Impact of Social Media on us Psychologically

Retrieved from: https://donttextnblog.files.wordpress.com

Through technology, we have seen undeniable growth and progress; we have also seen societal changes because of an increase in social media use.  Unfortunately, our social media use has begun affecting us mentally and has begun changing the way we process information.  The top ten ways social media is affecting us all are: it is addictive, we compare our lives with others, we are restless, cyber bullying has increased, it can make us unhappy, glamorizes drug and alcohol use, leads to multitasking, fear of missing out, helps with connectivity and helps with socialization (degreed.com 2015).  Of course, this list includes both positive and negative ways that social media affects us, but there are more negatives than positives on that list.  As we continue to increase are social media uses we will continue to develop these habits or be exposed to them.  While social media connects us and allows us the ability to choose what and whom we engage with it, bears repeating that we need to ensure that we are participating in healthy and appropriate habits to avoid developing negative habits and experiencing negative side effects.  According to Degreed.com, our social media addiction is at an all time high that a scale entitled The Berge Facebook addiction scale was created to measure addiction levels (2015).   There are many benefits to social media usage and I am, in no way, disavowing the use of social media.  Rather I think it is important that we all understand the ways that social media usage affects us on a psychological level. It is important that we understand how it affects us so that we can continue to use it appropriately.

This short video discusses five of the ways that social media usage is affecting our brains.

  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HffWFd_6bJ0

(2015). Top 10 ways social media affects our mental health. Retrieved from: http://degreed.com/

Collaborative News Reporting

Retrieved from http://burson-marsteller.eu

We all have at least one social media platform that we use on a regular basis to stay connected to family, friends, and news that affects us.  Our dependence on social media to fulfill our needs has created a vacuum of sorts forcing traditional media outlets to adapt as new forms of news reporting have begun sprouting.  If you go to any major news website you will see links for multiple social media sites as well as links for what is known as ireporting.  Ireporting is a unique way for individuals to participate and provide a first hand knowledge on a developing news story.  This has become a creative and popular method when reporting on breaking news because it allows journalists to write a report and be provide supplemental information from eyewitnesses.  This collaborative format allowed the conversation to become livelier and has given individuals an opportunity that before the explosion of social media would not have existed. Nothing proves this more then the use of social media applications by protestors during the 2010 G20 summit in Toronto (Poell, T. and Borra, E. 2012).  Protestors utilized sites such as Twitter, Flickr and Youtube to report on the protest and provide a first hand account of the events as they were happening. The use of social media has allowed the first person reporting style to evolve and it has become a little less confirmative.  It has become a much more collaborative environment and the news is evolving to include news that the audience wants to engage in. 

Social media has given us the opportunity to ask for what we want and if it does not exist then we can create it.  No longer are we forced to accept the news as is, we can no collaborate and participate in the creation of the news without being a journalist.  This has changed the news that we consider to be breaking news and it also changes the level of involvement.  Thanks to Twitter we can now trend a news story almost instantly and we can all participate in a discussion about the story. In her video, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ukz1HaHJrGI, Farai Chideya discusses participatory journalism and how it is changing the way we write and report the news.  Our needs have changed and we are gathering much of our news through social media and this has dictated the way journalists report the news.  In order to remain relevant they must collaborate with their audience as well as turn to social media to report the news. 

Poell, T. and Borra, E. (2012). Twitter, YouTube, Flickr as platforms of alternative journalism: The social media account of the 2010 Toronto G20 protests. Journalism, 13(6). Sagepub.com

Connected and Reliant On

Retrieved from: http://www.apa.org

It only took seven years for the Internet to reach fifty million users whereas it took twenty years for the television to reach that many users and roughly fifty years for the telephone to reach that number (Towse, R. Picard, R.G.; & Kung, L. 2008).  Our desire to connect and communicate differently has driven the growth of the Internet and subsequent technologies.  We are attracted to the Internet because of what it offers us the freedom to choose what interests us, and to have our own individual experiences.  According to Justin Healey, the Internet enables creativity, provides endless entertainments, can change politics and offers us the opportunity to shop online (2011).  These are attractive options because they allow us to accomplish more in a shorter period of time, which increases our productivity.   With the internet providing us with unlimited access to news and entertainment, we are so invested that you would be hard pressed to find a person who does not have a device that provides them access at all times.  We have grown as the Internet has grown (Towse, R. Picard, R.G.; & Kung, L. 2008); because of this, we are now utilizing computers and tablets in schools as methods for teaching.  We are teaching the next generations how to connect and utilize mass media in an effort to best prepare them for the future.  Our dependability on technology to provide us with endless opportunities to consume mass media leaves us wanting more and searching for the “next big thing” constantly.

