The Popularity of Social Networking Sites

670 Words2 Pages

The Popularity of Social Networking Sites In recent years, social networking sites have rapidly gained popularity among people of all ages. A large number of people have registered and become members of some social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and WeChat. Also, people spend a lot of time on these sites chatting, playing games, and making friends. Social networking sites have become a part of people’s lives. However, what accounts for the popularity of these sites? As far as I’m concerned, this phenomenon, which social networking sites are very popular nowadays, is caused by three important reasons. First of all, the copycat effect leads to the popularity of social networking sites. The copycat effect is a well-known psychological phenomenon, and most people have this mentality. When they notice that people around them are using different social networking sites, they may feel that they don’t follow the trend. They may not even know about these sites before, and then they go to register an account. When they begin using social networking sites, lots of their friends will be affected and follow the trend. For example, my friend Jun didn’t download any social networking apps before. When she found that all her friends were having fun on social networking apps, she began using these apps and became addicted to them. Therefore, the copycat effect causes social networking sites to become more widely used. Second, with the development of the network, social networking sites are very convenient to access, which is an important reason for their popularity. The number of Internet users has increased with improved Internet technology, which is beneficial for promoting social networking sites. People can access these sites anytime and anywhere, as long as they have an Internet connection. This convenience has made social networking sites more popular. Third, social networking sites have many good functions, such as chatting, sharing photos and videos, and playing games. These functions can meet people’s needs for communication, entertainment, and relaxation. For example, people can chat with their friends who live far away from them, share their happy moments with others, and play games to relieve stress. These functions have made social networking sites more attractive to people. However, there are also some negative effects of social networking sites. Spending too much time on social networking sites affects people’s work and study, and people will become more and more isolated from their friends in real life. Moreover, it is difficult to protect users’ privacy on social networking sites, so it may result in the risk of revealing personal details. All in all, the popularity of social networking sites depends on the copycat effect among people, convenience in themselves, and their good functions. When social networking sites are becoming an important part of people’s lives, people should learn to make the most of these sites instead of wasting time. In other words, people are supposed to use social networking sites temperately but not be addicted to them. It is unwise to let the normal life of people be influenced by these sites. Remember that social networking sites are the joys of life, but they are not all of life

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