7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networking Sites | Merits & Demerits of Social Networking Sites

Since the start of 21st century, social networking sites have become the major form of communication among people. It completely changed the perspective of communicating with one another. 

Apart from the use of communicating and sharing information, social networking sites have been important for business purposes. It has grown to an extent that it has become an integral part of many professionals and common people. 

Even governments use social media sites for their official work. 

Based on the types of purposes, there are different social networking sites. Some of the popular examples for social networking sites are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest and Twitter. Facebook, the well known social media site has got over 2.7 billion users as of 2020. 

It is no doubt that social networking sites offer positives for an average person, but on the other side it is also filled with some negatives. Although each of the social networking site differ in their own perspective, they have got some common pros and cons. By understanding the advantages and disadvantages, people will know how to acquire the best out of this tool.

In this article, I will be listing out the 7 Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Networking Sites | Merits & Demerits of Social Networking Sites. Through this post, you will know the pros and cons of using social media.

Let's get started,

Advantages of Social Networking Sites

1. Connectivity

Social networking sites allow users to connect to people all around the world,, regardless of the country they are present in. Instantly you can stay in touch with your relatives, friends and officemates building strong relationships. 

As far as you are having an internet connection and a user profile, you can get connected to people even you do not know. For some people, without social networking sites, there are no possible way of connecting with their old mates.

2. Information

Gone are the days, when we have to sit in front of a television or read a newspaper for getting updates about news all around the globe. Similar to a breaking news on a TV, you can instantly get updates about the latest news. Even most news organizations today use social networking sites besides television and radio for sharing information. Especially, the usage of twitter is becoming popular for mainstream news sharing. 

In case of an emergency such as a natural disaster or a terrorist attack, people can be alerted quickly. However, not all the news shared on social media tends to be true. The truthfulness of the news depends on the research you do.

3. Communication

In order for communicating using a social media platform, you just need to have a smartphone or a PC. Without using landline or a traditional mail, you can instantly communicate with people. 

The user can also create a group that helps them to get connected with multiple people. Additionally, you can comment on a post to express opinions and feedback. With just a notification they will be reacting to your comment.

4. Brand Marketing

Business owners can market their brand using social media so that they could reach out their customers easily. In fact there are many small businesses today which entirely relies on social media to promote their brand. Without them they simply cannot operate. 

For this they can use various techniques such as direct marketing and advertising. As a result, this can lead the business to more profit and less cost since the only expense involved here is for adverting and promotion. 

5. Stress Relief

Social networking sites work as a stress buster by acting as a source of entertainment. For an average person, it can be more fun and satisfying to use a social media while taking a break from their regular works. It is one of the greatest forms of relaxations. Social networking sites allows a user to like, comment, upload and share photos & videos all that can make a user happy.

6. Job Offers

Some people also use social media to look for job opportunities. All the social  networking sites promotes job offers. Particularly, LinkedIn in the best suited for this purpose. LinkedIn is known exclusive for their job offers and most professionals tends to have a LinkedIn profile.

7. Free Of Charge

Joining in any social networking platform is entirely a free process. None of them contains any form of investments. As long as you are having an Email ID and an internet connection, you can open up a social media account for free.

Disadvantages of Social Networking Sites

1. Addiction

Many people who use social people gets addicted to it being distracted from the real world. Especially, teenagers and kids often get affected. They no longer can imagine a life without social media. Those people always check their newsfeed and profile of others wasting a lot of time. Sometimes these addictions can lead to tragic consequences. 

2. Health Risks

Excessive use of social networking sites can promote, loneliness, depression, anxiety and other mental health risks. Particularly, adults often get affected making a change in their personal behavior. And also, the artificial lights emitted by the monitor and mobile phone screen is considered to be harmful for the eyes and it is known to cause changes in the human sleep cycle. 

Besides mental health, prolonged use of social media also indirectly affects our physical health. People who use social media always sit in front of a laptop or hold a mobile phone, skipping to do some physical activities.

3. Face to Face Interactions

Many of the social media users often lose their desire to communicate with other people face to face. Rather it is easy for them to just open a profile and express their opinions. Gone are the days, we visited our friends directly when we want to meet them. This could negatively impact the relationships we are having with our friends and family.

4. Fake News

It is generally easy to spread misleading and false information using social media. Some information that goes viral on social media is from unreliable sources created purely with the intention of ruining someone's reputation and to cause a loss. 

Since users are free to express their views, even those social media sites will not take any action to remove them, unless the reader reports the post. Even some users react and share such posts, without verifying the truthfulness in it. 

5. Cybercrimes

Some social networking sites can also be used as a platform for cybercrimes such as harassments, bullying, blackmailing, threatening and stalking. So it is no wonder that usage of those sites can lead to anxiety, depression or even suicide. 

Most often children can easily be the victim of these cybercrimes. Since it is generally easy for anyone to create a fake profile, these children can be easily targeted by the bullies. Moreover, it is easy for them to remain anonymous not exposing their identity.

6. Hacking

Social networking sites are often targeted by the hackers to hack and get into someone's computer so that they can get confidential information for identity theft. 

People who use social media profile always share their photos, lifestyles and personal information to the public. These information are sufficient for a hacker to hack your profile. Therefore, users have to be careful and aware and careful about their accounts for avoiding such incidents.

7. Privacy Concerns

Since most social networking sites allow information of user to be shared among public, the level of privacy that it offers is diminishing slowly. The users never knew who visits their profile and acquires information about them. Even though social networking sites cannot guarantee to safeguard your privacy 100%, they are trying their level best to keep it safe.