The Role Of Social Media

What is social media? It can be described in many ways but in simple words it is an interactive platform in the form of websites, applications and so on for people to use all around the world. I have chosen this particular medium of communication because now, at this time, we all are surrounded by it. When we wake up what is the first thing we do? Look at our phones. Majority of us have developed this need to check our social media applications like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram etc. on a daily basis. That too, more than once a day. We all are a part of it regardless of our age. Our parents, uncles, cousins and even younger siblings are on social media now. I am also a part of social media and I check it religiously every day. This proves

Social networking is one of the most obvious roles of it. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, WhatsApp, and a dozen more applications are used by people all over the world to communicate with their friends, families and loved ones. We can share photos, send videos, tag our friends, join groups, add friends and even like pages we support or find entertaining on these applications. Social networking can bring a certain community together. It can be a group of friends, families or people who share the same interests as others. It also helps in supporting and providing comfort for people who are going through a difficult time for e.g. many pages and groups can be found online where people can share their personal thoughts anonymously which they would not otherwise. It plays the role of an emotional outlet for people suffering with depression, anxiety, stress or any other problem that they just cannot share with people in their own lives. People sharing similar thoughts on social media feel a certain connection with each other which can be very helpful for their emotional

Any type of information and news is available on these applications because major print media and television news such as The New York Times, Dawn News, and Geo News etc. have made their own social media pages and websites where we can find authentic news any time of the day. Social media also helps us in building our image and portray it the way we want to. Social media has become the voice of marketers as well. It helps them to attract or gain potential customers, investors and consumers. As people gain more followers on their pages or websites, brands and companies start approaching them for paid endorsements and sponsorships. Through this the company gains more customers and it gives an identity to their products. Youngsters have become overnight sensations through YouTube. This has derived a new term called “YouTube celebrity” which is used for people who have a huge fan following on their accounts. Moreover, artists and small businesses are making money through social media by selling their art, writing poetry, selling furniture, clothes and much more. Amazon is the best example of this as it is the largest internet-based