A Research Paper: Advantages And Disadvantages Of Social Media

Social Media Paper

Caryn Martinez

HUM/186

10/2/2017

Allyson Wells Social Media Paper

There are many advantages and disadvantages of social media. You could say, we have the world at our fingertips. There is no subject off limits when using social media, unless you are in a forum that has a gatekeeper, who must accept a request from people on private forums. The information we share can either be beneficial to others or it can harm our reputations depending on the content that is shared by either oneself, or another.

Social Media

One advantage of utilizing social media is having the ability to stay in close contact with friends and family on social media sites, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and even Myspace. We can share pictures

Basically, it takes half a second to get online and type a subject in the search engine, at which point we have several links to the subject of interest appear on the screen. We then have the option to select the link which most applies to the topic of interest and there we have information readily available on just about any topic.

Also, an advantage of having social media readily available to us is that we can look into people’s lives. Quite honestly, when I am recruiting for a particular position and a candidate seems to be the perfect fit, I will look into their information on-line and take a peek into their life. Many candidates applying for jobs portray themselves to carry a certain demeanor, but when I dive into their online information, often I find that their social media sites do not reflect the same demeanor I’ve seen from them.

Many Hiring Managers utilize social media to determine if a candidate is being honest about who they are and what is important to them. More than once, I have found that what seems to be a presentable, professional candidate has a less than stellar demeanor on Facebook. I learned this by looking at the candidate’s social media sites and seeing drunken pictures of the candidate coming out of bars with a crowd of rowdy friends and trash talk on their site. This is not the type of integrity I would want to endorse for placement at my

Employers often will type the name of a candidate into a search engine and discover public records that may not be impressive.

For example, criminal history records are run for pre-employment screenings. This information can be found on social media sites, which in turn can deter a hiring manager from wanting to make a placement for them based on past criminal history experiences. This is an advantage to the employer, however a disadvantage to the candidate.

In essence, social media is available for our enjoyment and pleasure however social media can also be used to provide information, which is sometimes false to taint someone’s reputation. I believe this depends on the maturity level of the user. Many social media sites are helpful and uplifting, however there are also many websites that are used for unhealthy banter which can cause great harm to one’s reputation.

This is why many websites have a gatekeeper, which is typically the person who created the social media page. The gatekeeper must receive a request to join the group, and generally will consider the profile of the person who is requesting access to that page. By doing so, the gatekeeper is ensuring there will not be any disruptions in the private