Essay 5: Pros and cons of social media

Some people use social media to keep in touch with other people and news events. Do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

Over the past couple of decades, the Internet has immensely revolutionized our way of interacting with each other. Social media applications and websites are used by many to get updates about their loved ones and around the world, as well as to communicate. Although there are some drawbacks like fake news, the positives of this such as access to communicate with loved ones living in far-off places and famous personalities outshine the negatives.

One of the main criticism of social media is that it is a source of spreading false information. That is to say, most of the users of these applications forward post from unofficial pages and user ids, considering them authentic. For instance, a recent survey by CNN showed that about 60% of mainstream politicians have fake Twitter and Facebook accounts, operating without their knowledge and consent. Therefore, the information provided on such pages and accounts is mainly not legitimate and followers keep on sharing posts which becomes the cause of misconceptions and confusion.

However, the usefulness of social media cannot be overshadowed by its minimal negatives. The foremost benefit of social websites is that they provide cheaper and faster means to communicate with people around the globe. People who move abroad to earn a livelihood, for example, prefer to video call their relatives back at home through applications like Viber, Skype, Whatsapp, etc. instead of writing letters or calling through the phone. These social media applications not only provide cheaper but instant and interactive access to loved ones.

Another utility of social media is the provision of direct access to renowned persons like journalists, actors, and cricketers, etc. This provides the opportunity for their followers to get factual information about all the activities of them. To illustrate, Twitter and Facebook show a blue mark in front of real accounts of popular figures to help users identify the correct profile and get authentic updates instead of following fake ones. In short, social media users get first-hand information directly from their accounts.

To conclude, the robust and interactive communication along with direct access to public figures to get authentic information through social media applications, surpass its demerits like the spread of unreliable information.