The Internet As A Participatory Culture

In Esther Dyson’s “Cyberspace: If You Don’t Love It, Leave It”, the existence of the internet is seen as potentially dangerous to today’s society. Dyson insists that the internet was once a sanctuary for tech savvy individuals such as gamers and professionals like engineers. The author focuses on the negative websites and communities that are often found offensive to the majority. She thinks the World Wide Web harbors a lot of power. This power can be accessed and conquered easily by most of the population. According to Dyson, responsibility is the key to changing the future (295). Her argument is convincing but slightly unrealistic. The internet seems to be growing into a whole other alternate universe. Society’s rapidly growing technology industry will only be harder to regulate. Most people will do what they want, when they want especially when it comes to the internet.

Since the Bulletin Board System there has been hundreds, and counting, of social networks created: most notably Twitter, Facebook, Kik, Snapchat, and Instagram. Today there are just over 3 billion active Internet users (45% of the world’s internet users), 2.1 billion of those people have social media accounts (Jeffbullas.com). People use social media for many numerous reasons. Most use social media to stay close to relatives and maintain social ties. Some of people’s most essential daily needs are accounted for by social media: whether it be interacting with friends or coworkers, following politics, or following the latest fashion trend set by the Kardashian

Technology, especially social networking, has formed a huge part in society’s daily lives for the last several years. Facebook, one of the major social media platforms, as stated by Mark Hall in his article Facebook American Company, has become the largest social network with more than 1 billion users across the nations, and most of these users fall into the

Social media is any website that allows social interaction, whether it is business or personal. Over the years, the use of social media has skyrocketed within our youths and adults and has held a tremendous impact within society ever since it was introduced. The impact of social media on society such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram exposes today’s adolescence to things they should not be seeing; although, it is easily accessible. Social media is believed to be used for promoting yourself, your feelings, and thoughts with the world or followers. Since the creation

Social networking sites (referred to more broadly as social media) are a collection of websites and applications that enable users to swap ideas, post updates and comments, and participate in activities and events while sharing their interests with other users. From general chit-chat to propagating breaking news, scheduling a date to following election results, gentle humor to serious research, social networking sites are used for a variety of reasons by various user communities. Nowadays, nearly every person who has access to a computer and Internet indulges in some kind of social networking on a daily basis. The introduction of social media has changed the entire dynamics of our lifestyles: the ways we live, work, and maintain our friendships. Despite its numerous advantages, social media does yield some negative effects. However, the benefits of social media greatly outweigh its negative effects.

Over the past few decades our generation has witnessed a communication revolution no generation has ever witnessed before. The Internet was fully commercialized in the U.S. by mid-1990s and instant communication including the World Wide Web, email, and instant messaging have all played part of an enormous impact on media, commerce, and politics during that time and up until now. U.S. scholar and activist Robert McChesney has spent the past twenty years studying and documenting the effects of this Internet revolution and its relationship with capitalism and democracy. In his 2013 work “Digital Disconnect: How Capitalism is Turning the Internet Against Democracy,” McChesney addresses the relationship between the economic power and the digital

These days social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram have become an essential part of our daily lives in America. It is through media sources such as these that have enabled communication among people on a global scale along with uniting people with similar interests and ideas together in a positive manner. According to statistics from the Pew Research Center, around seven in ten Americans use some type of social media (Pew Research). The development of mobile devices has played a significant role in the widespread development of social media by facilitating the access to these sites. Today the use of social media is for purposes of

In the modern and technological society which we live in today social media plays an integral part in everyday life. Social media is an online tool which allows people to communicate, share data and form groups with others sharing common interests. On social media platforms users can forms virtual communities or networks exchanging information. (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2010). Social media has become such a big part of life that the term ‘Facebook addict’ has been introduced into the urban dictionary.

