Social Media & Socialization in the U.S.

The Facebook movement started in the year 2004. Most people were hesitant about signing up for Facebook exposure. However, as the Facebook craze took off in the media, more and more people began to sign up and get involved. The same with Twitter, which began in the year 2006. Membership grew at a fast pace and everyone was talking about it.

At the time these social medias began, face to face socialization had decreased and letter writing was almost obsolete. The families only met at funerals or family reunions and friends got together at parties or weddings. The world’s communication genre had changed drastically. What caused this change? Families no longer live locally and grow up in this environment because of job availability and a need for the younger generation to see more of the world, more excitement and a faster pace of living situations.

Thereby, more involvement in social medias to keep in touch with family and friends. Families can post pictures of themselves and grandparents can visually see the grand kids growth online rather than in person.

Popularity with these social medias grew and grew and today is still the most popular means of socialization worldwide. The older generation are coping with these changes but does not necessarily like it. However, the younger generation believe this is the only way to communicate other than an occasion phone call. Is phone calls obsolete now? Has visitation with family and friends become just an occasional funeral, family reunion, wedding or a planned party here and there? What do you think will be the next BIG social media craze?

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2014/02/11/world/facebook-fast-facts/index.html

What you might not know about Who is Listening on Social Media

R. Sosby

So, after years of waiting, Maria our family friend is finally getting married to a handsome man from across the border as we call it here in Northeast Georgia, (meaning South Carolina). Mom called me up this weekend to let me know and how did she discover the news; Facebook.

Since I do not have a Facebook account, I looked at the post when I visited Mom yesterday and something stood out. The announcement was made on Friday night and there were already congratulatory messages on Sunday afternoon from of all things, insurance agencies. The good news is one of the companies offers travelers insurance, so the honeymoon is certain to go off without a hitch!

 I have heard about this phenomenon before. I think it is called Social Listening, and if I were an insurance agent, I would want Maria and her new Fiancé in my office to discuss the future. Why not? If they are getting married, they will need a home and that means homeowner’s insurance. They will probably want to procreate at some point, a perfect opportunity to sell life and accident or hospitalization insurance. The kid(s) will at some point need a car, so I can keep selling insurance products in an endless cycle. We could call it the Insurance Matrix!

Seems this new trend is becoming more common, but just like those dreadful cookies lingering on websites, I am not too sure that I get warm and fuzzy when it comes to social listening. Yes, I know and believe me I hear everyone with a social media account screaming just set your privacy settings and you can control who sees what you post. News Flash; Facebook is ALWAYS listening and has not stopped since 2014! (that is, if you have inadvertently given permission to access the microphone on your device). Oh Yeah…. yell privacy setting at me now!

On a serious note, Social Listening does not mean that someone is listening to your Facebook account in a literal manner. A better word might to use might be monitoring. You see, companies use platforms that vary from online service tools to extensive and expensive software programs to search social media pages for specific keywords or phrases, (like a wedding announcement) to gather leads. As everyone knows, lead gathering leads to potentially increased revenue, which leads to potentially more money for sales people, which leads to; anyway, sales cures all, you get the picture.

Just like those same insurance companies can contact you to solicit business, there is a little trick to their cleverness as well. When I searched for a tidbit on insurance companies and social listening, I discovered that these companies are not in the business of just trying to sell insurance. I found an article written by William  Comcowich, (2017) and learned that insurance companies are also interested in eliminating insurance fraud.

When George and Margie, (fictitious characters) were skiing in Colorado, Margie dropped her 6-karat canary diamond worth over $60 thousand. Good thing they were insured, but wasn’t that what Margie was wearing on her finger in the picture her sister posted this weekend? The Insurance company really likes to know about these things. Can you say BUSTED?

