University of Suffolk - LSC CFPBUS006: Social Media Report Analysis

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of social media's multifaceted impact in the digital age. It begins with an executive summary and table of contents, followed by an introduction that sets the scope of the report, which includes a literature review that provides a solid foundation for the analysis. The report then delves into the positive and negative impacts of social media, examining its role in communication, information sharing, and networking, while also addressing issues such as cyberbullying and privacy concerns. The report then examines the crucial aspects of online privacy and security issues, emphasizing the distinction between these two, and how privacy breaches occur. It also compares and contrasts Facebook and Instagram, highlighting their similarities and differences in features, user demographics, and functionalities. The report concludes by exploring the use of social media as a business strategy, emphasizing its role in digital marketing and promotion. The report examines the advantages of social media platforms for businesses, concluding that social media is an important tool for modern businesses to thrive in a dynamic business environment.

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Executive Summary
This report explores the positive and negative impact of social media at present world. In
addition, it also includes privacy and security issue related to online social media
communication. It also includes comparison and contrast of social media and their relative
platforms which has rapidly spread on the global platform. This report also focuses on use of
social media as an effective tool in the hands of present generation.

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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Literature review.........................................................................................................................................3
Positive and negative impact of social media..............................................................................................3
Privacy and security issue online.................................................................................................................4
Compare and contrast of social media.........................................................................................................5
Social media as business strategy................................................................................................................6
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
This report is focused on comparison and contrast of positive and negative aspects of social
media. In addition, this report is also focused on challenges and measures associated with
security concerns of social media platforms online. This report also includes an overview of
research conducted by various scholars on the positive and negative impact of social media. It
also includes features and comparisons of Instagram and Facebook as a mode of communication.
Literature review
According to Hanna, Rohm and Crittenden, 2011, social media platform has both sides positive
and negative. At present, social media has emerged as one of the most used platforms for public
on the global level in order to share opinion as well as issues. At present impact of social media
has increased on youngster. On positive side, this platform offers proper assistant to young
professionals by offering them various important information on a single platform. But on the
negative side, this platform is being used as a place for buying people through online mode. It is
also being used as a tool to spread heat mongering on the global platform.
According to Bruhn, Schoenmueller and Schäfer, 2012, Youth are such percent of the population
that are more exposed to social media platforms. Social media is actually a tool in the hands of
people which they can use either positively or negatively. Youth are considered as developer of
the nation. In present world, they are growing very faster as compared to the old time. Youths are
well capable of using technology effectively in the form of smartphones, digital cameras and so
on. According to this author, social media is an important online platform that is used to create a
social network on the global level. It has a significant impact on the youth population and has
become part of their daily life. Youth population is using this platform for education as well as
opinion sharing purpose.
Positive and negative impact of social media
At present, innovation in technology has built up pressure on people to adopt new lifestyles.
Social media acts as online assist platform for young people in order to make them more
representable in front of society. It is also considered as web-based communication platform
which is being used on the global platform (Anderson and Jiang, 2018). It is basically an
innovative idea that offers an opportunity to youth to share their experience with various people
on the global platform. It has made people independent of their decision by not replying to TV
and newspapers in order to get information. Some of the most famous social media platforms are
Facebook, twitter, YouTube, Instagram and so on (Davenport, Bergman, Bergman and
Fearrington, 2014).
Social media is an online platform that has both positive as well as negative sides. Social media
sites help people to communication effective with each other along with in touch with people

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which they have met. Social media platform actually offers people an opportunity to find out
people with same interest and develop a healthy relationship through online networking.
Communication is not limited between two people (Hutter, Hautz, Dennhardt and Füller, 2013).
Even group chat features are also available on this platform. It is also used as source of tools to
create an expression in the form of blogging, message, post and even stories. This platform is
also known for discussion purpose which helps person to improve their lifestyle by eliminating
risk associated with health. It is also used as one of the most important educational tools on the
global level in order to improve performance and skills of learners (Tiryakioglu and Erzurum,
2011). This platform also serves as help in improving technical skill of learners by offering them
exposure to various new concepts. It allows viewer to learn new cultures and languages all over
the world. It has become most famous platform of interaction between students and professors.
At the same time, social media is also having negative impacts on the young population. One of
the main issues with this platform is that it has reduced face to face interaction between people
and has resulted in an unhealthy relationship. At present teens are sharing that information which
can impact their future while searching for job. It creates an impression that is difficult to alter on
the social platform (Dolan, Conduit, Fahy and Goodman, 2016). Social media is being used as a
platform for bullying people in public which impacts dignity of that person. Social media
platforms create addiction among youths and isolate them from society. This can lead to issue
like depression by reducing their social skills. In addition, social media platform networking is
often attacked by hackers in order to leak important information and blocking sites by sending
viruses (Obar and Wildman, 2015). In some cases, cyber criminals can extract personal
information about people. Social media also act as a risk for children by connecting them with
unwanted information. It has also increased risk related to driving because people have been
found texting messages.
Privacy and security issue online
Sites which are more popular often facing privacy and security issue. Privacy and security are
two different issues and must not mix. Security issue occurs mainly when hacker gains control
over the site by breaking protection code in the form of written computer language, While
privacy issue is linked with unwanted access of information which is personal without breaking
security breaches. Confidential information can be leaked by just looking at a password while
typing (Gao, Hu, Huang, Wang and Chen, 2011). But both these issues are very commonly related
to social media networks. In most cases, person who has broken security code often visits private
or confidential information of the user. Potential anger of users depends on the level of
engagement that person is having with social networking sites along with information shared. In
simple words, person having 800 friends with 50 groups is going to impact more than person
with 50 friends and 5 groups on Facebook. One of the main reason for privacy and security
breach results in the form of astronomical information which is being processed each and every
day. This makes hackers easily exploit these sites by taking benefit of these flaws in the system

