without wasting a single ad on people who don’t enjoy the sport. This allows advertisers to reach potential clients with mind boggling efficiency.
Even political candidates and celebrities have seen benefits from the sites. Politicians can create a page and use it to educate the public on their platform. Celebrities can use the sites to keep fans up to date on their most recent movies or concerts. People who want to disseminate information can rapidly disseminate it, and people who want to gather it can rapidly gather it.
Advertisers have only just begun to realize the potential of these websites. As more and more of them spring up in more and more specialized communities, advertisers are bound to cash in.