Running head: THE PURPOSE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

The Purpose of Social Media

Katie Klamerus
Madonna University

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Abstract

Social Media has gone from being unimportant to taking over our society in the matter of
a decade. But is it being used for the purposes that the initial social media creators thought it
would be useful for? As different media sites branch off of the original networks, the goals of
making our world more connected and allowing for a quick spread of information begin to
become less and less important. Although some people and generations still use social media for
what it was intended to be used for, many of our younger population is straying away from it and
becoming more caught up in the social aspect. Older generations, though, are staying more true
to what its real purpose is, and not obsessing or forming addictions as the younger generations
are.

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Today, social media is a phrase known by just about everyone. People of all ages and
areas of the world are at least familiar with it if they do not use it themselves. The world has not
always been this way, though, as social media has just begun to prosper within the last couple of
decades. In 1997, the first social media site Six Degrees debuted. It was the first site that
allowed users to create their own profile, friend other users, and even allow people without their
own account to confirm friendships and become connected. From there, Six Degrees inspired
two new forms of social media: blogging and instant messaging. As more people became able to
access the internet, it became increasingly popular for people to interact online.
In 2003, the first social media surge took place. Sites like Myspace and LinkedIn were
created and used for meeting new people, promoting music, and sharing personal and
professional information. These sites inspired the creators of sites like Facebook and Twitter,
and social media has continued to branch farther from there. Sites such as Instagram, Flickr,
Snapchat, Photobucket, and many more each brought their own little spin to online social
interactions.
Today, Facebook is the worlds leading social media site having more than 1 billion users
(Terrel, 2016). According to Erik Sherman of CBS News, there are also 974 million existing
twitter accounts, but only 241 million active users (Sherman, 2014). Following Facebook and
Twitter are LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr, Instagram, and many more. Today, social
media is used for many different reasons in our society. When it was first created, though, its
main purpose was to connect people. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook in hopes to enhance
connectedness and increase open information. Are todays social media sites meeting the
standards and fulfilling the purposes that the original creators of social media had in mind?

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Social media is used in many aspects of todays society. It is used by businesses,

politicians, schools, and of course the common public. Social media is used by both large and
small businesses. Social media serves as a place for inexpensive marketing, promotes global
exposure, and is a customer relation management tool. Businesses often use banner and text
advertisements on social media to market. They can pay to put their advertisements on the
Facebook newsfeed page, which is seen by millions of people daily. In addition, businesses that
create their own page or profile on social media sites are able to better interact with customers
online. These pages and profiles can be tools that help businesses conveniently receive feedback
about their products and services (Baker, 2014). Media sites such as FaceTime and Skype also
allow businesses to hold meetings online. This could save companies and employees money on
gas, plane tickets, ect.. Businesses have also started using social media when trying to recruit or
do background checks on potential employees.
Social media is also becoming increasingly popular in politics. According to researchers
from the Pew Research Center, 38% of social media users use social media sites to like or
promote information that is related to either social issues or political matters. In addition, 35%
of social media users have used these sites as a tool to encourage people to vote, and 34% of
users have used the sites to post their own opinions on political and social issues (Rainie et al.,
2012). Sites like Facebook and Twitter offer the tool of reposting or sharing content that has
been originally posted or shared by other users. This allows people to share political stories or
articles that they find interesting for their friends or followers to read as well. Social media is
also used as a resource for political news. Articles on debates, campaigns, or current political
events are often posted on social media sites within minutes or hours of their occurrence. In
addition, social media provides a location for the common public to find like-minded people who