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(Perera et al., 2015). Information which is present in these sites in the form of photos, messages
and sharing information is often at more risk because they are easy to access especially in
Facebook. Often news makes headline of finding out bugs in social media sites like Facebook
and Instagram have become very common because they are exposed to third-party applications
interface. Scholars such as felt this third party interface which is used to run this site is offering
access to these hackers in terms of images, message and their related areas. Usually privacy is
built-in systematic pattern which unintentionally offers flaw in the system of the site (Liang,
Zhang, Shen and Lin, 2014). Therefore, it has become very important for these organizations to
focus their interest area in resolving mistakes that occur during design formation as well as in
implementation phase. In addition, there must be someone who can take responsibility for these
issues and therefore a regulated API must be formed in order to break applications that help in
operating Facebook or Instagram sites. Involvement of third part in developing these social
media sites often sees it as a marketing opportunity in order to leak information to other
organizations.
Privacy and security issues related to these social media sites can be only resolved if user makes
use of an effective approach while sharing information on these sites. Social media platforms
involved a huge amount of data and therefore it is difficult to monitor each and every step in
order to provide security to these sites (Khan, Swar and Lee, 2014). Rising of these privacy issues
have forced developers to offer privacy features in these sites in order to provide at least primary
protection to the users so that no one can access their confidential information. One of the recent
cases of data breaching on Facebook has shaken the market because such a giant company was
not able to provide guarantee related to privacy. After exposing this issue, these social media
sites have changed their API in order to resolve this kind of issue.
Compare and contrast of social media
Facebook and Instagram social media platform have both had some comparison and contract
related to their use. Facebook and Instagram both offer same features such as message, creativity
and advertisement facilities. Facebook and Instagram offer users to interact with each other
through short messages. In addition, these platforms also offer users to use their creativity and
then post on both platforms in the form of post. These platforms also offer advertising facilities
for user to market their product or creative on the global platform (Freberg, Graham, McGaughey
and Freberg, 2011). Both platforms act as media influencers in order to create an opinion leader.
One of the best examples is a fashion blogger who upload an image of their latest product in
order to influence viewers towards their product. Both platforms are using media metric in the
form of view, like, share and comments. These media metric act as measurement tool in order to
launch any product in the market. In addition, both platforms have hashtag feature which makes
them create a headline by offering them unique appearance on the page.
But at the same time these platforms also contract from each other. Facebook is actually a multi-
function platform that is not only used for posting images or videos. Facebook platform is mostly

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common in people of age 16- 53 and numbers of males are more as compared to females.
Facebook offers facility of uploading long videos which have become one of the reasons for
decreasing popularity of this platform among youths.
Instagram is mainly used by the youth population because Instagram focuses on images and short
videos which are mostly preferred by youths (Vogel, Rose, Roberts and Eckles, 2014). This
platform is mostly used by age group of 18- 29 years. This platform also offers different style for
picture editing which makes it popular among youths. Picture style helps youth to create self-
branding in the eyes of viewers. It also offers features of sharing daily conversation which makes
it unique.
Social media as business strategy
Digital marketing has emerged as one of the most effective tools for promotion by the business
organization. Both Facebook and Instagram platforms are used as promotional platforms to share
their products in the market on the global platform. These platforms offer various types of
benefits such as promotional price, large audience and fast mode of communication. These
platforms are acting as one of the important business strategies which are used by organizations
to remain sustainable in this dynamic business environment (Erdoğmuş and Cicek, 2012). It offers
organizations better option for making optimum use of available resources by eliminating
overhead charges. At present top brands of the world it may be automobile, fashion or hospitality
are promotion their service and products on these platform in order to cover a large audience.
These companies have created their own account on which they are regularly positing picture,
promotional videos and events in order to attract more customers.
Social media platforms such as Facebook, twitter, and Instagram are being used as an effective
mode of communication. Various celebrities and non-celebrities are able to interact with each
other which were otherwise impossible in this busy world (Veil, Buehner and Palenchar, 2011). It
has actually offered two-way communications by which people can share information, opinion
and comments in the form of post. At present Twitter platform is being used by various political
leaders to convey their message on the global platform.
Conclusion
Social media has become one of the most important communication tools for people. It offers
facility of connecting friends across the world. It also offers to share opinions and ideas with
other people on the global platform. This platform is being used by both commercials as well as
educational purposes. Social media platform has some positive and negative side which cannot
be overlooked. Positive sides are more as compared to negative sides. It basically provides a
voice to the unlisted group of people and offers them chance to share their experience with
world. It has reduced the expenditure of organizations related to promotion strategies. It also
offers technology improve learning for the users in order to improve their lifestyle.

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References
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