Social Networks on Society Social Networks Are Thesis

Social Networks on Society

Social networks are changing the fabric of society by changing the patterns, depth and intensity of communication and collaboration happening globally today. The torrent of information, ideas, opinions and thoughts that social networks have unleashed will continually re-order the global economic, socio-political and technological dimensions of society. At the center of the effects of social networks on society is the voice it has given the common man to say exactly what they think, anytime, anywhere, accentuated with any form of content they can produce or use. The voice of the common man now resonates across social networks, and thanks to the revolutionary advances in Web 2.0 technologies, there are fewer constraints and than ever to having ones' voice heard in current and future social network software and development platforms (York, Schoon, 2011). Web 2.0 technologies are today the foundation of social network development and have acted as a very potent force in setting an egalitarian framework for their use. Figure 1, The Web 2.0 Meme Map, which has become the framework and foundation of social networks, has galvanized their focus on making the Internet a platform and operating system where users have control of their own data.

Figure 1: The Web 2.0 Meme Map (O'Reilly, 2006)

Analyzing the Effects of Social Networks on Society

Early adopters of any innovation have a tendency to immediately embrace tis many virtues while discounting its limitations. The same is happening right now with social networks, with the zealots and evangelists (some paid by companies but millions not) proclaiming their virtues. The tendency of early adopters to discount these limitations is precisely what makes the great mass of any given market for an innovation skeptical and slow to adopt it. With this dynamic in mind, the advantages and disadvantages of social networks and their corresponding impacts on society are analyzed.

Beginning with the advantages, social networks have shown to enable faster and more thorough levels of communication and collaboration with students across many ages and grades, with pronounced performance increases in high school students especially (Ahn, 2011).These increases in learning can be attributed to a foundation being laid of enabling open sharing of information and ideas, while also supporting a highly interactive communication and collaboration style of learning. Social networks used in the context of learning, and one could argue the accumulated experiences of learning to navigate Facebook and make judgments on which content to share, have a direct effect on learning styles over time (Kang, Kim, Gloor, Bock, 2011). What's behind this claim, which critics of social networks regularly scoff at in their published research, is that Facebook and comparable social network platforms can enable long-term learning when used as a teaching and pedagogical platform. The ability to control the entire learning experience, as is the case with the navigational aspects of social networks and their adherence to Web 2.0 design tenants and objectives has made social networks exceptionally valuable as learning platforms by enabling autonomy, mastery and purpose in learning curriculums (Albright, Burgess, Davis, 2011). Critics may assail Facebook, Twitter and the many other social networks growing exceptionally fast today, yet if they would look behind the veneer and the many thousands of hours people use these systems, they can find the potential of a very potent learning platform (Kang, Kim, Gloor, Bock, 2011). Autonomy, mastery and purpose are the foundational elements of long-term learning and a very powerful when enabled in a framework that gives the learner control of their environment and pace of review on key concepts (Albright, Burgess, Davis, 2011). Social networks have the potential to completely revolutionize learning and communication, and are today in the hands of forward-thinking educational institutions. In addition to all of these benefits, social networks have been shown to drastically increase knowledge sharing within and between departments and with suppliers when specifically designed for this purpose (Dyer, Nobeoka, 2000). This learning effect is also the very powerful catalyst that as made social networks especially adept at enabling advertising models that….....