P2 – Analyse the positive and negative social effects of
social media products
Primary Research
In my primary research I have
included some of my own opinions about the positive and negatives and then I
will feature a questionnaire see what other people think of it also.
Firstly I think they can be positive as it allows introverts
to be able to express themselves as it can be beneficial for people who can
struggle in social situations with disorders such as anxiety. Due to them being
behind a screen and not face to face with these random people they can feel
more comfortable and confident. Online relationships such as friendships can
give people confidence to then mirror that same confidence in physical
situations rather than just behind a screen.
Social Medias can also be very negative however. Many people
can be shamed for things they have done on these websites such as fights
getting posted or a bad picture which is shared all around people’s phones and
computers. People can also screenshot messages or profound photos and share
them round which can ultimately destroy someone’s reputation or confidence and
in extreme cases lead them to depression or even suicide.
For my primary research looking
into the positive and negative effects I have conducted a questionnaire which
asks people various questions about social media so I can have other people’s
inputs who are around me also.
Another positive aspect is that
businesses and people are able to share ideas across these networks which saves
physical meetings or can help market peoples products easily. People can show
people ideas for new technology for people to invest in by clicking their
external links.
Another negative is trolling. Many
people can troll people online which can be either classed as bullying them or
just trying to mess with them by doing things such as constantly annoying them
or pretending to be stupid which will infuriate the person they are trying to
troll.
A lot of private info is always
publicised on social media now which can result in people running the risk of
having this used against them whether it be where they live or an embarrassing
photograph. Also people who keep using social medias will decrease how
productive they are in the day as the time they spend on social media could be
spent doing something more useful.
These are the questions I asked 20
people:
What is your gender?
How old are you?
What is your favourite social media?
Do you find social media to be a positive thing or more of a negative
thing?
Do you often see offensive content when using social media?
Do you find social media to be a positive thing or more of a negative thing?
What do you use social media for the most?
Have you ever had a bad experience when using social media? If yes
explain
What’s your favourite thing about social media?
How long do you spend on social media a day?
How many social Medias do you use regularly?
The results
of the questions are posted in bar form below and the answers will be analysed. 
In conclusion of this conducted
questionnaire I have founded that out of the 20 people I have asked most enjoy
Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook, all of which share videos, photos and have
messaging features. Only a few have experienced bad situations which can show
they have either not been cyberbullied or an attempt to was not bad enough to
be classed as a bad situation as a hurtful message in the modern day of social
networking is classed as the norm and not an abnormality. Also I have had a
fair questionnaire range due to the different ages and genders featured which
makes the data more trustworthy. It was 50/50 when asked if social media was a
more positive or negative thing which may show that some users experience
difficulty and negative situations when using it such as cyberbullying. It was
also 50/50 on whether people see offensive content or not when using social
networking which may link to how people view social media as positive or
negative. Most people also said they use social media to talk to friends which
means they are using it for sociable reason which is positive instead of a
negative reason such as bullying. Others said they use it to look at internet
memes which are funny captions and pictures so they use it for humour but then
in some cases some memes are purposely offensive to people which could be
classed as a form of cyberbullying. Many also have had bad experiences due to
people they don’t know messaging them on these social medias. Most found social
media to be more positive but 70% said they see offensive content when using
social media. There was also a range of answers when regarding how long people
use social media a day for but the most popular answer was 3-4 hours. Most
people use 3 social medias also. In conclusion of my research most people enjoy
social media but do find offensive things there but t mainly uses it to
socialise with people rather than cause trouble.
Secondary Research
BBC Article:
A survey founded that 37% of girls
questioned in CREST Girls academy in London were sleep deprived as a result of
using social networking sites. This may just be one school but in the broad
spectrum if 37% of all girls where sleep deprived and there are over 8 million
pupils in schools in the UK that means that many of them would also be sleep
deprived. If the students are sleep deprived it will have a negative effect on
their school work and mental functions as a result which shows that social
networking can be bad if used excessively.
The article also highlights that cyberbullying
is a problem which can be related back to my primary research as many said they
have seen offensive content on social media which can relate to people being
purposely bullied online in forms of video or text and can be shared around.
The article shows that social networking can be a big problem as the
cyberbullies can only be stopped if they’re reported or blocked but many
victims are reported of not doing this out of intimidation or being scared.
It also highlights that it can ruin
relationships due to people getting jealous over messages or getting jealous if
their boyfriend or girlfriend likes somebody else posts online. It can also be
negative as people can waste away their lives using it instead of doing
something useful like being in a job or education or focusing on more serious
matters.
However aside the negatives the
article also shows how it can be a positive thing also. It allows people to
express themselves and show off their interests or style of clothes etc. People
can also post their feelings online too rather than bottle it up. It also says
it’s easier to keep in touch with family and friends who you may not see so
often.
Tech Bead Article:
Tech bead say that social
networking is good for businesses and companies to market their products as TV
and radio demand money to advertise where as its completely free to do it on
social media unless you are promoting your page. It is saying its positive for
businesses as it lowers their marketing costs by a lot of money.
It says social networks have removed
the communication barrier between people and people can now privately talk
about things without other people being able to know what is being said. It
allows people to share thoughts and feelings and opinions with likeminded
people on many social medias such as fan groups etc.
This particular article may be more
positive but it still features some negative points. It highlights that the
things posted to these social networking sites can influence children and
teenagers to do certain things as there are many videos of crimes and violence
posted to these sites and can impact society as it can result in people viewing
them to then involve themselves in that kind of activity.
Finally it says users can share too
much information and can leave them feeling vulnerable due to people being able
to blackmail them with personal information. Info like this can be leaked to
other sites to people who may want to pursue you in real life and can create
many problems for people such as stalking.