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share political beliefs or people with opposing beliefs, and discuss them freely. Online, people
can also encourage others to take action on a certain political or social issue that is important to
them.
Social media is also used in school environments. Schools that have created social
media pages are able to easily communicate with students, parents, and potential students and
parents about events, issues, or daily closings more efficiently. In addition, many schools have
also begun using websites such as Blackboard, Google classroom, and Edmodo as online
classroom resources. This has been increasingly popular in many high schools and universities.
These online classrooms have made it possible for students to have more access to work at home,
still attend class on snow days or other days off, and even eliminate the need the need for
students to attend class in person at all through completely online courses. Additionally, the
majority of student populations are actively using social media. According to Shea Bennett of
Social Times, 96% of students that have access to the internet identify as being social media
users (Bennett, 2013). Because of this, schools have been having more problems with
cyberbullying.
The general public has also found use in social media. Whether it be to keep tabs on
friends, keep in touch with old friends that have moved away, monitoring current trends, or
meeting new people, the population has found reason to become hooked on social media. People
use media sites to share photos and details of their personal lives, communicate with their friends
and followers, and also to play games. Social media has become a way to quickly and easily
spread information worldwide.
People of different ages and statuses are likely to have different motives and uses for
social media sites. According to Jeff Hindenach of the Huffington Post, there are a greater

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number of teen social media users than there are adult users (Hindenach, 2013). In general,
though, most adults use social media for more practical reasons than teens do. For teens, social
media is a canvas for creating a picture of their lives, interacting, and keeping tabs on their
friends. For adults, on the other hand, social media is used more to focus on networking, staying
in touch, and as a source of news. Generally speaking, adults use social media for the purpose its
creators had envisioned and teens do not.
According to researchers of the Pew Research Center, 81% of teens today use social
media (Rainie et al., 2012). Many teens have turned away from using the traditional sites like
Facebook and LinkedIn, and have begun using sites such as Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and
Tumblr. These platforms are more fitting to the newly mobile world of social networking. What
teens post during their younger years can take a toll on their professional life. With more
employers using social media as a tool for background checks, being able to maintain a respected
reputation online is becoming more important for young people to think about. During their
teenage years, adolescents do not yet have much of a professional use for social media sites such
as LinkedIn, nor do they focus their time on networking or advertising on Facebook, though.
Instead, teens spend their time on social media connecting and keeping tabs on their peers, while
also posting a lot about their own lives.
While the social aspect of social media can be nice and harmless to take part in every
once and awhile, more and more teens today are becoming addicted to social media and also
using it for the wrong reasons. According to Dr. Karrie Lager, a pediatric psychologist,
excessive social media usage can have some very serious negative consequences. Addiction to
social media is now being linked to sleep loss amongst young people (Stein, 2014). In addition
to the physical affects on teens, research has shown that there are many psychological affects of

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social media on teens as well. Dr. Charles Sophy, a psychiatrist and Medical Director of the Los
Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, explained that all teens are impressionable
and adding social media into the mix with the amount of peer pressure they must withstand
already is extremely dangerous. These dangers can be found in the form of seeing their friends
glamorize the usage of drugs and alcohol, and also the (Stein, 2014). While keeping tabs on
friends can be a good thing, it also makes impressionable young people compare their lives to the
idealized versions of other peoples lives that are shared on social media. Teens have also
become obsessed with taking pictures to post instead of just living and enjoying the moment for
themselves. In addition, the amount of time teens are spending online is minimizing the need for
them to speak with others face-to-face. This, in turn is taking a toll on their people and
communication skills. The way most teens are using social media today does not match what
social medias creators intended for it to be, and is instead damaging to their health and society.
On the other hand, many adults use social media much less and in more practical ways
than teens do. According to Pew Research Center Researchers, only 65% of adults report to
using social media compared to 81% of the teen population. In general, adults spent far less time
on social media and do not report that they feel they could not live without it. In addition, adults
own businesses or are employed by businesses that promote their brand over social media. They
use media sites as marketing and networking tools. 88% of adults that report to be social media
users have accounts on either Facebook or LinkedIn, which are typically the sites associated
more with business (Rainie et al., 2012). Also, many adults use social media to stay informed
with current world events, politics, and news. Overall, the worlds older generation uses social
media for more of what its original creators had hoped for: networking, connecting, and sharing
information.

