Social Media and People Has the advent of social media technology had a good or bad influence on human life? While millions of people are upset with social media sites like Facebook for selling their personal data to third parties, millions more continue to benefit from the positive uses that social media can have on human life. Whether it is contacting with old friends, sharing useful information, obtaining news, or learning about new subjects via video tutorials posted for all to peruse, social media has provided people all over the world with a platform that they can use to connect with, interact with, and communicate with people in a way that the world has never before seen. The dangers of social media might range from data harvesting to cyber bullying and stalking—but as with any new innovation that revolutionizes a society, there are going to be drawbacks. Essentially, the conflict surrounding social media boils down to its good and bad effects on human life. Whereas Pfeffer, Zorbach and Carley say that social media can be used to spread negative word-of-mouth stories that have a bad impact on human life, Gil de Zuniga, Jung and Valenzuela say that social media can have a positive impact on human life as a source of news, a way to promote civic engagement, and a means of spreading political participation. This paper will show why in spite of the pitfalls associated with social media, the advent of social media technology actually has had and will continue to have a good influence...

Platforms like YouTube—the video file sharing site, Facebook—the personal info sharing site, Twitter—the sound bite sharing site, Instagram—the photo sharing site, and many others have proliferated in the age of social media. Social media is used by people, businesses, organizations, and even presidents (indeed, President Trump is an avid user of Twitter because he feels it allows him to get his own personal message out to the public without being filtered through mainstream media sites). In this sense, social media is like the modern age’s own fireside chats—at least when it comes to the president. For everyone else, social media is a way to connect to the world, obtain information and share thoughts and experiences.
Pfeffer et al. argue that social media can have a bad impact on human life because it allows for negative word of mouth to spread easily and quickly before anyone can stop it or correct what might be a mistaken bit of information. People can have their reputations tarnished because one piece of information goes viral in a matter of moments over social media. Millions of people might share in the gossip, even if the information is incorrect, and people’s lives can be damaged or ruined as a result.

Gil de Zuniga et al. argue,…