10 Advantages of Social Media for the

Society
1:- Connectivity – The first and main advantage of the social media is connectivity.
People from anywhere can connect with anyone. Regardless of the location and
religion. The beauty of social media is that you can connect with anyone to learn and
share your thoughts.
2:- Education – Social media has a lot of benefits for the students and teachers. It is
very easy to educate from others who are experts and professionals via the social
media. You can follow anyone to learn from him/her and enhance your knowledge about
any field. Regardless of your location and education background you can educate
yourself, without paying for it.
3:- Help – You can share your issues with the community to get help and giddiness.
Whether it is helping in term of money or in term of advice, you can get it from the
community you are connected with.
4:- Information and Updates – The main advantage of the social media is that you
update yourself from the latest happenings around in the world. Most of the time,
Television and print media these days are biased and does not convey the true
message. With the help of social media you can get the facts and true information by
doing some research.
5:- Promotion – Whether you have an offline business or online, you can promote your
business to the largest audience. The whole world is open for you, and can promote to
them. This makes the businesses profitable and less expensive, because most of the
expenses made over a business are for advertising and promotion. This can be
decreased by constantly and regularly involving on the social media to connect with the
right audience.
6:- Noble Cause – Social media can also be used for the noble causes. For example,
to promote an NGO, social welfare activities and donations for the needy people.
People are using social media for donation for needy people and it can be a quick way
to help such people.
7:- Awareness – Social media also create awareness and innovate the way people live.
It is the social media which has helped people discover new and innovative stuffs that
can enhance personal lives. From farmers to teachers, students to lawyers every
individual of the society can benefit from the social media and its awareness factor.
8:- Helps Govt and Agencies Fight Crime- It is also one of the advantages of the
social media that it helps Governments and Security Agencies to spy and catch
criminals to fight crime.
9:- Improves Business Reputation – Just like it can ruin any business reputation, It
can also improve business sales and reputation. Positive comments and sharing about
a company can help them with sales and goodwill. Since people are free to share
whatever they want on the social media, it can impact positively when good words are
shared.
10:- Helps in Building Communities – Since our world has different religions and
beliefs. Social media helps in building and participating in the community of own religion
and believes to discuss and learn about it. Similarly, people of different communities
can connect to discuss and share related stuffs. For example Game lover can join
games related communities, car lover can join communities related to cars and so on.

ESSAY 3 – ETHICAL ISSUES WITH

SOCIAL MEDIA.
APRIL 27, 2015 ALNAJJARL LEAVE A COMMENT

Ethical issues with social media

In the modern world, it is commonplace to use web technologies in the organization of

communication of young people. In fact, they represent the new means of establishing
communications, the tool to organize communication. This change of the communication forms
influences the content of the communication itself. These changes lead to a significant
metamorphosis in the structure of society, impose prints on behavioral standards and even
change the mentality. “Internet” as a global information system, is forming cyberspace, creates
cyberculture with its concepts, values, thoughts and language. Today it is one of the main
components of the information society. The ambiguity of the social networks influence is the
important issue of the modern world.

Social Media means channels and platforms, which are based on the Internet – technology, for
communication and content sharing between users. There are different types of social media,
such as forums, blogs, social networks, photo and video hosting platform for collaborative
creativity. The main features and differences of social media are: unlimited interactive
communications; directly involved users in the generation and relay of the media content; a high
degree of involvement in the process; maximum speed of the feedback; user personalization.
Social media has become extremely popular in recent years.

Ethical understanding of various aspects of social media began since the Internet inception.
There is a number of important features of the Web, which inevitably turn into a crisis in the
sphere of public morality. It is necessary to indicate it’s following characteristics:

1) Global opportunity to engage many cultures, as well as sub- and counterculture in the dialog
that will lead to the relativization of values, blurring the boundaries of permissible and
impermissible.

2) Anonymity, which is expressed in the temptation to hide behind false names, and, the
impunity to do harm without the risk to be held accountable.

3) Fast, reproducible data, lightning dissemination of information, which entails not only the
possibility of the spread of evil practices, but also the inability of the average user to distinguish
reliable information from unreliable one. The important feature is also the appearance of
elementary methods of fraud to intellectual property and copyright.

