Effectiveness of the social media such as Twitter and Facebook in fostering transnational communication
Thurlow, Lengel Tomic (2005), state that social communication all started as a result of the functions of the invisible mouse. A great deal of involvement in social networks has resulted, which have impacted the life of the human beings directly. The emergence of an electronic global village in the recent years is a section which has caught the attention of the media. This has been as a result of Computer Mediated Communications (CMC), for instance the World Wide Web and the internet (Ess, 1998).
The Cosmopolitan Approach Its relation to communication
This assumption is described as one which appears to presume a universal and universally intelligiblecommunicable humanity (Ess, 1998). It values democracy, where all the participants have a right to enjoy equality, free information flow as far as speech is concerned, and prosperity in terms of economics. The approach argues that all human beings are equal, their cultural distinctions and differences not withstanding. Therefore, it is against the notion of ethnocentrism, which assumes that one culture is better than another. Pertaining to social communication, the cosmopolitan approach aims to bring the rise of a new global village in a political, ethical, economic and social community, which will prosper all nations. Overcoming all the natural limits of communication is one of the values held highly by the American democracy. The cosmopolitan view aligns to this. Additionally, the CMC technologies are in favor of all cultures of the world (Ess, 1998).
According to Standard Education (2002), the cosmopolitan approach is used to show that there are various important views in the socio-political and moral philosophy. The idea shared by these views is that all the human beings in the world, regardless of their political affiliations are from one community.
Response of organizations in increase of the internet use
The World Bank has had several initiatives that have aligned with the cosmopolitan approach in regard to communication. These actions are those of ensuring that there is equality of all members of the global village. Several measures have been undertaken in a bid to support countries in the world so as to equip its telecommunications system. All this has been done so as to improve the effectiveness of the countries in transnational communication (Larsen, 2009).
Last year, the World Bank endorsed a total of two hundred and fifteen million to a program known as the Central African Backbone program (CAB) program. The program is meant to provide high speed telecommunications in all the countries of central Africa. This is an action which will ensure that there is a high speed internet, and that the prices of accessing the internet by the users are reduced. Additionally, it is an initiative which aims at harmonizing the regulations and laws that are responsible for the ICT sector. It also aims at improving competition and ensuring that there is increased private investment in the private sector (Larsen, 2009).
This initiative will be of a great benefit for the Central African nationals. In the whole of the African continent, this population is disadvantaged, in that it pays twice of what the other African countries pay for the internet, and thrice of what the other world countries pay. Once the internet is made effective, the user will be able to engage in the social media form of communication, therefore increasing transnational communication. The Director of the World Bank in Cameroon stated that The CAB Program is very important for the countries involved and lies at the heart of their development strategies. It will assist countries to strengthen their enabling environment, create competition and, ultimately increase access and lower the costs for end users, (Larsen, 2009).
The rise of social networks
Before the onset of the social networks, there was a move from the industrial to the post industrial era, also known as the informational societies. The internet made it possible for the dissemination and publication of data in the world communication sector. There was no need of direct contact with the service providers. It therefore ensured that there was worldwide interaction among all users in a person to person basis through chatrooms and emails (Block, 2004).
Computer mediated communication has been a topic which has been debated for a long time. This is in relation to the social purpose it has. A major area of interest in the field is whether the communication in the social networks is real. Several researchers have supported the use of the CMC in communication, while others have opposed it (Bernie Horvath, 2002).
According to Boodle, (2009), social media is the source of innovative tools for communication dynamic forms. These forms alter other means of communication sharing and circulation. Additionally, it is an agency which can be afforded by many citizens and users. The social media services and sites, also known ads microblogs, have been recognized as crucial tools for reports distribution, government censoring, creating public awareness and promoting democracy which involves a larger public sphere. The dynamics of communication have been a great way of helping the citizens to disseminate all the information they need to communicate to the International community (Boodle, 2009).
The social media, in relation to the cosmopolitan theory has led to democracy promotion in several countries, as the approach dictates. For example, the post election protests that occurred after the elections in Iran led to the citizens communicating through facebook and twitter, which was termed as the Twitter revolution (Boodle, 2009). The social media has also been defined as one which initiates a connection of all members to the state. The Barrack Obama campaigns in the U.S. were also characterized by extensive use of the various forms of social networks (Boodle, 2009).
