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Social influence on behaviour
Social influence on behaviour
Social influence on behaviour
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This paper will explore the effect Facebook has had on society. By comparing groups today to groups fifty years ago, and by looking at personal experiences, recent political events, and interactive games, I will evaluate how Facebook has affected society’s perception of groups.
There is no denying that social networking is an integral part of modern society. We spend all day updating our statuses about the latest episode of True Blood, or liking our friends’ photographs from their recent trips abroad. Our language has evolved to include words like “vlogging” and “tweeting” (which mean video blogging and posting to Twitter, respectively). Our “feeds” are linked to our cell phones, so they become available at the touch of a button. Social networking websites such as Facebook enable the world to constantly be connected; making the old ideas of groups (book clubs and tea parties, anyone?) seem vintage and obsolete.
Fifty years ago, clubs and groups were much more formal. Many even had initiation procedures or rites of passage. There were definitive hierarchies and scheduled meetings. Leaders had to choose meeting times at which the majority of the members could be present. People often had to choose the groups in which they most wanted to take part, due to the time commitment involved with being in various clubs.
Today, however, Facebook has eliminated those time constraints. People can be part of as many groups as they want, because it takes mere minutes to stay updated on new information, and those few minutes can be the ones usually wasted while waiting in line at McDonald’s or riding the bus to work.
Facebook groups have many different purposes. There are groups dedicated to celebrities, groups dedicated to clever sayi...
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...2011, November 11). Occupy Wall Street's message? Try checking Facebook. FOX Business. Retrieved from http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2011/11/10/social-media-inflaming-passions-spreading-message-occupy-protests/
Brandtzæg, P., Luders, M., & Skjetne, J. (2010). Too Many Facebook 'Friends'? Content Sharing and Sociability Versus the Need for Privacy in Social Network Sites. International Journal Of Human-Computer Interaction, 26(11/12), 1006-1030. doi:10.1080/ 10447318.2010.516719
Katz-Hernandez, L. (2011, November 10). The canary in the coal mine. Deaf Echo. Retrieved from http://deafecho.com/2011/11/ the-canary-in-the-coal-mine/
Sutter, J. (2011, February 21). The faces of Egypt's 'revolution 2.0'. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/innovation/02/21/ egypt.internet.revolution/index.html
Zynga, Inc. (Designer). (2011). Farmville. [Web Game].
“The standards of what we want to keep private and what we make public are constantly evolving. Over the course of Western history, we’ve developed a desire for more privacy, quite possibly as a status symbol…”(Singer) Technological change leads to new abuses, creating new challenges to security, but society adapts to those challenges. To meet the innate need for privacy, we learn what to reveal and where, and how to keep secret what we don't want to disclose. “Whether Facebook and similar sites are reflecting a change in social norms about privacy or are actually driving that change, that half a billion people are now on Facebook suggests that people believe the benefits of connecting with others, sharing information, networking, self-promoting, flirting, and bragging outweigh breaches of privacy that accompany such behaviours,”(Singer) This is obvious by the continuous and unceasing use of social media platforms, but what needs to be considered is that this information is being provided willingly. “More difficult questions arise when the loss of privacy is not in any sense a choice.”(Singer) When the choice to be anonymous it taken away through social media, the person loses the ability to keep their personal information
One’s amount of Facebook reflects how popular one wish to appear online more than how healthy one’s friendship truly is. Constant usage of Facebook allows user to potentially feel like they have a meaningful social life, when in reality, they are missing something. In Stephen Marche’s 2102 article, “Is Facebook making Us Lonely?” he notes that Facebook was introduced to the world in the midst of spreading and intensifying loneliness, an idea to which he greatly attributes Facebook’s appeal and success (Marche 26). Initially, social networking sites seem to be evidence of modern-day social interaction being easier and more convenient than ever.
Known for his proactive essays, William Deresiewicz who was once an English professor at Yale bluntly explains to us his view on the “friendships” of Facebook. Deresiewicz ask how you can have so many friends and yet none at all. He considers friends on social media a simulacra. Comparing them to just any old collection of cards. “Posting information is like pornography, a slick, impersonal exhibition.” (Deresiewicz, 16) Social media, in this case Facebook, is just a generalization (not a personal) way of keeping in touch.
Fatkin, J. M. (2007). Group size and personalization's effect on Facebook message response rates. Information Technology & People, 30 (1), 71-80.
The 21st century has brought a lot of modern ideas, innovations, and technology. One of these is social media. The invention of Facebook has completely changed the way we communicate with one another. Instant messaging, photo sharing, and joining online groups have created a way for families and friends to connect. Some argue that Facebook is the greatest invention however, while it is seemingly harmless, Facebook has created an invasion of privacy. The accessibility of Facebook and its widespread use has created privacy problems for users, teens, and interviewees by allowing easy control to viewers.
