How Do You Surf the Internet?
Social media has become the single largest reason most people go on the internet. Today everyone want information fast and wants to connect to those they have not connected with all day.
This create some interesting advantages and disadvantages for the user experience.
The advantage of social media is that it can create business, bring about brand awareness and make it easier to market your product or service.
A disadvantage is that most people do not understand how to make money with social media end up being guilty of spending too much time on it.
How many hours a day do you spend on the computer, watching TV, listening to the radio or podcasts and reading articles?
Not mention, how long do you spend on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, StumbleUpon, YouTube, Medium and Buzzfeed?
With all the different types of social media sites fighting for your attend, you really need to limit how long you plan to use each platform. You also need to understand what advantages and disadvantages each social platform has based on your goals.
5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media
People Want to Be Famous
The say goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. I like to believe that a picture can conjure up a thousand emotions.
The real question for social media users is can that picture get me a thousand or more like, more followers and help me become an influencer online.
With social apps such as Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Flickr, Tumblr and Pinterest it is easy to post pictures and videos.
If done at the right time you can expect people to see your post. If you use the right hashtags, more people will see your post. The better chance you have for someone to follow your fan page, like your picture and even leave a comment.
But here is the problem. More people are posting more pictures. Some of those pictures are in poor taste and in compromising fashion.
People are trying to use social media platforms to get Insta-famous and are not thinking about the consequences these pictures will have on their future.
The advantage is that people may see your photographs and maybe you can become a person of influence in that space.
The disadvantage is to many people are taking off their clothes to get others to follow them. They are doing it for all the wrong reasons.
Scan Information Faster
With a large portion of the world’s population on social media, there is no need to watch the morning, afternoon, evening or late night news anymore.
Today you can log on to the internet and get your daily news faster. Find out what is happening in business, world news, political and sports in an instant.
You can simply join platforms like Twitter or subscribe to various websites to stay connected. Follow who you want and within minutes’ start receiving information of what is happening.
A simple tweet by the right person, at the right time, with the right message can go viral and have the world talking about it in minutes.
That is the true power of social media.
Like him or hate him, the 45th President, Donald Trump, is the master of using Twitter. He understands the power of social media and now to keep the attention on him.
Too much information creates many problems. It has become harder than ever to shift through all the information, everyone’s options and figure out what is real or fake news.
Even in the sale, marketing and business industries there are so many people claiming expert status, it is hard to find the right person to learn from.
There are numerous advantages of scanning social media faster. No longer do you have to rely on a singular voice to know what is happening in the world. You can find videos that are being posted by the public and can make your own judgement calls as you get a wider range of the story.
The disadvantage of all this information is that, there is just too much. No one has the time to go through everything that is being posted by everyone else on Earth. Although good information is being shared, a lot of is being missed or is never seen.
Social Stockers
Go to any entertainment website, such as People magazine or TMZ, and you hear about celebrities who deal with obsessive fans.
Some fans will trespass on to private property. Others will go one step further and break into homes, try to touch the celebrity, mail or email obscene pictures or make false claims on social media about the person.
This happens to everyday people like you and I also.
With the internet comes the ability to hide behind your computer screen. Many use social media to bully other people on social media.
Being behind the computer screen allows people to pretend to be someone they are not. This causes them to do things they would not normally do in public.
The advantage of social stocking is only to the person doing it. It causes pain and suffering to the person who is dealing with this harassment.
There is a positive here. With the advancements in technology it has become easier to find these stockers and prosecute them. The advantage is, the person being stocked can put an end to the harassment.
Less Family Time
Depending on what you do for work, many people get out of bed each morning at sunrise. They travel to work where we spend between 8-12 hours a day. Then we travel back home.
Some people go to the gym, but we all come home to eat dinner. Then we turn on the TV, get on the computer to consume more social media or finish up office work.
Not to mention, most people today carry a cell phone, tablet or wear a smart watch so they can stay connected to social media, email, friends and family all day long.
According to a CBC article, 4 out of 10 people get divorced in Canada. In the USA, the American Psychological Association says up to 50% of Americans get divorced.
Any wonder why?
We spend less time with our loved ones and more time in a fantasy world where likes, shares and comments mean more than time with your spouse, kids, friends and real social interaction.
The advantage of less family time is you can really focus on your passions, hobbies and work success.
The disadvantage is to many people are risking too much for a chance at success. They are experiencing failure, burnout and are unhappy in life.
6 Degrees of Separation
There was an idea that stated, anyone in the world can meet someone else in the world, within 6 contacts they have in their network.
The internet has shrunk this number down. In some cases, you can communicate with the person you want directly. Twitter has made it easy to follow and send messages back and forth to that person.
This means there are less to no touch points between you and the other person.
You can connect with industry leaders, celebrities, world leaders, great thinkers, bloggers, podcasters and even your favorite author.
You can also meet people you did not know existed.
I only learned about Tim Ferriss, Neil Patel, Joel Brown, David Wolfe, Donald C. Kelly and James Schramko once I started listening to podcasts. Now I can follow then, find out information that can help me and I can message many of them and get a response back.
The advantage of being able to communicate with anyone you want, is you can be inspired directly by the person who is influencing you.
The disadvantage is many people get cause in the trap of following the person and never find ways to interact with the person.
Summary
Rethink how you use social media and find new ways to manager your time.
Who you connect with on social media and why, is important to consider as you find new ways to network, market and grow your business.
There are many distractions, broken marriages and opportunities if social media is used effectively or ineffectively. Recognize what they are and take advantage of making a positive life.
Do your best to spend less than an hour each day consuming social media. If you make your living on social media, look for ways to automate your process. You don’t have to spend so much time on social media if you feel other parts of your life are suffering.
Take Action
Leave a comment and tell me what one thing you like and dislike about social media and how it is being used.
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