Social and Economic Impacts of the Internet and Social Media

Social and Economic Impacts of the Internet and Social Media

Globally, the internet and social media are being used by over 90% of the earth’s population. Internet and social media use cuts across all ages and all perspectives of human life. Before the invention of the internet, many things were done differently from how they are done today and with a different degree of simplicity or hardness. For example, in the first few centuries B.C., if one needed to send a message across a distance, the only available means then was the use of messengers. Internet can be described as a global or worldwide system of networks that are interconnected to communicate with each other.  The Internet has a history too. It was not a global thing as it is today. It was made when Arpanet which used to be controlled by the use government was privatized in the 1990s. In this same decade, the internet’s number of users grew rapidly with most of them being from the eastern nations like China. This rapid growth of the internet is what can be termed as internet or web explosion (Kiesler 2002). Social Media cannot be separated from the internet. Social media can be defined as websites or applications that have been developed for sharing content or just for social connections. Social media includes Facebook, WhatsApp, Baidu and LINE among others. The internet and social media have impacted both the social and the economic activities greatly.

One of the areas that have that has experienced a great deal of the effect of social media and the internet is communication. Communication can simply be termed as transfer of information from a sender to a recipient. Before the internet and social media, communication was done differently. It was very likely for information to take very long before it got to the recipient especially if the recipient and the sender were a long distance away from each other. Methods used then would include the use of mails, blowing of horns in the African culture and the use of messengers. Just before the internet, telephones and mobile phones had made communication easier, though not as easy as the internet and social media have made it. With the use of the internet, electronic mails can now be sent. The sender and the recipient, no matter the geographical distance between them, are now just a click away. Social media has made communication even easier in an enormous way. A large group of people can get to be contacted from one device. WhatsApp, Facebook, and other social media platforms have a wide range of products including video calls. One can communicate with other people who are overseas as if they are right there with them. Internet and social media has indeed brought a revolution in communication.

Another aspect that has been greatly changed by the internet and social media is trade. A human being has to trade since no one has everything they need. The act of willingly giving out something or a service to receive another thing or service is trade. Trade has been there for a long time in history, even before the invention of coins and money. For trade to happen one has to find a seller who has the commodity they are looking for and a seller has to get a buyer who wants what they are selling. Trade has been done on different platforms and has taken various shapes. The internet and social media has bridged an indescribable gap and made trade a walk in the park (Kiesler 2002). Marketing and advertising are majorly what has brought the bridging effect. Producers and sellers make varying use of the internet. Some have websites and others simply advertise on their social media pages and accounts. Trading has even taken a different route with the introduction of online trading, online marketing, online shopping like Amazon and many more. Internet and social media may be termed as a gift to trade from humanity.

Education has not been left behind. Many forms and systems of education have been there for a long time in memorial. Education can be termed as a basic need in the current society. Education is all about learning. Education has undergone a series of changes and evolution. Before and during civilization, it was not a wonder for a teacher to only have one student.  Internet and social media has brought a whole new dimension of learning (Kiesler 2002). One of the ways the internet has reformed education is through online studies. Students from any part of the world can get taught by a teacher in any part of the world, test and even get their certificates without ever meeting their teacher. Also, facilities like YouTube have enabled people to study and learn any area they may be interested in.  Social media platforms like WhatsApp has made it easy for students to share notes and data, Facebook has provided a platform where students and teachers with similar interests can interact. It is, therefore, an absolute fact when it is stated that the internet and social media has brought a recast in education.

Internet and social media have also contributed to the change and spread of lifestyle throughout the world (Kiesler 2002). Fashion, for example, may originate from a certain part of the word but be in every part of the continent within weeks. This would be caused by marketing and advertising as stated earlier, sharing photos and videos on WhatsApp, Facebook, and the others. People have also met their life partners in social media through the virtual friendship. Also, people who would want counsel on things they wouldn’t be comfortable sharing face to face have had a relief. Internet and social media have created a way of earning revenue for many, thus they have been able to take care of their families and also have led to the loss of employment of some. All areas of lifestyle including what people eat, the kind of houses they build, the kind of cars they buy and so on have experienced the touch of the internet and social media.

A lot has been said about the internet and social media and spread through the same internet and social media. Some of what has been said is the truth while some could just be unverified propaganda. Some of the things that have been said are that the internet could cause isolation, withdrawal, and depression, that the internet and social media could cause the spread of vices, that the internet and social media could reduce the real sociability of human beings among others. It would, however, be important to gauge and verify the authenticity of any made statement about the internet and social media. With all this, the bottom line is that the internet and social media have brought immense changes, both negative and positive to the social and economic circles of human beings.

References

Kiesler, S., Kraut, R., Cummings, J., Boneva, B., Helgeson, V., & Crawford, A. (2002). Internet evolution and social impact. It & Society, 1(1), 120-134.