Proponents have long touted social networks' ability to connect distant friends and relatives. People feel a need for social interaction, especially when they feel sad, stressed or troubled. Connecting with friends or family can help soothe negative feelings. But for some people, reaching out in person can feel daunting. In our research, we found that sharing via tweets or Facebook posts - more broadly called "microblogging" - can alleviate these concerns. This method of communication, unique to social media, allows people to reach out to a large audience without having to direct their message to any one person who might be annoyed or busy. As a result, the person posting may have reduced anxiety about initiating social interaction. Accordingly, we found that people who felt apprehensive or anxious about social interaction were actually more likely to post or tweet on social media sites. In one experiment, half of the participants were asked to write about a time they were at a party and felt anxious about interacting with others. The other half were asked to write about a neutral topic.
But microblogging is not the only way social networks let users connect with friends and relatives.
We then gave participants the opportunity to use their favorite social network for a few minutes, and afterward we asked what they did while online. People who had written about their social anxiety were more likely to microblog (tweet or post a status update) than those who had written about a neutral topic. Importantly, our follow-up studies show that while experiencing social apprehension or anxiety increases microblogging, it decreases face-to-face sharing. Indeed, when we asked people about how they preferred to communicate with others, the ones prone to experience social anxiety were more likely to choose microblogging over reaching out face to face. But microblogging is not the only way social networks let users connect with friends and relatives. Users can also send direct messages, which again do not require in-person interaction. Importantly however, unlike microblogs, they are usually directed at an individual, rather than a wider friend group. When we explored people's interest in reaching out via direct message, we learned that experiencing social apprehension does not increase direct messaging and that the effect of social apprehension on sharing was unique to posting status updates or tweeting.
This finding tells us that the undirected nature of microblogs is key for socially anxious people, allowing them a new way to reach out to friends when they might not feel comfortable doing so otherwise. Then we wondered: If some people feel more comfortable posting on social networks than they do directly interacting with friends and family members, might their way of using microblogging be a way to help them feel better? Preliminary evidence from our research suggests that writing to others who might respond - such as posting on online social networks - can help upset people feel better. In a laboratory study, we induced negative emotions by having participants take a brief multiple-choice test, and then by telling them they had not performed very well - regardless of how well they had actually performed. Then we split the participants into four groups and asked each to write something. One group was asked to write about office products so as to serve as a neutral baseline comparison group.
Members of the other three groups were asked to write about their emotions: One group's members were told their writing would be private. One group was told that what they wrote would be shared with someone who would not be able to respond. The last group was told their writing would be shared with someone who could respond. After this writing exercise, we measured each participant's well-being by asking them about how good, happy and relaxed they felt. The results showed that writing to someone who might respond helped people heal their negative feelings: Members of that group reported greater well-being. This healing did not result from writing in general, writing privately about emotions or even telling someone else about their feelings. The potential for someone to respond made people feel better - even if nobody actually did reply. Our research did not identify exactly why the benefit occurred without receiving an actual response, but it could be related to others' findings that anticipating the potential of something occurring can be particularly appealing. This highlights the different ways that social networks can offer people unique and valuable communications options that don't exist offline or in other online environments. This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Top Networking Sites
Digital media and apps allow children to communicate and express their creativity, connect with peers, and share their feelings. However, they can be an avenue through which cyberbullying occurs. There are many types of apps and sites available for free that give users the ability to search for people and share or post information about them anonymously. Parents may not be aware of the apps that their children use regularly or may not be aware of the risks involved in using them. There are many ways that cyberbullying can be hidden in apps and sites, such as texts, videos, and web calls that disappear or do not appear on the device’s call or text message logs. Many apps also make it easy for users to access, view or participate in adult or harmful content. Privacy and location settings may make them more vulnerable to stalking, cyberbullying, exposure to adult content, or other dangers.
Social Media Policy
Askfm: A social networking site that allows users to ask other people questions, often anonymously. Chatroulette: There are over 20 different chat roulette sites that allow users to instantly connect via webcam and video chat. Sites typically pair the users randomly and instantly. Discord: A voice-over-IP (VOIP) app that allows users to video chat with others, private message, and join, create, eselect-guile\n or participate in public and private chat rooms. This app is often used by players to chat with each other while playing videogames. Facebook and Facebook Live: The most commonly used social media site that is accessible on many different media platforms. Instagram: A photo and video sharing and networking site that connects users through other social networking sites (e.g., Facebook). Kik: Messaging app that allows users of all ages to contact others anonymously. Line: A messaging app that allows users to make free phone calls, leave voice messages, and text. Users can delete texts or chats from recipient’s phone using a timer.
