Ashlyn Murray
Professor Alling
ENC 1101.40
14 April 2015
Academic Essay Draft
Within recent years, a popular topic for debate has been the use of social media. As technology advances, it is becoming more and more common for people of all demographics to use some form of social media. Amongst the most popular of these are Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. With social media becoming increasingly popular, it is not difficult for some to be skeptical about it. A common concern is whether or not it is beneficial.
A large portion of social media users are teenagers. Sira Lee Katz is the director for Common Sense Media, a child advocacy group. She states that teens “said that they feel that social media has a more positive than negative impact
…show more content…
It can be used as a digital form of “word of mouth”. When a person is satisfied with something, they may post about it. For example, peple often post about a wonderful experience at a restaurant, and people will In turn be inclined to visit the restaurant. By the same token, if somebody posts a story about a horrible experience at a restaurant online, people will be inclined to avoid it, in the same way they would if their friend told them in person about the awful experience they just had. “The information people receive from friends who talk about a product or service are often more effective than information coming through the media. People have more confidence in what they are recommended by acquaintances than in the information coming from media promotion channels”. (Social Media – A New Way of Communication, Bulletin of the Transilvania University, Series V, 2014) The use of online networks can be beneficial to anyone from small business owners just getting started to larger companies who use social media to advertise. Anybody can pay to have a nice ad about their product. However, if somebody a person trusts tells them about a great product or experience, they are going to value that opinion that they know is honest over an advertisement that they know was paid