The presence of social networking throughout society has significantly increased since earlier sites such as Myspace and Xanga were made. They used to be places where friends could reconnect and stay updated with each others lives, but it has evolved into something that is not only helpful in the social aspect, but in the workplace also.
Being in the human resources field, I could definitely relate to the article that Frank Langfitt wrote on NPR about how social networking technology has increased job recruiting. Langfitt talks about Maureen Crawford-Hentz, who is a recruiter for Osram Sylvania, and she uses the famous site, LinkedIn, to search for potential candidates. LinkedIn has become a professional social networking site where job seekers and recruiters can connect with hundreds of people who may be related to their field or maybe a close friend. Recruiters can filter out possible skills, previous job titles or certain degrees that candidates have had. Personally, I think LinkedIn gives great opportunity to see where your friends may work and lets recruiters know what skills you have when others endorse you for them. Even if I wasn't looking for a job, recruiters have reached out to me via LinkedIn and it turned out to be something that I was interested in.
However, there can be a "dark side" to social networking. As said by Martin Baily in an article by Freakonomics, he says, "the minuses are that all of this sharing can be dangerous, through gossip and potential abuse of the services." Throughout the recent years, there have been numerous stories of suicide, bullying, and gossip that has ruined people's lives because some people decide to use the information shared for other reasons. Suddenly talking bad about a person has become easier when we hide behind a computer screen. Our lives have become revolved around constantly looking at our phones and updating our social networking pages. It has taken us away from face-to-face contact with our friends and family and in a sense, has made us a little lazier. Why do we need to make plans to meet up if we could just instant message through Facebook?
All in all, I think social networking will remain at large and evolve into something bigger in the coming years. Facebook has been developing to become a platform for just about anything. When the presidential debate was occurring, Facebook had a live stream for all users. You're now able to send money, order a cab or order food through the app. Soon, they will try to make it a place where you don't need to go anywhere else.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf
http://freakonomics.com/2008/02/15/is-myspace-good-for-society-a-freakonomics-quorum/
Christy,
ReplyDeleteAs you mentioned in your post that you work in a HR dept, what interests me is your opinion on companies monitoring employees' social media usage. Do you feel employers should investigate potential employee's social media accounts prior to hiring?
Just an article that has left me wondering, on what side do I stand:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/should-companies-monitor-their-employees-social-media-1399648685
I think you did a great job at summing up the "dark side" of social networking. It has allowed us to do so many amazing things but at the same time it has expanded ways for people to take advantage of this new technology. Years ago, people who were bullied were safe once they left school but today people cannot even escape in the safety of their own homes because of the Internet.
ReplyDeleteTiffany, I have to comment on your response because yes, cyber-bullying is horrendous and really going nowhere(there will always be trolls in the cyber world), there are also so many people raising awareness and standing up for those afflicted by it.
DeleteOn the flipside, social media is opening the door for marginalized social groups to voice their opinions and communicate with like-minded people.
It has benefited the LGBTQ community in a lot of positive ways. For those that live in remote areas, that feel isolated and alone in their struggles(perhaps even the only gay, lesbian, trans person, etc in their community), they are able to gain strength from those willing to share their experiences on the internet. Because of this exposure, walls are being broken and stereotypes are crumbling. Hate will always exist, but the benefits, in my opinion far exceed the bad.
Went on a rant there...