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Although many can agree that social media is hurting our younger generations, others
also argue that the benefits outweigh the negatives and that social media is still serving its
purpose with our younger generations. Many people believe that social media provides a place
for people to gain self esteem, provides a network to make new friends, provide more resources
to use as a student, make people more aware of current events, and give the option to take
professional steps toward their future on the online world that they are comfortable being a part
of. Positive comments or likes on social media can do wonders for a young persons selfesteem. Receiving feedback that makes teens feel good about themselves is an advantage of
social media that can work to counteract the bullying and negative comments that teens receive.
As for making new friends, some argue that having the ability to meet new people with the click
of the button is exactly what Mark Zuckerberg and his counterparts had dreamed social media to
be able to do for its users. It certainly does widen our worlds connectedness. Different online
classroom websites also increase the resources available to students, and give them the tools to
widen their horizons. Also, having LinkedIn available to teens could save them time creating
resumes when attempting to find jobs. Plus, being able to explore the professional world online
is a good way to get young people comfortable with the working world in an online environment
that they are comfortable being in (Adams, 2013).
Another common argument is that adults are just as guilty as teens are when it comes to
using social media for unnecessary reasons. Some claim that, even though the majority of the
older generations grew up without social media sites, they have grown to be just as addicted as
the younger generations. Elizabeth Anderson, a reporter for The Telegraph, stated that the
average adult spends 20 hours on the internet per week, while the average teen spends around 27
hours on the internet per week (Anderson, 2015).

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Although there is some accuracy in these claims, there are even more faults. The amount
of peer pressure and negative comments teens come across over social media are much greater
than the boosts in self esteem they may receive. In addition, online classrooms and work
environments are dehumanizing our society and, although may make teens feel more
comfortable entering the business world, are only prolonging the inevitable step they will need to
make exiting this comfort zone and entering the work force. When they do this, they will need to
be able to hold an educated and engaging conversation, which is something social media is not
teaching them how to do. As for adults spending almost the same amount of time on the internet
as teens, it needs to be taken into account that the 20 hours previously mentioned includes the
time they spend on the internet while at work (Anderson, 2015). Many businesses and
employees today use media and the internet daily, so this greatly contributes to the amount of
time working adults spend on the internet. Even as social media has grown and progressed, the
older generations have stayed true to the purpose it was meant to fulfill.
So what does social media really mean for our society? In general terms, the growing
need and nature of social media symbolizes our ever changing society and technological
advances. Additionally, social media means different things to different people. To the worlds
younger generation, social media means that they have an escape and a chance to glamorize their
lives to their friends. To business people, social media means that they may not have to pay so
much to advertise their company. To those against social media altogether, social media means a
declining, dehumanizing, and materialistic based society. The list goes on and on. But, overall,
social medias purpose has been to change our society and replace some older ways of doing
things. Just like any other advancement, social media has its pros and cons. Todays media may

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not exactly fit the idea of what its creators intended it to be, but no one can argue that it has not
had a monumental impact on the daily life of our society.

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References

Adams, S. (2013, May 14) Eight reasons high school students should be on LinkedIn. Retrieved
from http://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/05/14/eight-reasons-high-schoolstudents-should-be-on-linkedin/#2e5088cb6bbb
Anderson, E. (2015, May 11). Teenagers spend 27 hours of week online: how internet use has
ballooned in the last decade. Retrieved from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digitalmedia/11597743/Teenagers-spend-27-hours-a-week-online-how-internet-use-hasballooned-in-the-last-decade.html
Baker, S. (2014). What are social networks used for? Retrieved from
http://socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/What_are_Social_Networks_Used_For
Bennett, S. (2013, July 22). How is social media used in schools? Retrieved from
http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/schools-social-media-stats/488104
Hindenach, J. (2013, August 30). Adults vs. teens: the different ways we use social media.
Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-hindenach/adults-vs-teens-thediffe_b_3838657.html
Rainie, L. et al., (2012, October 19). Social media and political engagement. Retrieved from
http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/10/19/social-media-and-political-engagement/
Sherman, E. (2014, April 14) Many twitter users dont tweet, finds report. Retrieved from
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/many-twitter-users-dont-tweet-finds-report/
Stein, E. (2014, April 25). Social media dependency has become a mental health issue. Retrieved
from http://www.alternet.org/personal-health/social-media-dependency-has-becomemental-health-issue

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Terrel, K., (2015, June 16) The history of social media. Retrieved from
http://historycooperative.org/the-history-of-social-media/

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