Uses And Benefits of Social Media

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There are many different uses and benefits for Social Media, all affecting different areas of life. Today I will talk about the benefits effecting individuals, businesses and communities.

Being able to communicate with anyone, anywhere

Being able to communicate with anyone, anywhere has many benefits for all groups these include:

Individuals 

Being able to communicate with people anywhere allows individuals to learn about different people's cultures and identities. Allowing them to understand the world better

An example of this is the #DanceWithMe TikTok dance challenge which prompted users to share their cultural dances. The benefit of this was that promoted cultural diversity and made users aware of different cultures.

Another example of this was the #EidCelebrations on Instagram, this prompted users to share photos of how they celebrated the Eiud-ul-Fitr Festival. The benefit of this is that more people became aware of the celebration and were more culturally aware. 

Businesses

Being able to communicate with people anywhere allows businesses to advertise and sell their products to anyone worldwide.

An example of this would be Advertisements on Instagram. Businesses are able to advertise they're products with a link to be able to purchase them on their website. The benefit of this is that more people will be able to see what the businesses are selling and potentially buy more products

Communities

Being able to communicate with people anywhere allows for niche communities to come together and grow.

An example of this would be on Reddit, a website dedicated to bringing communities together, regardless of size. This has allowed many communities to flourish and grow much larger such as the Car Seat Headrest fandom. The benefit of this is that things such as small artists/businesses have a chance to grow their online presence and popularity.

Being Able to keep up to date on current affairs

Being able to keep up with current affairs is a very important tool in the modern age, for example:

Individuals

keeping up with modern affairs is very useful to individuals as it allows them to know what's going on in the world through multiple news sites and sources. 

For example, sites such as X allow for users to access thousands of different news sources. The benefit of this is that users are not trapped in an echo chamber where only their political viewpoints are being heard.

Another example of this is the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, a challenge organised by The ALS Association through social media to help raise awareness of the disability. The benefit of this is that individuals were more informed of the disability and more uncommon disabilities in general such as EDS, the individuals became more medically aware whilst still having fun nominating friends and family to take part in the challenge, thus bringing even more attention to the cause.

Businesses

keeping up with current affairs is useful to businesses as it allows for them to know what audiences are wanting to see more of in that moment when advertising, marketing, etc.

An example of this is Cineworld's 'Chicken Jockey' Screenings of A Minecraft Movie. This was due to an online TikTok trend at the time where viewers would trash the cinema and cause chaos when actor Jack Black said the infamous line. The benefit of this was that Cineworld were able to adapt and market off the trend and avoid chaos for people not partaking in the trend.

Another example of this is companies using their accounts to keep up with current memes (e.g. Hoppoo Games' Risk Of Rain  account). The benefit of this is that the companies seem more modern and hip, therefore appealing to a modern audience.

Communities

Keeping up with current affairs is important for communities as:

It helps local communities stay up to date with what's going on in their area. For example, the New Carron Home Owners Facebook group allows people who live there to communicate with each other both publicly and privately. The benefit of this is that residents can quickly post updates about things such as missing pets, break ins, found belongings, etc.

It helps communities online talk about recent announcements relating to the groups theme. For example, the Hollow Knight Reddit exploded with people conversing on the newly announced 'Hollow Knight: Silksong' a new spinoff game that had been in the works for years. The benefit of this is that people can freely talk about their interests without the fear of being judged by others.

So, social media can have lots of uses and benefits. However, there are also lots of negatives and criticisms to be made about it, I'll explore this in my next blog post so stay tuned, until then.