Now for those of you getting these unsolicited posts that seem to be just part of the social media experience, think about what you have posted on your pages recently and see if there is a coincidence in the how theses ads appear. You might be surprised to learn that there isn’t. So, the next time you make a post on that page, remember; someone might be listening to what you say. Now, can someone please tell me if Maria has to invite these folks to the wedding? Hope I don’t have to cater it…

Comcowich, W., (2017) How Insurance Companies Can Benefit from Social Media Listening. Glean.info. Retrieved from https://glean.info/insurance-companies-can-benefit-social-media-listening/  on April 29, 2018.

Photo courtesy of laomao.info images of people listening to music while studying.

Social Media Influencing Teenagers to Post Nudes?

Author: Carole English

The Influence of Social Media

    We all know that Social Media can influence certain audiences in several different ways. Even if it’s unintentional, there are posts that can leave an effect on someone viewing or reading it. The younger generation are probably the most influential group of users that use social media applications on a daily basis. This group is seeking instant fame from viewers all over the world. Recognition and self-gratification give them a feeling of acceptance to society. The more viewers received, the more exciting and challenging for these teenagers. As we know, some teenagers have little attention from parents or guardians. Seeking love or a relationship of some kind can be a huge influence and a feeling of closeness or as part of a group. Dealing with complainers and opposition from viewers can cause them to feel neglected or not wanted to society or a loving relationship. These teenagers’ first response to opposition is anger and feeling neglected as a person. Some teenagers do not understand the morale standards set by some in society. “What do you mean I should not show my body and share it with the world, I’m not shame of my body!”  They are seeking acceptance and love from anyone who will agree with their position of nudity and exposure and their rights as an open-minded person.

The Negative Effects

       Unfortunately, when teenagers, or anyone, go down a path such as this, it can lead into a dangerous environment for that individual. There are so many sexual predators in the world that are out there waiting for the perfect opportunity. What better opportunity than a teenager posting nudes on social media seeking attention? The temptations increase with the nudity leading to sex trafficking, prostitution and drug exposure. With each of the temptations, there is a greater desire of fame and recognition and a somewhat family setting not received at home. Sex trafficking brings lots of income to support your desires of fortune. Prostitution can complete desires of family-life when there is a “pimp” involved, which can be mistaken as a father or husband figure. Drugs are ever increasing and can help these teenagers escape reality and deal with rejections and complaints from upper societies. Becoming a part of a group of drug dealers can be mistaken as acceptance and love, as well. They get lost emotionally and drift in and out of who they are or what their real goals in life may be from the very beginning of exposing their bodies on social medias. There are several relationships but to the wrong crowds and there is never true love, as well. Will they ever get out of a bad situation? Is there a life expectancy after total exposure? Where is the love? Even though this quick exposure could last but a few seconds, it could last a lifetime since images and videos never really disappear from the internet and can be accessed years later. This could damage someone’s reputation for a lifetime.

Possible Preventions or Alternatives

    There are several ways teenagers can avoid or prevent themselves from falling into an influential situation such as social media nudity. First of all, these teenagers can seek parental guidance and discuss with them their need of love and support from family. Open communication is imperative between teenagers and parents. Suicide rates are increasing from teenage use of social media. All the more reason why the parents should monitor teenage access to computer usage and discuss the pros and cons with them. Secondly, female teenagers are impressionable to a parent figure or societal acceptance from older men. These young girls want to feel like they are grown or attractive to men in general. Parents should watch the girls’ outward appearances and monitor any mood swings, which could be an indication of outside influences. Too many teenagers are at a lost to love and relationships. The world is known to “chew them up and spit them out,” sort of speak.

In conclusion, observation and access to the computer and social media is crucial to a well-groomed teenager. Preparation for the world and its standards of acceptance should be instilled at a young age. Parents need to set a good example of stability and a loving family environment. Learning what’s right and wrong in society is important in order for a teenager to avoid seeking the wrong crowds. Teenagers need to know that there is hope in life, a higher power to guide them and lead them in the right direction. There must be stability in all aspects of home life. As young kids grow up observing and mimicking other adults, exposure to a loving family in the home can be crucial and necessary. We all have a part to play in shaping someone’s life. Have we, as adults, done all we can to be role models for our future generations? What can we do different? What is wrong with societal acceptance of sexual nudity and how can we correct it? What can I do to change things? These are all questions we should ask each other.  