4) The full availability, bordering on aggressive imposition. In fact, the network does not raise
even the most basic requirements for age, cultural, intellectual and moral level of the user.

5) Interactivity associated with the emergence of numerous means of communication. Some of

them are hostile and degrading the individual character. Finally, there is the lack of control in the
social media, and thus the permissiveness occurs (Maner, 1996).

These essential features of network space allowed millions of people initially feel the possibility
of broad freedom, including freedom from social control and moral requirements. It turned out
that the Internet inspires the tempted to make something that in real life he would never have
dared. This obvious conclusion demanded from intellectual circles of society to start the
examination of network processes to prevent the growth of moral crisis.

Ethics means the principles and standards of behavior. Cyberethics is a code of conduct on the
Internet. Cyberethics is based on common sense and prudence, and also includes the
commandments of online behavior. If the user follows the rules Cyberethics, then his work on
the Internet will be an exciting and safe (Gotterbarn, 1999).
The global information space creates almost unlimited possibilities for moving information in the
networks even without its owner’s permission. Therefore, the protection of intellectual property
in this area is almost an impossible task. It is either impossible technically and legally or requires
significant economic costs. The consequences of this situation are flourishing network of piracy
and hacking, networks viruses, destructive computer programs, which are destroying the
information gathering various data without the knowledge of individuals and companies, on
which this information is collected. Many researchers believe that the problems of intellectual
property in the global network should be considered on an ethical level, and then it should be
transferred to the legal and other planes.

For these reasons, info ethics is not only the sphere of scientific research, but also the area of
current public debate and the necessary moral and legal decisions. The ethical analysis of the
processes occurring in the field of information technology will allow to avoid many negative
consequences of communication, and create conditions for information security. It should be
noted that ethical issues in the information technology is one of the most poorly developed areas
in theoretical terms.

The current state of the global information space creates a sense of impunity for a man. This fact
is relevant especially for the younger generation. The virtual reality provides them an
opportunity to act and to express themselves as individuals in the world. There are many
examples of deviant human behavior in the information space. They include the development of
hacking and virus programs. Anonymity theft and, especially, the use of stolen credit cards,
combined with the absence of moral constraints suggests that the scope and size of such crimes
in the process of expanding the information space will increase. The fascination with computer
games, including gambling, is of particular concern. Children and adolescents with more fragile
psyche are particularly at risk of exposure to virtual reality, which is created by such games.

Computer games create the illusion of eventful real life and at the same time is being taken away
from existing problems. They exploit man’s passion for the game and cause an unusual disease,
called a passion for computer games. However, the production of the computer, especially online
games, is among the most profitable and active areas of business. That is why this field of
activity will not be reduced, or at least limited. The society and the state should take the entire set
of measures, including moral, to protect the younger generation from the harmful influence of
the passions.

This phenomenon is the concern to many parents, librarians and teachers. Someone categorically
states their harm that they have a detrimental effect on children’s ability to focus and
communicate, lower levels of literacy, etc. But at the same time, children were happy to share
information on the web, reading, chatting, using all modern means as it would be impossible to
imagine a few years ago.

The changes that were made by information and communication technologies in general and
social media, in particular, can not be discarded. On the contrary, they should be used by adults
for the benefit of children. Social media as the technology should not be seen as a threat to books
and reading, as well as a challenge and a new tool to inform children with interesting books and
information through the media, understandable and interesting to the younger generation.

When communication loses its ethical guidelines and avoids social control, there is a risk of
negative impact on the outlook of the person. The need to find specific principles, standards and
methods of evaluation of different activities related to the use of computer technology, is linked
with the properties that modern information space acquires. Currently, there are the following
areas of ethical research in the field of information technology: computer ethics, info-, virtual
ethics, ethics of the network, Cyberethics, corporate ethics of Internet communities (including,
and scientific). This diversity of concepts requires the development of appropriate research
methodology. Formation and development of information ethics are associated with the
processes of transformation of traditional ethics. Creating a global cyberspace, the emergence of
new information technologies gives rise to many acute problems. The scope of legal laws cannot
regulate these issues, and, therefore, there is a need for moral regulation. Administrative
measures are becoming less active. The establishment of a comprehensive system of
prohibitions, restrictions and regulations, governing these relationships and activities, is doubtful.
It is practically impossible to follow up on these prohibitions, restrictions and regulations of each
person acting in the information space.

