I.

Introduction
The development of the technological era has turned social networks into a place with
diverse applications that allow everyone to share ideas, build relationships through sharing
common interests, and search for information, including text and images on the networks.
According to DataReportal (2024), the extent of social media as of October for over 5 billion
internet users, accounting for about 67.5 percent of the global population with an average
annual growth rate of 151 million users, while the general access time is about 6 hours per
day. Martin (2024) said that applications like Facebook, Twitter, Youtuber, Snapchat, and
Instagram have become the main sources of news for many people, genuinely with more than
64.5% of the 2.4 billion internet users prefer using this kind of news to traditional media.
From my perspective, social media has a significant impact on society, politics, the economy,
and individuals’ lives.

II. Advantages of Social Media to users

II.1. Access to News and Current Events
Social media is an umbrella for online websites and applications that focus on person-to-
person, community sharing, and individual collaboration. Humanity has gone through
thousands of years, from the Stone Age to the first radio or computer appeared, creating the
opportunity to improve quality of life.
The first benefit of social media is to help individuals easily access information quickly
about surrounding life situations, and cultural exchanges without traveling. According to
Martin (2024), applications like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram have
become the main news sources for many people, with more than 64.5% of the 2.4 billion
internet users preferring to use this kind of news over traditional media. A Pew Research
Center (2021) found that 48% of American citizens claim they often receive news from
social media. This change is due to individual choice since the desire to catch up with current
trends, modernity, and convenience. Familiar platforms like Facebook, as of October 2024,
had 3.07 billion users. Therefore, it has become one of the most used media among other
social networking apps (Kumar, 2024). Facebook shows users humorous content related to
current events. In addition, the app largely helps build relationships, Pew Research Center
states that "A large majority of regular Facebook news consumers say they get news from
friends and family (85%)".

II.2. Business and Marketing Opportunity

The second benefit of social platforms is opening up opportunities for small or large
businesses. At a professional level, social media allows media marketing strategies to
increase recognition, and expand reach and interaction from global users, helping in
promoting the brand. For example, Red Bull put all their efforts into their media campaign by
sponsoring Felix Baumgartner's space jump in the Red Bull Stratos campaign. This attracted
a large number of viewers as well as playbacks, showing the long-term results that media
brings. Using networking platforms in businesses allows to building of long-lasting
relationships between customers and sellers. According to Harvard Business Review,
maintaining long-term relationships with customers increases profits from 25% to 95%.
Leveraging social media as an online sales platform, and having a following is a signal of
consumer demand for your business, making creative content on social media platforms is an
opportunity to expand your brand and encourage research into your products and services.
According to Sprout Social, more than 65% of users use social media to stay updated on the
latest products on the market, and 45% remain wanting to see upcoming content they have.
Companies and businesses expanding their scale in developing products and upgrading
customer care services will satisfy buyers and comfort them in continuing to use the service.

III. Disadvantages of Social Media on users

III.1. Spreading of Misinformation
Social media have been growing strongly, making great progress, and bringing many
profound effects to human life and the economy. However, users need to acknowledge the
associated disadvantages of social media. The first negative effect is people spreading
misinformation. When there is no official information, some people, especially journalists
will gather information from the circle around the story and other unofficial sources and this
action will attract a large number of followers or interactions on social networking sites
which means having popularity and maintaining this, sensational news or distorting the truth.
According to a U.S PIRG Education Fund article, when anyone can be a journalist, the
stream of content never ends, and social media feeds are filled to the brim with an unending
number of the 24-hour news cycle, instead of waiting for expert opinions, sought-after
information, and facts, a story that outlanding is better. From WHO review shows that
incorrect health information during the outbreak of COVID-19 caused an effect on people’s
mental health and concernment safety of the vaccine which interrupted health care system.
The problem of spreading false news will cause skepticism and insecurity, causing
unnecessary conflicts due to the conflicting opinions caused by the amount of information
collected. This false information also manipulates emotions, exploiting negative emotions
such as fear, anger, and doubt.

III.2. Promotes Superfical Connections

Social networks helped us a lot in connecting and communicating, finding people with
similar interests and personalities to form close relationships. However, it also increases the
superficial connection through social interactions on online platforms. This relationship
grows by superficial understanding and emotional attachment, created by meaningful
interactions, comments, or bringing fame which causes harmful misconceptions about
interpersonal relationships and self-esteem. Murphy (2024) states that “One of the reasons
people choose shallow relationships is that they are much less threatening. If someone
bothers us, or challenges us in any way, we can quickly ditch them for someone less
demanding”. This connection will affect social norms, causing users to deceive their self-
image due to unrealistic expectations, and pressure with the desire to live honestly when
having to seek social approval, users may feel lonely because this superficial connection does
not bring value to the spirit and real expectations. Jenna described this problem in the New
York Times Article: “Suddenly, my simple domestic pleasures paled in comparison with the
things I could be doing” (Wortham, 2011).

IV. Conclusion
Social media has grown stronger and has become a part of people’s daily lives, the
dependence of a large group of people on technology is consistent, and its impact is
undeniable which is the efforts to expand the coordination for businesses and upgrade the
way of trading and connecting customers, such as opening more incentives for consumers to
complete business goals. Social media platforms have revolutionized how people
communicate, connect, and share information globally. They can be used to stay in touch
with friends and family, and access news and information quickly. However, it can lead to
frustration with information security or the accuracy of an article. Misinformation can affect
an entire organization, productivity, and especially individual life. Moreover, it is
recommended that all individuals adopt the favorable aspects of social media and refrain
from any adverse consequences.