Sources

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/lifestyle/article/2001276800/uproar-over-teens-online-conduct

Main implications of Mark Zuckerberg’s testimony before Congress

By: Safa Alshannag

1)  Regulations - Social media could/should be regulated:

It was a main theme from senators from both parties that social media should be regulated. Zuckerberg seemed to be in favor of “the right regulation”. An advantage of regulated social media is that something like what happened in the 2016 presidential election won’t happen. Fake news won’t propagate as easy as it did. That sounds good until you realize that such regulation will cement Facebook’s dominance in the social media market. Regulations will make it harder for small companies to enter the social media market and kill their chance to compete with Facebook. Furthermore, social media is a free speech platform and regulating that might indirectly infringe on First amendment rights.

2) Social media is a platform for innovation in technology:

Facebook is more than a social media company. The following is an excerpt from an exchange between Senator Graham and Zuckerberg:

Graham: Who’s your biggest competitor?
Zuckerberg: Senator, we have a lot of competitors.
Graham: Who’s your biggest?
Zuckerberg: Mmm… I think the categories of… do you want just one? I’m not sure I can give one. But can I give a bunch?
Graham: Mmhm.
Zuckerberg: So there are three categories I would focus on. One are [sic] the other tech platforms, so Google, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, we overlap with them in different ways.
Graham: Do they do, do they provide the same service that you provide?
Zuckerberg: Um, in different ways, different parts of it yes.
Graham: Let me put it this way. If I buy a Ford and it doesn’t work well and I don’t like it, I can buy a Chevy. If I’m upset with Facebook, what’s the equivalent product that I can go sign up for?
Zuckerberg: Ah well, the second category that I was going to talk about was…
Graham: I’m not talking about categories. I’m talking about is there real competition you face. Because car companies face a lot of competition. If they make a defective car, it gets out in the world, people stop buying that car, they buy another one. Is there an alternative to Facebook in the private sector?
Zuckerberg: Yes Senator, the average American uses 8 different apps…
Graham: OK.
Zuckerberg: …to communicate with their friends and stay in touch with people, ranging from text to email.
Graham: OK, which is the same service that you provide.
Zuckerberg: Well, we provide a number of different services.
Graham: Is Twitter the same as what you do?
Zuckerberg: It overlaps with a portion of what we do.
Graham: You don’t think you have a monopoly?
Zuckerberg: (long pause) Ah, it certainly doesn’t feel like that to me! (laughter)


The implication here is that Facebook consider itself a competitor to Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. Facebook considers itself a technology company. Thinking about it, I noticed that Facebook competes with Google and Amazon on digital advertisement. It competes with Amazon in online retail to some extent – think Marketplace. And lastly, it competes with Microsoft’s LinkedIn social media platform. Facebook has created not just a business model around social media but also a technological innovation platform. Image processing, video streaming, cloud computing, data center technology, virtual and augmented reality, gaming, and e-commerce are just a few examples that were stimulated by Facebook’s social media network. This is something very remarkable!

3)  Who owns the user data? 

Besides possessing a technological edge and a great business model for generating revenue, Facebook’s power is in the data it hosts. No other social media platform has the depth or breadth of Facebook’s user data. Keep in mind that Facebook owns Facebook.com, Instagram, and WhatsApp with over 2 Billion users – that’s one third the world’s population. Zuckerberg claims that Facebook’s user privacy agreement states that users own the data the post on Facebook. However, the Cambridge Analytica scandal has shown us otherwise. It is true that users can remove, edit, add, and modify their personal data, but users cannot delete their activity history such as Likes, Shopping, browsing history, Apps, ..etc. That data is certainly owned by Facebook and they can monetize it however they wish.