The computer ethics has received its incarnation in the development of moral codes. The first
computer code of ethics was developed in USA in 1979. The realization has dictated the
adoption of a code that engineers, scientists and technologists of its activities determine the
quality and conditions of life for all people in the information society. Therefore, in the preamble
to the Code the vital need for compliance with all the rules of ethics in the development and
operation of information technology emphasizes. Subsequently the codes of many other US
organizations, related to the sphere of information technologies, have been developed and
adopted. The examples of such organizations are the “Association for Computing Machinery”
(ACM), “Association of Information Technology Professionals”, “Information Technology
Association of America” (ITAA), “Association of Certified computer professionals” (ICCP). On
the basis of ethical standards in the codes, “The International Federation for Information
Technologies” (IFIP) recommended the adoption of codes of ethics of computer national
organizations of other countries, taking into account local cultural and ethical traditions (Panteli,
2000).

There are some significant characteristics of communication through computer networks:

 The possibility of simultaneous communication of a large number of people in different parts

of the world, and, therefore, living in different cultures.
 Inability to use most of the non-verbal means of communication and self-presentation.
 The impoverishment of the emotional component of communication.
 Anonymity and reduced psychological risks in the process of communication.
These characteristics lead to the development of new forms and styles of interaction and the
emergence of Internet etiquette. Virtual communication is different from the communication that
occurs in real life. When communicating on the network, the interlocutors can not see each other;
they do not know any of merits or shortcomings. All interlocutors are initially equal. Sometimes
one of the participants in a virtual conversation, understanding the impunity of their behavior
may offend others, anger, or disappointment them. The communication in a network should be
guided by certain well-known standards of conduct, ethics of human communication (Buchanan,
2004).

Netiquette includes the rules of behavior and communication in the Internet, traditions and
culture of the Internet community shared by a majority of its members. There are some primary
rules of Netiquette, which are important to follow:

1. Adhere to the same standards of conduct as in real life. If you use a shareware, pay for it.
Your money will help to create new shareware products. A few dollars is unlikely to
undermine your budget.
2. If someone breaks the law in cyberspace, it usually breaks the netiquette.
3. Remember, that you are in cyberspace.
4. Respect the time and resources of others.
5. Help others if you can do these things. The exchange of experience is useful. It is an ancient
and glorious tradition of the web.
6. Do not get involved in the conflicts and prevent them. Flames are the emotional remarks often
made without taking into account the views of other participants. Netiquette is against flames,
developing into war – the series of malicious messages.
7. Respect the right to the private correspondence.
8. Do not abuse your abilities.
As a conclusion, ethical codes relevant to the field of information are the main resources of
development of the social media ethics; rules of netiquette; as well as the bodies of self-net, such
as the voluntary associations of providers or representatives of online media. Only thanks to the
further development of these establishments the efficient and autonomous form of self-
government and self-regulation of the Internet will be possible. Thus, the development of ethics
for the social media is not just a theoretical exercise, but, it is a practical task, assuming
responsibility and active participation of both individuals and society.
Works Cited

Buchanan, E., A. Readings in Virtual Research Ethics: Issues and Controversies. Hershey,
London, Melbourne, Singapore: Information Science Publishing, 2004.
Gotterbarn, D. “Two computer-related codes”. Writing a code of ethics. Illinois Institute of
Technology, 19 (1), 1999.
Panteli, A. Code Confidential: Codes of Practice for Computing Professionals. ACM SIGCAS
Computers & Society, 2000.
Maner, W. “Unique ethical problems in information technology”. Science and Engineering
Ethics, 2 (2), 1996.

https://rampages.us/alnajjarl/2015/04/27/essay-3-ethical-issues-with-social-media/