Social media websites have a huge role to play online. And anything online usually has to do with some form of social media. In the current age, it is difficult to find anything online that doesn’t have social media pages or isn’t shareable on social media websites. Social media websites have made the sharing of information, news, thoughts and ideas more convenient which make it a very powerful tool.
Political Influence
Since social media websites allow quick sharing and spread of information, they have become a platform where people can share political ideas and opinions with a very large number of people. All politicians who have some influence are on social media websites, where they share information about their campaigns and plans.
Apart from this, social media websites also provide a way for common people to interact with or reach out to political leaders. Since there are no barriers online, people can interact directly with the politician they support. They may or may not reply, but there is a chance other people may read your post and speak up (post) in support of it.
Social media websites can also pull in a large number of people for a cause. They have played a very strong role in many elections and the revolution that occurred in recent times. The Arab Spring is a good example of how social media can bring about a revolution in a country.
Influence on Business and Marketing Trends
Because there are millions of people online, most businesses have turned to social media websites to increase their customer base. Most businesses these days have created accounts on social media websites where they advertise their products, interact and ask opinions of their customers on their products or services and use social media websites as a customer service tool.
With feedback from customers, businesses are now able to give exactly what the customers want which increases their sales. When customers leave good feedback about business, anybody who searches for the business will get a good impression of the business and is likely to try out their product or services.
Not only this, Businesses can use social media trends to make blogs, or social media posts according to whatever is trending at the time. For example, Internet Memes ruled Facebook and Twitter for the last few years, and some companies used this to promote their businesses.
General Influence on Social Behavior
Apart from all other things, social media has also brought about changes to how people behave and think. It might have been awkward to take a selfie if it weren’t for social media websites. It has become acceptable to be ‘friends’ with someone on Facebook without actually being friends in life.
Emails and SMS have become less frequent because of WhatsApp and other instant messaging platforms. And with so many things communicated online, phone calls or direct conversation has also become less common.
Different people can have different opinions on the impact of social media on the society. But to move forward, it is necessary to have a positive attitude. Social media is changing the way the world works – and the best we can do is stay positive about it.