Social media is described, by the Merriam-Webster dictionary (2015), as “forms of electronic communication (as Web sites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (as videos)”. As few as 10 years ago the term social media was yet to be coined, but within that decade the use of these blogs, websites and sharing platforms has increased exponentially with no plateau in sight. From creating Instagram accounts for household pets, to sharing Halloween themed baking ideas over Pinterest, people today have access to social media outlets for almost everything. Today about 74% of people ages 18-65 use some form of a social networking site (Pew, 2014). Facebook takes the lead in social media usage with about 71% of those adults. LinkedIn and Pinterest are tied for second at 28% of users, 26% use Instagram, and Twitter falls last in the top 5 most used social medias with 23% of users (Pew, 2014). In September of 2013 the Pew Research Center measured that 90% of adults ages 18-29 used these social media outlets on a daily basis, which is an astonishing increase from the 9% that was measured in February 2005 (Pew, 2014). Due to the fact that young adults are increasingly involving themselves in these online platforms, it is very important to understand the long term and psychological effects (such as depression, social anxiety,

Social media has a prominent role in everyone’s lives. It is one of many ways that people communicate. For example, Facebook, Instagram, twitter, texting, and email. Although some argue that social media eliminates an intimate face-to-face connection, social media has the power to create a progressive and important change in society.

Stephen Marche’s “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” posted by The Atlantic has internet users questioning the meaning of why they use the internet and social media as well as weather or not it has a profound impact on their social lives. In 1995, only one percent of the world had access to the internet according to internetlivestats.com. Today, that number is approximately to 40%. With the expansion of the internet came social platforms such as Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and numerous similar sites. However, while these social media websites may be great ways to communicate with those who are far away or otherwise unable to speak in person, a detrimental effect comes with the power to do so. It can be time consuming and if one has an

Social media is extremely popular amongst Americans today, whether they are teenagers or the elderly. There is not just one social media outlet either; there are several different apps that have been created throughout the years, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. Some people are completely for the usage of social media, saying that it is a great way to connect with friends and family, as well as release good and bad parts of their day. Others claim that social media is a waste of time and that it ruins lives. They also claim that no one, particularly younger children, should not be using any social media platforms. However, there are many known advantages for owning social media accounts, particularly Facebook and Twitter. The article

Technology as a whole has changed the way we live our everyday lives in numerous ways. We now have the opportunity to do many things with a touch of a button, to name a few, starting our cars, tying our shoes, or accessing the world of social media. The single piece of technology that has impacted most of us today is the cellular phone, which leads us to the wonders of the Internet. In today’s society there is a plethora of troubles we face, what comforts most of us and makes our lives a little easier is the world of social media. Social media sites like Facebook, Snapchat, Tinder, Twitter, and countless other websites can help us feel connected with the world and/or our surroundings. To most people social media might

Digital activism incorporates numerous sorts of new media, for example, online journals, Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube. These online networking sites have assumed a real part in different questionable political scenes. These sorts of new media have given important devices to activists looking to have a voice and to support flexibility and majority rule in government. Each instance of digital activism is its own particular story, and from nation to nation there are key elements that give the vital setting to why some social developments triumph and others fail. Digital activism has an exhibited, positive effect, particularly when the global community gathers and uses digital mediums that concentrate on the objective of changing government strategy. Digital activism, in general, is a peaceful undertaking. There are just a few situations when digital mediums have been used to empower roughness against their rivals but in general digital activism is centered on urban engagement, not hurting individuals or property.

Social media has gained immense popularity, following increased access to the internet and technology devices including smart phones. Social media is used to denote platforms in which people build and share social connections; thus enhancing information sharing and interaction. Major examples include Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram. Through social media, people can connect, interact and exchange information such as pictures, videos and other digital media by registering as users in these platforms and updating information affecting their lives on their profiles. When social media applications came into existence, these were mostly used for interacting and sharing with friends, relations and new friends acquired through these platforms. Social media has however been constantly abused, as people turn it into a ground to vent, lie, insult, bully or threaten others. The social networks no longer serve their intended purpose in the society and users have taken advantage of the free space to say whatever they want with no regard to how it affects others. People have used such domains to brandish their selfish acts and gains.