The New Era: Social Networking Sites

Introduction Social networking first took off in the past 10 years, and since then it has consumed society to the point where almost no one leaves home without their cell phone and it’s considered weird to not have a Facebook. “The popularity of social networking sites such as Face book, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Classmates. com more than quadrupled from 2005 to 2009” (Donde, Chopade and Ranjith. 66).
In Social Networking Sites – A New Era of 21st Century, Donde, Chopade and Ranjith conduct a conclusion on page 73 of their academic research taken from teenagers of both sexes. They Conclude that the majority of people ages 18 and older have social networking accounts, but also people under the age of 18 also have profiles. They determine that social media sites help reduce stress and provide a freedom of expression. No matter how old or young the users are it provides them with a voice.
Social networking has strong influences on society and promotes more positives than negatives, the first reason being global communication. The new age of social networking promotes friendship. Meaning you can talk to a random person in a completely different country. It seems unreal that you can have a relationship with a person half way across the planet where your paths may have never crossed before. Secondly, social media promotes social awareness. Ever since the computer became affordable to the average person the change started to take place.

But ever since social media became popular, everyone has a voice. For a quick example, in the spring of 2012, a Kony 2012 video went viral. It was posted on a Monday and by Wednesday over 30 million hits. It had to do with prosecuting a man in Africa who was a war criminal, raping women and stealing boys for his army. Thirdly, social media is very good for spreading information. It makes it very easy to contribute to a fundraiser. When dealing with social media a group can be made and easily joined. Since there is so many people on ocial media sites the can grow rapidly. Like a fundraiser, reunions and staying in touch with old friends is simple as well. It’s as easy as remembering an old friends name then clicking the add friend button. Lastly, the greatest positive to social networking is how convenient and efficient it has become. With the development of internet access on cell phones, it’s now as easy as making a quick phone call as it is to check your social media account. The only negative to this current fad is that it can get distracting while trying to focus on something more important.
But none the less has social media connected the whole world and created a voice out of every person.
Works Cited

Donde, Deepa S. , Prof. , Nepha Chopade, Prof. , and Ranjith P. V. , Prof. “Social Networking Sites- A New Era of 21st Century. ” SIES Journal of Management 8. 1 (2012): 66-73.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 27 Nov. 2012. <http://plp. gwcc. commnet. edu:6008/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=3&hid=127&sid=6a068d47-108f-494d-877c-8325747bf154%40sessionmgr104>.