There are group and individual uses of the social media. These include intimacy building, identity construction, entertainment, advertising, therapy, self expression and branding. Additionally, it is used in advocacy, governance and political activism. The social network sites which are a subset of the social media are sources which provide transparency and makes networking transparent. There is a wide range of participation in the social media. This is in either the active and passive form. These sites provide opportunities where people build their power, reputation and popularity. The young people have a new way in which they use the social media, such as access to computers and digital initiatives (Boodle, 2009).
Social networks also facilitate the human interactions. These are described as places in the cyberspace where the people communicate .It is one of the very many subsystems of the internet means of communication. There are many factors that influence communication in the social networks. The age of the participants determines the length of participation. The young people are mostly known to be experts in the social network communication. The length of communication is a determining factor on the nature of the relationship of the two participants in any social network communication process. Additionally, the attitude of the communication participants towards a certain social network also determines the participation levels (Thurlow, Lengel, Tomic 2005).
Characteristics of social networks
A study conducted by some students of Rice University in Maryland revealed that the most frequent users of the online networks are those who have established a strong link and connection of friends. This meant that once a person is close to the segment of the network, he or she is able to access a wider network of friends. One of the characteristics of the social network is that it is user-based. The online social networks are different from the ones used in the yester years. This is because the users are the ones who direct and build the links. Without the presence of the participants, the network would not be present (Adomaitis, 2010).
The users are the ones responsible for the content that is in the social networks. Secondly, the social networks are interactive. They are not just a group of forums and chatrooms. Rather, they are sites where two participants can play poker together, or any other sort of game. It is more than just a form of entertainment, because it is also a way in which friends connect and enjoy their time together. Community driven, (Adomaitis, 2010) is their next characteristic, which means that they are based on the principle that social groups and communities have the same hobbies and beliefs (Adomaitis, 2010).
Additionally, the social networks cannot survive in any other way other than thriving in relationships. Its formation is more like that of the pyramid schemes, where one friend connects another to other friends. Lastly the social networks are a good source of emotional security. Emotional security is provided fully, such that no matter the circumstances someone is going through, the friends can be reached any time. For example, when a friend has lost a loved one, the person receives a lot of support (Adomaitis, 2010).
Facebook and Twitter
Facebook is a social site which was invented by a young man who was then a student at Harvard, known as Mark Zuckerberg. He used it to run his hobby projects through getting support from a person called Eduardo Saverin. The idea of facebook spread in the Harvard University within a very short period of time. It was received warmly, and it soon spread to Yale and Harvard, where it received full endorsement (Yadav, 2006).
The young man collaborated with other students who were specialists in the technology field so as to increase it to a higher level. The social network was so involving such that they had to drop out of school. In 2005, the social site officially received its name, and the social network was purchased for two hundred thousand U.S. dollars. Currently, it has more than thirty thousand million members. Most of them are in their youthful ages in colleges, organizations and universities. All what is required so as to join the social network is to have an e-mail ID and a password (Yadav, 2006).
The Twitter social network was created by Jack Dorsey. Twitter is efficient as it enables its users to read and send updates to each other, commonly known as tweets. The tweets are composed of one hundred and forty characters, which are normally displayed on the profile page and sent to the other users. The users who have subscribed are known as followers. It is also possible to use the phone so as to send short text messages. Because of the characteristic, it is widely referred to as the sms of the internet. In 2009, twitter was ranked as the third mostly used social network (Twitter, 2010).
Advantages of social networking
Several people use the internet so as to apply for jobs in their places of interest. The social networks are also very good sites of getting jobs, whether national or international. In the recent days, the major companies have employed highly trained people on the Human Resource sector. The work of these Human Resource specialists is to recruit more people in the company based on their qualifications. The job seekers also create profiles, where they include their resumes and the experience they have, both academic and professional. Through this, a company can discover someones profile and recruit him or her, regardless of the culture or country. Therefore, transnational communication takes place. There is a high level of democracy, as this form of employment does not limit on country, culture or race (Sucesso, 2010).
As the saying goes No man is an Island. Therefore, man has always been pushed by an inner need of meeting new people. The social networks such as Twitter and Facebook are some of the perfect spots for people to make new friends on line. Anyone can find friends who have the same interests as his or hers. Several people have met in the social networks, established relationships, and some have even ended up getting married. This is aligned with the cosmopolitan theory, which has done away completely with the concept of ethnocentrism. This is because there are no limits of the person one can bond with, unless the person has specified the people from the communities he or she wants to interact with (Sucesso, 2010).