Just as countries around the world can be broken down into niche communities so too can the social web. Social Web sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter allow us to communicate to our own personal network, just as the newspaper caters to the larger community.
and family, and also “meet like-minded people” ( Metz, par. 1). In some cases, business people such as Ron West, claim that he uses Facebook “to become acquainted with new customers”( par. 8). Yes, these types of websites are great tools to stay in touch with old classmatesand faraway family members. It is a great source of communication, but there is always a con to every pro. Even though users are connecting with others, users of social networks never know exact...
Social media is used by many people, young and old around the world as a way to communicate. Our lives have become so busy that it is difficult to maintain family and social relationships. “They use social networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. On these sites users create profiles, communicate with friends and strangers, do research and share thoughts, photos, music, links and more” (Social Networking). With the use of social media you can be friends with all sorts of people without actually seeing or knowing them. “In many ways, social communities are the virtual equivalent of meeting at the general store or at church socials to exchange news and get updated on friends and families” (Cosmato).
Facebook had over 1.35 billion monthly active users as of the third quarter of 2014. That extent to 67 percent of internet users in the U.S. And over 66 percent of total social media like and sharing on iPhones or smart-phones. When it comes to creating and influencers brand groups, Facebook is equally effective. Did you know on average 76.7 Facebook brand community is larger than the same brand 's corresponding to other social media community such as 2 times larger than Twitter following, 3 times larger than Instagram, and over 5o times larger than its Youtube and Pinterest communities.
In mere minutes, any active user can access information and associations regarding various causes, such as the riots happening in Egypt and the Middle East. Teenagers, in the Middle East, used their Facebook accounts to campaign the “Day of Rage” in Saudi Arabia. Helping to set the Arab riots in motion, the event demanded elections, freedom for women, and the liberation of political prisoners. The activists’ goals to bring democracy to Egypt and removing Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s fourth president from 1981 to 2011, still continue and perhaps with the assistance of Facebook they will accomplish these ambitions. The causes campaigned through Facebook have served as a fundraise...
Upon the advent of social networking websites, an entirely new level of self-expression was formed. People instantly share updates on their lives with family, friends, and colleagues, reconnecting with those they had lost contact with. Social networking has now become an integral part of contemporary society – a modern analog for catching up with friends over slow, conventional methods or finding upcoming events in newspapers. However, along with this freedom of information, the danger of revealing too much personal information has become apparent. As such, online social media poses an imminent danger to society as it blurs the line between private and public information, creating an obsession with sharing one’s personal life online.
In this day and age, many individuals simply cannot go without some sort of socialization. Specifically speaking, most participate in online social networking sites. The most popular and used one is commonly known as Facebook. Facebook was created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg. By 2007, Facebook had over 21 million users, adding up to 1.6 billion page views every single day. The typical user spends over twenty minutes per day on Facebook and two thirds of the users log in every day at least once. It is not questionable as to why many people have a Facebook account. Facebook is generally efficient, easy for socialization, and not difficult to manage. Most organizations are affiliated with Facebook, as “almost 22,000 organizations had Facebook directories,” as of November 2006. A year after that in 2007, Facebook was named the seventh most popular website (Ellison 1). However, with anything well known, many oppose to using Facebook and hold criticism against the popular network. There are many flaws in the website and the relationships it starts online. Facebook is risking dangerous activities, ignoring privacy laws, and demeaning healthy socialization.
As social media sites grow in popularity, so do the age range of their users. Whereas Facebook started out as a site for college students to socialize, it has now become a place for many adults to interact. Since users can interact with anyone who has a profile, no matter their location, Facebook has made it easier for families to keep in touch despite the distance between them.
The issues caused by online privacy are growing with the increase of Social Networking Sites. Virtually all Social Networking Sites have ‘public’ as their default privacy setting, however that is not what the majority of users prefer. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project & American Life, 80 % of the users go to the effort to change their settings to private. With the increasing awareness of cyber – crime and the need for privacy, users have now started to rethink their actions online. Carefully selecting whom among your Facebook friends see your personal information, and who should be restricted, blocked or unfriended.
Facebook is beneficial to one's social life because they can continuously stay in contact with their friends and relatives, while others say that it can cause increased antisocial tendencies because people are not directly communicating with each other. But some argue that Facebook has affected the social life and activity of people in various ways. With its availability on many mobile devices, Facebook allows users to continuously stay in touch with friends, relatives and other acquaintances wherever they are in the world, as long as there is access to the Internet. Users can upload pictures, update statuses, play games, get news, add people, like and share photos, videos, memes