Pros of Social Networking
The cell phone buzzed. It’s lights flashed to the nearest wall. What was it? A text? A tweet? A Like or a snap or a follow or a screenshot? It could be anything. By all means, that notification could literally make or break your whole future. In fact, studies show that “72% of the U.S. population own smartphones.” (Drake Baer, Tech Insider) Not to mention, on average, Americans collectively spend 10 billion minutes on Facebook daily. (Lisa Eadiciccio, Time.) Colleges are now looking at Facebook over the 350 million members as part of their recruitment process. (Schiffman, Elizabeth/ “Social Media’s Expanding…”) Furthermore, people are grasping the idea that social media applications can make their lives easier by
Facebook is the primary platform for social media in the world. ProCon.org shares the following information: “93% of adults on Facebook use it to connect with family members, 91% use it to connect with current friends, and 87% use it to connect with friends from the past. 72% of all teens connect with friends via social media. 83% of these teens report that social media helps them feel more connected to information about their friends’ lives, 70% report feeling more connected to their friends’ feelings, and 57% make new friends.” (ProCon.org Pro 4). There are multiple social media applications that allow users to communicate with others, thus more people are communicating via social networking applications. Before social media, we had limits to how we communicated with others, but thanks to the creation, we now have various ways to interact. “...study found that the percentage of people reporting less face-to-face time with family in their homes rose from 8% in 2000 to 34% in 2011.” (ProCon.org Con 8). People need to remember that social media is a privilege and not a replacement for human interaction, although you can do both through social media with FaceTime or Skype. You can have someone there, on the other hand, at the same time, they can be hundreds of miles away from you.“...Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology said college freshman
“People use social media to network at in-person events and get to know people before personal, business, and other meetings [...] Messaging on social media leads to face-to-face interactions when plans are made via the sites…” (ProCon.org Pro 8) Social media has done more than just met the standards for communication or set an exercise for colleges or jobs. It also generated the opportunity to have a more social habitat. “According to a 2015 Pew Research Center study, the 65 and older age group is one of the fastest growing demographic groups on social media sites, with usage rising from 2% of seniors in 2008 to 35% in 2015.” (ProCon.org Pro 13). The use of social media is spreading like a wildfire. The trend has reached senior citizens and their usage is gaining from year to year. Social media sites help students do better at school. (ProCon.org Are Social