In the traditional or face to face mode of communication, several people are disadvantaged because of their introvert nature. Some people are naturally shy, which makes it difficult for them to interact with others. Therefore, the social networks become the perfect sites where people with these characters can communicate. Once these people establish a relationship through the social sites, it becomes easier for them to communicate when they meet face to face, since they have already established relationships. This in turn increases the level of transnational communication because no person is left out as far as communication is concerned (Sucesso, 2010).
The business people have an advantage as the social sites provide a free means of communication done through the creation of business profiles. Additionally, one can load the logo and the images of the company. These details will be visible to all the network friends when they visit the profiles. There is also a way in which one can put topics which are related to ones company or business. These new contacts can lead to subscriptions and sales (Sucesso, 2010).
Using the social networks has proved to be very efficient as far as costs are concerned. This is because the internet service providers in the world today have tried to extend the markets by reaching all the countries. This has been made to happen through the support they get from world bodies. Therefore, all nations in the world can afford to use the social sites in promoting their products or advertising their company. Additionally, it will just take a few clicks of the mouse (Everyday Wisdom, 2010), so as to get potential customers and target the best markets. It is also very helpful as it helps the business people to learn the dislikes and likes of the people, so that one can meet their preferences (Everyday Wisdom, 2010).
The credibility of companies or the business people is gained once the customers have confidence in them. This happens when the customers realize that the business person can connect with them at a personal level. A business person is also able to produce great results in the social networks because there can be availability of offers just in case a person is interested in the products of a certain business. Additionally, any business person can get connected with people who have the same type of business as his or hers. This helps them to increase the markets that they have (Everyday Wisdom, 2010).
Disadvantages of Social networking
One of the most common setbacks in the social communication networks is that it has been a source of addiction. A study conducted in some colleges in the U.S. revealed that over ten percent of the students spend over one hundred minutes per hour in the internet. There are even extremes, where some students spend over four hundred minutes in an hours time. This kind of addiction is a disadvantage because it has led to the rise of withdrawal symptoms like public anxiety. Additionally, the people who are addicted to these forms of networking usually have fantasies and dreams on what they have been communicating. Since they are so used to typing, the fingers develop a sort of voluntary typing movements (Thurlow, Lengel, Tomic 2005).
Antisocial behavior is another disadvantage of the social networks. It results from addiction, where the participants become so drawn to the cyberspace such that their proper day to day relationships are destroyed. This has resulted to a great level of moral panic. The antisocial behavior has also led to the participants buying more books related to the internet and the research of new vendors. The participants have the tendency of trying out new browsers as they are used to the internet and the social networking sites (Thurlow, Lengel, Tomic 2005).
Cyber violence is a term used to refer to all the negative behaviors in the social networks meant to attack someone in some way. One of the types of behavior is the cyber stalking, which involves tracking the actions of some targeted people online without the consent of those people. There is also online harassment, where the people use the social sites to communicate to others against their will. Also, it is referred to as a situation where some participants make threats to others, which is against the law (Thurlow, Lengel, Tomic 2005).
The marginalized groups are disadvantaged as they are portrayed in very degrading manner. These include the women and the minority groups in the world. Severally, the women have been presented in photographs which embarrass them on the basis of their sex. The gangs in the U.S. have also used the Twitter so as to attack their rival gangs, those of the other races. They have even created private pages, where they plan their acts of violence, and use their secret slang language so as not to be detected by the police (Thurlow, Lengel, Tomic 2005).
The Cosmopolitan approach has supported the use of social networking. This is because it is seen as a means of bringing the people of the world together, so as to form a global village. It holds the view that all the members of a society are equal, and therefore they should be given equal chance even in communication. This approach is very different from other approaches like the Marxism theory which focuses more on classes, and is therefore ethnocentric. Man is a social being, therefore should get all the rights to communicate, as shown by the cosmopolitan theory. The social networks are very effective as far as transnational communication is concerned. They are very important as the subscribers get more knowledge on what is happening in the society. It is also a source which supports multiculturalism, which helps the people of all cultures to get rid of ethnocentrism, therefore accepts the beliefs and practices of the other cultures in the world. All the same, the benefits of the social media are more than the disadvantages. The disadvantages can be avoided by the participators in communication, as they are based on the ethics. The governments of the world countries should embrace the social networks fully, and recognize them as official means of communication.
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