Social Network Statistics
Reddit: A site that stores social news, rates and evaluates web content, and discussion threads. Sarahah: An anonymous messaging app that allows users to send anonymous messages to people they may know. Snapchat: A photo messaging app that allows for sharing pictures and short videos that are intended to be erased shortly after delivery. Telegram: Messaging app that allows users to share photos, videos, and files; make calls, and delete texts or chats from recipient’s phone using a timer. Tumblr: A social networking site that allows posting of short blogs and media. Twitter: A microblogging site that allows users to send, read, and reply to “tweets” or short messages. Vine: An app that allows the posting of short 6-second looping videos. WeChat: An app that allows user to chat with friends, and to search for people nearby and around the globe. WhatsApp: A private messaging app that allows users to text, send photos, videos, and location information to their contacts.
YouTube: A video sharing platform that allows users to post and share videos. Social media has many benefits that must be balanced with the risks it presents. Screening for harmful content on websites and apps varies widely. Content posted can be incorrect, harmful, or hurtful (e.g., why are you so dumb?). Can be used to share harmful or adult content. Privacy controls over who can view or access posted material vary across apps, and many users are not aware of how to use them effectively. Apps that allow for real-time user videos “live streaming” can been used to show bullying, violence, suicide, and harmful acts as they are happening. Some apps that include location information can be used to get personal information, such as someone’s age, current location, or where someone lives. Apps that support telephone calls do not show up on a call log, so parents may not know who their children are talking to.
Playing videogames is a popular activity, with 72 percent of teens gaming online. Many video games - whether they are console, web, or computer-based - allow users to play with friends they know in person and others they have met only online. While gaming can have positive benefits like making new friends, socializing, and learning how to strategize and problem solve, it is also another place where cyberbullying occurs. Anonymity of players and the use of avatars allow users to create alter-egos or fictional versions of themselves, which is part of the fun of gaming. But it also allows users to harass, bully, and sometimes gang up on other players, sending or posting negative or hurtful messages and using the game as a tool of harassment. If someone is not performing well, other children may curse or make negative remarks that turn into bullying, or they might exclude the person from playing together. Because players are anonymous, they cannot necessarily be held accountable for their behavior, and their harassment can cause some players to leave games. Some anonymous users use the game as a means to harass strangers or to get their personal information, like user names and passwords. Play the game or observe when the gaming happens to understand how it works and what a child is exposed to in the game. Check in periodically with your child about who is online, playing the game with them. Teach your children about safe online behavior, including not clicking on links from strangers, not sharing personal information, not participating in bullying behavior of other players, and what to do if they observe or experience bullying. Establish rules about how much time a child can spend playing video games.
What Is Meant By Social Media
According to Proofpoint, an Internet security firm, of companies with 1,000 or more employees, 17 percent report having issues with employees’ use of social media. Furthermore, 8 percent of those companies report having actually dismissed someone for their behavior on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn. So, how do you avoid getting fired when using social media? What are the things which will, most probably, get you fired? Example: “I hate my job! I want to tell my bosses how dumb they are and how meaningless this job is, then quit, and be happy! Even worse, he hears about it right before your appraisal! “I’m having dreams about killing one of my colleagues! ” is not a phrase you should share! Even if it was just a “reaction” to a situation you felt strongly about at one point or another, try to keep it in! Someone might actually take it seriously - or even worse, they might just complain about you to management claiming that you are not a team player!
I don’t think any company would allow its employees to abuse drugs, even the mellow type which is smoked! If you are looking to get fired, roll a joint, even a fake one, and place it in your mouth as your profile picture! This might even get you in jail - if that’s what you fancy! Let’s say you heard a rumor about a certain employee in your workplace. Sharing this rumor would hurt other employees and can cause loss of trust throughout the team. This might get you fired, or at least, it will cause you to be left out! Jason Brown worked with the Colleton County Fire-Rescue for the last three years. He was fired in mid-February after posting a controversial video on his personal Facebook page. Brown said some think the video is racist. He said it was just meant to be funny. Always remember: whenever you use social media, someone out there is able to track the time you are wasting there! Whether you are playing Cafe World or simply posting new status updates periodically, you run the risk of getting caught and fired! What do you think about this list? Can you think of something else which could get you fired? And do you think this is fair? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts below.