The video, Social Media Revolution https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8,   further explains the phenomenon that is mass media, as well as our dependability on it.  We are more connected because of technological advances, but at times, it feels as it we have become more disconnected.  Media has provided us with new ways to connect but it has also decreased traditional methods of connecting with those in our lives.  As technology continues to grow and change the way in which we view the world, we will have the opportunity to study it to determine how it continues to alter the way we interact.     

Healey, J. (2011). Social Impacts of Digital Media. Thirroul, N.S.W.: Spinney Press.

Towse, R., Picard, R. G., & Küng, L. (2008). The Internet and the Mass Media. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Employees and Technology Usage

Communication is key for any business and even more important that employees can communicate with one another and understand the different methods that they have access to.  Much of our business communications have changed and been influenced by the way we communicate outside of work.  Today employees are interjecting their own methods of communication mainly, social media, into their work environments. 

Retrieved from: http://visual.ly

Outside of work, employees utilize social media, other forms of technology in order to stay connected with the rest of the world, and this has begun to creep into their work environments as well. Twitter, also known as a micro-blog debut in 2009, it was a radical way of thinking and communicating with others.  Skeptics did not believe one could create enough interest in 140 characters or could attract the attention of an audience in so few words and yet, here we are six years later and Twitter continues to be a popular tool used to communicate.  Twitter usage began with individuals but today most companies have multiple social media sites including Twitter.  According to Alfred Hermida, journalism has begun adopting Twitter and utilizing it to distribute the news quickly and efficiently (2010).  This proves how popular Twitter has become among organizations if the journalism field has begun incorporating it into their day-to-day operations.  The journalism field is known for being extremely closed off and does not adopt change very often or easily, but they have realized that Twitter can be useful in connecting the news with their audience.  One of the main reasons that Twitter has been adopted by the journalism field has to do with employees being willing to incorporate it.  If employees had been unsure, I do not think that Twitter would have been adopted as quickly as it had been.  The fact that employees have exposure to this social media format because they use it in their personal life helps ease the transition, and creates an almost seamless adoption. 

Further supporting this idea that employees are responsible for including new technologies into their work life is the below video.  In the video, Andrew McAfee discusses how employees are bringing about change to business through the adoption of new technology.  McAfee continues by acknowledging that giving employees freedom to explore new technology options they are more likely to be engaged and creative in their work output.  To view the video please click the link http://www.mckinsey.com.

Without such freedom, employees would remain stifled and the company would continue to remain stagnant.  The idea to allow communication methods to change naturally and give employees the opportunity to include social media that they are comfortable using brings a fresh perspective to the communication field. 

  

Hermida, A. (2010). Twittering the news: The emergence of ambient journalism. Journalism Practice. 4(3).  297-308. http://www.tandfonline.com

(2009). How web 2.0 is changing the way we work: An interview with MIT’s Andrew McAfee Retrieved from: http://www.mckinsey.com.

Technology and Employees

Retrieved from: http://impaktpartners.com

With the emergence of technology and social media, companies have become much more diverse in their work habits and work locations.  Business does not need to occur face-to-face anymore in order to be successful.  In reality, all they need is a computer and a way to communicate with their business associates.

According to Natalie Burg, as mobile technology improves the more employees are willing to bring their own devices to work.   The ability to accommodate employees has helped to improve overall relationships and to create stronger employees.  Another benefit to introducing social media into your company is that you have the opportunity to expand your clientele (Burg, N. 2013).  When you add social media into your business you are adding a missing component that many consumers find missing, a bond.  Social media fills the void and convinces society that the connection we build through social media is stronger than one that we would build through email or cold calls.  This is why it has become important for businesses to embrace technological advances and learn how to incorporate different mediums in their business.

Retrieved from:  http://www.bitrebels.com

Advances also allow companies to operate all around the world, for example, Bit Rebels have two offices: one in the United States and one in Sweden.  “We’ve never met face-to-face, but our workplace communication stays intact thanks to technology, and we talk constantly to be sure all the daily details here at Bit Rebels get completed. It’s as if we are in the same office, even though technically we aren’t” (Adams, D. 2013).  More companies are operating this way because they are global and can do this because of the advances that we have had in technology.  The one negative to such advances is that employees are now on call 24/7, but I think that we are more agreeable to working constantly because we have more freedom as to when and where we complete it. 

            Businesses now have the opportunity to connect not only with their consumers on a different level thanks to technology and social media but they can also build stronger bonds with their employees.  It is now possible for employees to work where they want and when they want which leads them to being more agreeable.  The way that we conduct business continues to evolve because of smart technology as well as motivated and engaged employees.

Adams, D. (2013).  How technology changed our workplace communicated (infographic). Retrieved from:http://www.bitrebels.com

Burg, N. (2013). How technology has changed workplace communication. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/