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Thioro Ndoye
Professor Kairis
English 101
10 December 2015
Social Medias Effect
In the last decade we have seen social media change the way that we communicate,
access news, view politicians, and enhance our businesses. Whether we want to admit it or not
social media has changed our society for the better. Social media has reformed the way that we
go about our day and has become an indispensable part of our lives, it is essentially up to us on
how we use it. Some people may argue that it has impacted us in a negative way but in reality
social media has opened our eyes to many opportunities that we otherwise wouldnt have access
to.
The official definition of communication is a process by which information is exchanged
between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior(dictionary.com).
Social media allows people to communicate in a plethora of different ways that can essentially
benefit them. One social media website that has become very popular throughout the years is
Twitter, Twitter gives people the privilege to network with anyone around the globe. On twitter,
like many social media websites it gives you the opportunity to make your connections with
people stronger.
One group of people who can benefit from the use of social media are politicians. Social
media expedites the relationship between a politician and his potential voters. In an era in which

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most of the publics attention is conducted towards social media the most effective way to
engage with them is to also be on social media. Recent studies showed that people that are on
Facebook are more likely to vote and attend political rallies than people who are not on
Facebook. 30% of the voters admitted to being encouraged to vote because of the post they
would see on social media (Rakow). An example of the positive aspects of politicians using
social media would be the time that President Obama was running for office. He was one of the
first politicians to gain so much popularity and attention from the youth due to the fact that he
engaged directly with them constantly. For lack of better words Obama was the first social media
president, the only president to successfully use social media as a part of his campaign. The way
that he used social media to benefit his campaign was by interacting directly with voters and
establishing a fundamental connection with them, and as a result, the young voters stepped out of
their comfort zone by participating in the presidential elections and helped him with the
presidential seat.
Social media not only benefits politicians but it is also a main news source for many.
Over 50% of people learn about breaking news through some source of social media, in America
alone 27.8% of people use social networking websites as their top news source (Rakow). In
recent years print journalism is slowly going extinct, many people turn to the internet as their
news source. An example of when we saw the power of social media was during the Paris
attacks. The Paris attacks took place on November 13th and was a series of coordinated terrorist
attacks which killed approximately 130 people. During the attack Facebook had a feature that
was available for anyone that was currently in France called the Safety Check. This feature
was a useful tool because it allowed users to check in on the safety of relatives and friends during
all the chaos and helped people stay connected. With the power of social media comes the luxury

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to express one's thoughts and concerns on particular matters. At times, major events that are
spoken about can either cause division amongst groups or enable unity. For example, the Black
Lives Matter movement was a major turning point for people of color in particular. It raised
awareness about the hardships people of color are still encountering till this day, especially when
it comes to police brutality or in other words, unnecessary force upon individuals who encounter
police officers. This movement was originally sparked by the killing of a young African
American male named Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin was killed by George Zimmerman, after
the exoneration of Zimmerman the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter rapidly spread across the internet
and has been used in multiple street protest over the years. Recognizing this movement President
Obama commented on it saying "I think the reason that the organizers use the phrase 'black lives
matter' was not because they were suggesting that no one else's lives matter, Rather, what they
were suggesting was there is a specific problem that is happening in the African-American
community that isn't happening in other communities. And that is a legitimate issue that we have
to address. The African-American community is not just making this up. It's not just something
being politicized. This is real." (Tani). This movement not only brought attention to a social
issue but it also empowered individuals to make social changes.
Other Social changes that have also happened because of social media include how
citizens in Mexico are using social media to report information about drug wars and cartels. In a
country where the local newspapers are too afraid to report these kind of issues, social media
gives a platform where Mexicans can update the world the dangers present in their own country.
Another country that has also turned to social media is India. Indian citizens report acts of
corruption within their own countries (The positive & Negative..). In 2011 India had an anticorruption movement which was a series of protest filled with people that were fed up with the

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corruption and wanted to make a change. Last but not least social media has had many
revolutions that helped bring down governments across the world. Some of them included
Benghazi, Algeria, Iran, Libya, and etc.
Social media not only give individuals access to news information but it also improves
education. It allows students to go on forums where they can ask questions about topics that they
are learning about with fast replies. Reports state that about 59% of students with access to the
internet use social media to discuss educational topics. Social media if used in the correct manner
by students can greatly benefit them.
In addition to all of this social media also plays a key role in the way that we can enhance
our businesses. In the business world it is extremely important to have connections and social
media gives the opportunity for businesses to connect with their customers. Companies can
utilize the fact that the majority of their customers are on social media and communicate with
them directly. One example of a company using Social Media to their advantage is Pizza hut a
popular restaurant chain and international franchise. To promote their brand pizza hut stays away
from boring advertisements but instead they use funny gifs and creative puns to capture their
intended audience. They often times have people holding a pizza box while smiling, and this
associates eating pizza with being happiness. Pizza hut utilizes social media to not only draw in
customers but it makes the audience want what pizza hut is selling. In theory when used
correctly social media can bring in more customers for businesses. One way that business owners
can hire potential employees is through social media. About 89% of companies have hired
employees through their LinkedIn accounts (Rakow). Although this can be very effective people
have to be wise with the things that they post on social media because as fast as it can get you a
job, you can also lose it by posting things that are not professional.

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Just as business uses social media to grab customers attention, Universities use it as a way to
recruit and retain student. With the power of social media incoming student can now connect
with their campus. Using Instagram photos and sharing live campus events in tweets may
encourage students to look into the university or even attend it. 96.4% of four year universities
use social media to recruit incoming students.
In todays society it is very easy for people to have social stigmas surrounding certain
groups of people. There is a campaign called The Sticks and Stones campaign and they use
twitter to reduce certain stigmas that surround mental health issues. Mental illness is something
that is not always understood and to use social media as a way to bring attention to it and address
it as a less taboo topic was very effective.
Speaking of bringing attention to things a lot of upcoming artists bring attention to their
talents via YouTube videos, tweets, Instagram post, and etc. Famous people that have been
discovered through social media include Justin Bieber who was discovered through his YouTube
videos. Bloggers creating memes are also being offered book deals left and right. The internet is
a place in which talents can be discovered just at a blink of an eye (Leckart)
In the final analysis Social media has had a monumental impact on our society, for the
better. A new era of ways to stay connected has emerged, in which people from all over the world
can communicate. A place where politicians and turn followers into voters, a place where
businesses can be expanded, and a place where individuals will continue to be updated with
current events. The internet is now a platform where gifted minds can connect in a profusion of
ways, sharing their talents and ideas worldwide.

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Work Cited
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
Leckart, Steven. "Finding Fame, and Sometimes Fortune, in Social Media."The New York
Times. The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
Rakow, Jay. "Social Networking ProCon.org." ProConorg Headlines. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec.
2015.
"The Positive & Negative Impacts of Social Media on Our New Generation."Khaama Press KP
Afghan News Agency RSS. N.p., 14 Dec. 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.
Tani, Maxwell. "Obama Perfectly Explains the Point of the Phrase 'black Lives Matter'" Business
Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 22 Oct. 2015. Web. 14 Dec. 2015.