A lot of things have been said about the social media since its advent. Some people see social media as a platform where;
- People show off their ill-gotten wealth to impress those who may or may not be interested.
- Rumors are spread to the public to create chaos in the society.
- People inspire their followers to emulate their habits & lifestyles.
- Personal data are hacked and shared on the Internet
- Teenagers are significantly affected by the addictive nature of the social media which have adverse effect on their educational performance.
- Some individuals waste precious time that could have been utilized by productive tasks and activities.
- Several fake social media accounts are created and used to impersonate in order to commit fraud.
An African proverb says “should one use the excuse of fear of being killed to avoid going to war?” Despite these unfortunate aforementioned happenings, social media has immensely helped a lot of people to achieve significant goals and objectives. Here are some areas social media have been useful:
Small Business Growth
Many small businesses have been established as a result of the powerful marketing aspect of social media. With over 1.86 billion monthly active users, Facebook is currently the market leader in terms of reach and scope. It’s very common to see lots of advertisement of goods and services online. Hence, small business owners leverage on this platform to reach an overwhelming number of online customers worldwide at little or no cost.
Studies show that 71 percent of small businesses planned to use social media content to attract new customers in 2018 with 38 percent planning to increase spending on social network management.
Online Evangelism
Most religious institutions have leveraged on the increased worldwide usage of smartphones and mobile devices to broadcast the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, a lot of lost souls have been converted, while great insights from the word of God have resulted to massive healings, business breakthrough, self-discovery and development.
Share Lovely Moments with Friends and Family
Social media platforms have helped quite a lot of people to find their old friends and at the same time, make new friends. Social networks do not only enable users to communicate beyond local or social boundaries, but also offer possibilities to share the content (photos, videos, games etc.) with friends.
The use of social media has helped many people share beautiful memories; help solve human rights issues by advocating for the victims; helped to advance the media; create an avenue for businesses to thrive and most of all, has made impact in the lives of people who have found hope and peace from interaction with religious materials that strengthened their faith.
There are innumerable benefits of social media regardless of the negative outcomes which tend to subdue its relevance. Hence, in my opinion, social media is beneficial to us in this contemporary society and not against us. I encourage you to embrace it and use it for doing good and to impact your community.
Written by Richard Agu