It's become practically mandatory that brands incorporate social media into their business strategy, causing retailers to compete for popularity in stores and on the Internet, too. Victoria's Secret is the top retailer on Facebook, with nearly 18.5 million fans, followed by Walmart with about 15 million fans. According to Campalyst, 97% of the Top 250 Internet Retailers are on Facebook, and average number of fans there is close to 1 million. On Twitter, Major League Baseball is the leading Internet retailer account with 1.9 followers. Retail channels on YouTube do not show numbers as large as the other social platforms. Pinterest is still relatively new to the social media game, which explains why its numbers are the lowest. It may also suggest that the platform is better for user-generated content, rather than retail. Nordstrom leads on Pinterest with more than 14,000 followers. The infographic also breaks down what retail industries are leading on each platform. For example, apparel/accessories average 100,000 followers on Twitter, while computers and electronics only average about 62,000 — yet computers and electronics is the top industry with subscribers on YouTube. Take a look at the stats below and let us know what you think. Do any of the retail brands or industries surprise you? Is retail suitable for all of these platforms? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Generating regular traffic to a website is probably the biggest challenge faced by a website owner.
The article on Social Media Optimization (SMO) is aimed towards defining the concept and sharing some important tips related to optimizing of social media to get on-going and increased amounts of website traffic. The purpose of a website would get defeated if it fails to attract visitors to it. Generating regular traffic to a website is probably the biggest challenge faced by a website owner. Till a few years back Search Engines were the major source of traffic but times have changed now as Social Media sites have picked up and are now providing an alternate source of traffic generation. Therefore, social media optimization becomes an essential strategy and it becomes all the more important for SMO Experts for generating website traffic to adopt effective social media optimization techniques in their scheme of things. So what is Social Media Optimization (SMO)? Most of the social media optimization strategies revolve around building up a huge network base which is actually not the right strategy to adopt.
A target audience must be clearly outlined before executing social media optimization strategies.
Social media optimization is not a numbers game and the success of such a campaign would not depend on the number of followers we have managed to get on Twitter or the many friends we have accumulated on Facebook. There is no point in racing towards a large number of network rather the strategy should be methodical and concentrate on making real connects. A target audience must be clearly outlined before executing social media optimization strategies. Also a two-way connect is a must for every social media optimization step that we are taking. There should be an active and on-going participation in social media activities of people in your network so as to expect the favor back. The craze regarding social media is undisputed and it is set to grow bigger with every passing day. Therefore, it becomes imperative that wise-strategies are put in place for social media optimization so as to tap on to the immense benefits it can offer. So what are you waiting for? Author's Bio: Gaurav Kumar is internet marketing professional, Presently working with Ebizon NetInfo, one of the leading Web development company offering expert seo` services, US web development services, social media optimization company and e commerce solutions over the globe. Please Register or Login to post new comment. What are Cryptocurrency Exchanges? How Difficult Is It To Become A Professional Archer?
There are a number of case studies that have been done.
Currently in my work, I find myself as the evangelist for the digital frontier. There has been some resistance to the effort, though most seems to be because it is unknown to many within the company. The playing field has changed. Even in organizations that do not deem it necessary to market themselves to the world, there is value to be gained by seeing what is being said about the organization and their industry. This is called social listening and involves not only social media, but analytics. There are a number of case studies that have been done. On the poor end of the scale is British Petroleum. Even though they had a Facebook page, a YouTube channel, Twitter account, and others, they failed to use these to help them handle the Deep Horizon oil spill crisis. They in fact made things worse by purchasing search engine ads without tracking sentiments first. They updated their different channels without any form of engagement, making it a public relations outlet rather than getting feedback and interacting with their customers.
This infuriated people so much that a number of social accounts were created by dissenters and followers of those were over twenty times the followers of official channels. When negative comments were posted on their social sites as well as elsewhere on the World Wide Web, no effort was made to address them. Many of the cases that could be made about companies not doing any social listening or doing it poorly are not well documented. This likely is because very few are actually doing it in the first place. Better examples can be found in success stories, such as with Stride Gum. Pam Moore had gone to their site with the intent of joining their community they were building around the mystery pack of gum they put out. She found it difficult to find links to do so; however, and, in a video post, she informed her community of the kludgy site with the intent of allowing others to learn from the experience.
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Topic title: Online Social Networks Can Help Fight Social Anxiety
Topic covered: common social networks, how social is social media, popular social media platforms, social media analysis, social media as a marketing
