- 7 Advantages and benefits
- 1-Worldwide connection
- 2-Groups
- 3-Social complaint
- 4-Instant communication
- 5-Branding-You can sell yourself
- 6-Learn languages
- 7-Expand your business
- 7 Disadvantages
- 1-Possibility of fraud or identity theft
- 2-Less face-to-face contact
- 3-Breakdown of relationships
- 4-Loss of time and productivity
- 5-Cyberbullying and pedophilia crimes
- 6-Build a false self-esteem
- 7-Worsen the image of the company
- An extra: believing false information
In this article I am going to tell you 7 benefits and advantages and 7 disadvantages of social networks, in young people, adolescents and adults. It is a phenomenon that has been with us for more than 10 years and it seems that it is here to stay.
Usually there is more talk about the disadvantages, and it is true, there are; you can waste too much time, lose privacy, or share too much information. Although there are also benefits that sadly are the least exploited.
These are the data from the most popular social networks (2018):
- Facebook: 2.234 million users.
- YouTube: 1.5 billion users.
- Instagram: 1 billion users.
- Twitter: 335 million users.
- Linkedin: 467 million users.
- : +200 million users.
- Snapchat: 188 million users.
7 Advantages and benefits
1-Worldwide connection
Through Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin you can get in touch with people you haven't seen in years.
And not only that, but meeting people or introducing yourself to people who otherwise would have been impossible to contact. Such is the case, for example, of LinkedIn with heads or company presidents.
They can help you, among others:
- Find information.
- Contact companies.
- Find a partner.
- Find employment.
- Making new friends.
- Ask experts for advice.
2-Groups
In my opinion the best thing about facebook are the groups. They create a kind of "collective intelligence" that connects people from all locations in the world.
There are private and public and in them you can ask your questions or publish information.
You can also make your own group of friends or professionals with a certain objective, connect with people who have the same interest.
Before, this was only possible through forums, which are much more opaque.
3-Social complaint
Surely news of crimes, corruption, crimes, etc., reaches your social networks every day.
Today we can say that thanks to new technologies any type of information can be made public through different means, either through social networks, digital newspapers, etc. and therefore be accessible to anyone from anywhere in the world.
Years before the creation of the new social networks, this was unthinkable, since the media were much more controlled by the upper echelons of power and it was only possible to access the information that was published in the typical media: tv, radio or newspaper.
In summary, one of the reasons why corruption, crime or social inequalities are now so widely known at the international level is thanks to social networks.
4-Instant communication
Can you imagine a few years ago how our grandparents communicated?
This has not been a long time, so most of you will hear the cable phone or the typical letter or postcard that you received from your relatives for Christmas.
The technological progress achieved in communication systems is surprising, since nowadays just by typing on a mobile or computer you can get in touch with different people at the same time at any time and from anywhere.
Among the best known are: whatsapp, skype or other platforms where communication is fast and instantaneous. And what to say about online training, who would have imagined a few years ago being able to study whatever you wanted and from home, a luxury today available to the public.
Last year, for example, I was in a course in which information was shared in a Google+ community quickly and comfortably while the class was given.
In other words, social networks are also used for training, both at a distance and in person. You can hangouts on google + and do seminars. Or you can make google + communities or facebook groups in which you share information while you teach the class.
5-Branding-You can sell yourself
Every day there is more competition to find a good job, there are many trained people and few quality jobs.
With Linkedin you can show your skills, abilities, experience and training and show that image around the world. In addition, you can easily contact companies or people of interest with whom to create relationships.
And if you are looking for a job, there are other platforms such as Infojob, jobtalent and many others that allow you to upload your resume and enroll in all those offers that are of interest to you.
6-Learn languages
Thanks to new technologies, there are no longer excuses to learn a language. You can do it comfortably from home and at any time.
There are social networks, such as Livemocha, that are used to learn languages online.
On this website, users talk to each other, correct exercises or design mini lessons. If you search on the internet you will find many more pages with which to learn any language.
7-Expand your business
If you have a business, the great advantage of social networks is that you can easily locate your potential customers.
In addition, you will be able to contact them, obtain information to improve and make yourself known in your city or internationally.
7 Disadvantages
1-Possibility of fraud or identity theft
If you put too much information on a social network, you risk having your identity stolen or someone committing fraud with your data. You must be cautious with the information you share and do not forget to change passwords often.
2-Less face-to-face contact
This is the worst disadvantage without a doubt.
As always, excesses are always bad and there are people who spend using social networks throughout the day.
It is not necessary to be every 5 minutes checking if someone has posted something on facebook or twitter saying that they are happy or sad.
Social skills must be put into practice and their lack of use causes them to be lost.
3-Breakdown of relationships
Failure to manage a relationship well in social networks can lead to its breakdown.
In some cases, a member of the couple may:
- Get jealous over looking at photos.
- Always be watching.
- Request access to the couple's account.
- Overwhelm…
Any of the above can lead to the deterioration of the relationship and its subsequent breakdown. It is especially unpleasant to be with a partner with a mobile addiction. More and more couples break up for these reasons and even more for whatsapp.
4-Loss of time and productivity
Who has not ever connected to facebook at work?
Unless your boss has it totally forbidden, chances are you've ever done it. However, when we connect we lose the concentration that we had working and usually it is to see publications without interest.
It is better to finish everything that needs to be done in one day and then connect to social networks, see what is most interesting and start doing something else. Unless I don't want to spend a lifetime watching what others do on facebook.
5-Cyberbullying and pedophilia crimes
Sadly, some pedophiles take advantage of social networks to pose as children or adolescents and try to abuse.
Misuse of social networks by children and adolescents can encourage cyberbullying, make inappropriate contacts or share too much personal information.
Therefore, special emphasis should be placed on education in schools and at home on the proper use of social networks. Children are naive and do not see any kind of danger, rather they see it as a game.
6-Build a false self-esteem
There are thousands of people who are hooked on Facebook constantly uploading photos and waiting for their friends to "like" it. When they have a lot of likes, their self-esteem goes up and when nobody likes them, their self-esteem goes down.
But this is a self-esteem created on feet of clay, because it is not under the control of the person himself. That is, power is being given to others, it depends on others whether someone is happy or values himself or not.
Self-esteem should not depend on others, but on oneself. One must value oneself, regardless of what others do or think.
7-Worsen the image of the company
Just as it can help you improve your business, if you manage them badly it can also help you to worsen your image.
Recently, the disgusting things that two Dominos Pizza employees did with the food they delivered to a customer went viral. The employees themselves posted the video on social media, although they did not know it would go viral. Of course there were thousands of customer complaints and a loss of image and money.
An extra: believing false information
Lately, false news or hoaxes that circulate and are shared on the network are fashionable.
Some are jokes and are funny, although others can be tiresome or even cause problems at the national level, such as those who, in the middle of the Ebola crisis, began to publish false news.
Therefore you have to be a bit incredulous, since not everything that appears on the internet is real, make sure before sharing any news where the information comes from.