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Asreen Mohammed
Persuasive Essay
Mr. Bowers
December 18, 2015
Poking and Tagging : The Impact of Social Media in Modern Society
When you give everyone a voice and give people power, the system usually ends up in a
really good place, said Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, arguably the most
successful and popular social networking site. Social media today connects billions of people
with family, friends, and businesses across the world. With its constant improvements and
adaptations social media sites serve as platforms to enhance public awareness, bring about
political change, and guarantee an audience that is there to listen. In this day and age it would be
rather unwise to deny the vast array of positive impacts on society.
Social networking, also known as social media, is the use of numerous websites,
programs and applications, as a means of communication with other individuals who are
members of the same application. Such websites allow users to socialize with friends, share their
interests, and connect with other professionals(Social Networking). Although it may seem that
social networking may be a rather recent phenomenon, people have been using the internet to
connect with others and create small networks of friends and colleagues since the 1970s.
As the name suggests, the primary goal of social media sites is to cater to individuals who
are looking to socialize with their friends. Social media caters to wide array of members in
society. Social networking works as an extension of real-world friendships, helping users enrich

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and manage their social lives(Stanberry). These websites can give shy, socially awkward teens a
comfortable platform to communicate and build social interaction skills. Individuals with
unconventional interests and hobbits can easily connect with someone who may have the same
interests, and share information and enthusiasm with an appreciating audience; thus, lessening
their sense of isolation and allowing for mutual support. Likewise people with disabilities use
social media for similar purposes (Jones, Morris, Mueller). Thus, social media proves to be a
beneficial to numerous members of society. Some might argue that social media allows
individuals to make it a platform for cyberbullying.
In the article it states With the use of social networking sites information spreads faster
than any other media source. More than half of the US population learns about breaking news on
social media (Gotfried). In fact, these sites are the top news source for Americans. News from
celebrity drama to a natural disaster can be heard about within a matter of seconds thanks to
these websites.
As the main source of information for many around the world, social media sites like
Facebook and Twitter play a critical role in the political, social, and economical movements of
the 21st century. For example the recent calls for democracy in the Arab Spring gained
popularity and momentum due to the extensive amounts of propaganda on social media. After
analyzing more than 3 million tweets, gigabytes of YouTube content and thousands of blog posts,
a new study finds that social media played a central role in shaping political debates in the Arab
Spring (ODonnell). Conversations about revolution often preceded major events, and social
media has carried inspiring stories of protest across international borders. ODonnell also quoted
Philip Howard, the Project lead for this study at the University of Washington, to have said, Our
evidence suggests that social media carried a cascade of messages about freedom and democracy

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across North Africa and the Middle East, and helped raise expectations for the success of
political uprising. People who shared interest in democracy built extensive social networks and
organized political action. Social media became a critical part of the toolkit for greater freedom.
However, the Arab Spring is not alone in the massive use of social media in political
propagation. As a platform that links to content from many different sources, social media draws
about twice as many political news consumers among web users as other news sites like Yahoo
News and Google News. Political campaigns are using social media as an outlet to publicize and
popularize their political ideology to a large audience with just a click of a button. In fact,
according to Journalists source, a study suggests that messages on users social media feeds
could significantly influence voting patterns. The study also suggested that certain messages
promoted by friends increased turnout directly by about 60,000 voters and indirectly through
social contagion by another 280,000 voters, for a total of 340,000 additional votes (Wihbey).
Another study done by, Pew Research found that not all users on social media specifically seek
out political news when they log on the site, but nonetheless come across it in the mix of posts
shared by those in their feed, and hence may be politically influenced (Gottfried). Which also
speaks to how social media is democratizing our society by increasing voter turnout, and thus
helping the voice of many make a significant impact.
Along with political impact, social media outlets are used by law enforcement to catch
and prosecute criminals. Across the board officials use social networking sites to note any sort of
irregularity or malpractice, or contemplations, in attempts to prevent a catastrophe from
occurring on the hands of a criminal. 67% of federal, state, and local law enforcement
professionals surveyed think "social media helps solve crimes more quickly(Doherty). In 2011
the NYPD added a Twitter tracking unit and has used social networking to arrest criminals who

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have bragged of their crimes online. For example, when the Vancouver Canucks lost the 2011
Stanley Cup in Vancouver, the city erupted into riots. Social media was used to catch vandals and
rioters as social networking site users tagged the people they knew in over 2,000 photos posted
to the sites.Thus, social media serves not only as a call for freedom but also as a means for
securing society.
Business as well use social media to their advantage. As the main marketing technique
for a business owner would be exposure and visibility to a large target audience, what better
platform than social networking sites. 71% for business owners are using social media to
popularize their brand, and the advertisements and promotions will cost little to no money
(Scott). Hence, with the not much investment business can gain a wider range of customers, and
gain business.
Although social media has its benefits, the general public has criticized its function that
has affected millions of teenagers across the country.Social media has provided an outlet for
felonies to occur without much difficulties. Individuals utilize social networking sites to harm
and defame others. According to Cyber Bullying Statistics 2014, more than 52 percent of young
people have reported that they have been cyber bullied. Cyber bullying not only physiologically
damages the victim, but also defames their personality in their social circle. Social networking
also enables the youth to disguise themselves in a virtual identity and harm people they want to.
This could lead to dangerous mental illness.
Moreover, social media is exploited to invade another persons privacy. Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram and Snap Chat provide individuals a space to share their personal life and
hobbies to the world. This option can be used by others in a both positive and a negative way.
There are some extreme stories where felons take advantage of the accessible of the internet and

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social media. The stories range from murder to horror; A 20-year-old woman stalked through
the Internet and killed. Thousands of e-commerce customers watching as their credit card
numbers are sold online for $1 apiece. Internet chat rooms where identities are bought, sold and
traded (Sullivan). Social media provides such crime doers and another resource to invade a
persons privacy.
A coin has two sides, and so does everything, a good and a bad side. However, before
making an overarching generalization about something one must weigh out both the pros and
cons of a particular topic. While examining social media, one can point out both the positives
and the negative, so here you can discuss a counter point or counter argument to help your
conclusion, you can say how it may seem like most social media is used for bad and negative
comments but that is because media and some users focus on the bad .charities and other
organizations, like relief funds can reach out for more supporters or how psychiatric help is
beginning to become more accessible to those who may be embarrassed to seek it .But I feel like
in the future its still going to have more positives than negatives. But the positive impacts easily
outweigh the negative aspects. Hence, social media has a phenomenally positive impact on
society. Brian Solis sums social media in one sentence, Social media sparked a revelation that
we, the people, have a voice, and through the democratization of content and ideas we can once
again unite around common passions, inspire movements, and ignite change.To me social media
means a lot of things such as getting connected with the loved once in life using it for many
things in life. How it is up to the social network users to make it a good environment for all users
based on what they are posting and saying

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Work Cited

Doherty, M. Stephen. "Social media." American Artist Apr. 2009: 4. Student Resources in
Context. Web. 15 Nov 2015.
Gottfried, Jeffrey. "Section 2: Social Media, Political News and Ideology."Pew Research Centers
Journalism Project RSS. N.p., 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 21 Nov 2015.
Morris, John T., James L. Mueller, and Michael L. Jones. "Use of Social Media During Public
Emergencies by People with Disabilities." Western Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of California, Irvine, n.d. Web. 16 Nov
2015.
O'Donnell, Cathrine. "New Study Quantifies Use of Social Media in Arab Spring." UW Today.
N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Nov 2015.
Scott, Jay. "Social Media Makes an Impact on Society." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 July 2014. Web. 15 Nov 2015.
"Social Networking." Gale Student Resources in Context. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Student
Resources
in Context. Web. 14 Nov 2015.
Stanberry, Kristen. "The Pros and Cons of Social Networking for Teenagers: A Parent's Guide."

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The Pros and Cons of Social Networking for Teenagers: A Parent's Guide. N.p., n.d.
Web. 21 Nov 2015.

Wihbey, John. "How Does Social Media Use Influence Political Participation and Civic
Engagement? A Meta-analysis - Journalist's Resource."Journalists Resource. N.p., 20
Nov. 2015. Web. 3 May 2015.