Impact of social media and social networks on human behaviour

The good side as well as the bad side of social media is not less. Face-to-face interaction is essential for personality development, learning social skills and communication skills, but it has been removed from the lives of people, especially the younger generation, leading them to antisocial or irrational behaviour.

Md. Moinuddin Chowdhury

The impact of social media and social networks on human behaviour and society is considered as an essential reality. While the terms social media and social networks may seem interchangeable, in reality the two topics are not the same, that is, there are some differences between the two. Basically, social media is a platform for disseminating information. On the other hand, social networking is a platform to communicate with each other. There is a similarity between these two platforms, and that is, both focus on online activities.
Various social media activities include photo sharing, blogging, social gaming, social networks, video sharing, business networks, virtual worlds, reviews and more. The biggest social media platforms are Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok. On the other hand, common examples of social networking sites or platforms include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. We can describe social media as an Internet-based way of publishing or broadcasting digital content, where readers can fully interact. It is a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through the creation of virtual networks or communities.
Basically, social media is the use of web-based technology as an interactive medium, with a wide audience. Social networking, on the other hand, aims to create a network, creating both business and personal and maintaining an interactive environment. The goal of social media is to create conversations and buzz but the goal of social networking is to nurture relationships by creating a network. The message is delivered to the user through social media. On the other hand, relationships are built on the involvement of two-way communication in social networking.
Social networks benefit not only for themselves, but also for the community. In fact, they are sometimes referred to as “social capital” because they pay so much. Social capital is the value that comes from social networks or groups of people that allow people to do things they can’t do on their own. The social capital of our society is linked to our well-being. Social networks are an important part of a healthy community and personal well-being and it is essential that those networks are available to everyone in the community.
Just as social media has changed people’s ability to think, it is also controlling people’s behaviour and social behaviour. Social media has created a new style of communication that is having a huge impact on people’s daily lives. As the daily use of social media by people increases exponentially, it is gradually having a huge impact on their behaviour. But in this case both good and bad effects exist side by side. Being able to share people’s opinions on social media increases their creativity and confidence.
Social media games can create social connections, improve a person’s self-efficacy, increase their knowledge, flexibility and self-control. Through social media, students can learn about how to succeed in real life and how to deal with failure. Not only individuals, family, relatives or friends but also teachers, students, doctors, engineers, businessmen, lawyers, bureaucrats and people from all walks of life are involved in social media (especially Facebook, YouTube) in various ways. As a result of such involvement, the awareness and knowledge of all concerned is increasing on a daily basis, which is helping them to form positive and negative attitudes in various ways. As a result, it affects their decision-making process. Social media connections with family, friends, relatives, government security agencies, etc. make people feel much safer when they go out.
The good side as well as the bad side of social media is not less. Face-to-face interaction is essential for personality development, learning social skills and communication skills, but it has been removed from the lives of people, especially the younger generation, leading them to antisocial or irrational behaviour. Many students are becoming inattentive to reading and writing as they are more addicted to social media. As a result of being overly immersed in it, they are giving up respecting adults or abandoning social values and ethics. As a result, various family, social crimes and problems are appearing.
People of different professions and classes in society get an opportunity to compare each other’s life/conditions through social media and they become dissatisfied thinking about their current situation, which leads to problems of self-esteem and depression. For example, when MPO-registered private teachers think of the mountain of differences between the pay scale and benefits of government teachers and their own pay scale and benefits (even if both communities have the same educational qualifications and teach their students following the same syllabus and books). This makes them dissatisfied and inferior, which lowers their morale and has an adverse effect on their performance. But there is also a positive side to such comparisons on social media. And that is, through such a review, the MPO registered teacher community can be made aware of the public-private inequality and bring the matter to the notice of the appropriate authorities.
Violent games on social media have resulted in violent tendencies and abnormal behavior among children and adolescents. This led to the emergence of a class of suicidal criminals called ‘juvenile gangs’. Social media online is often used as a tool to spread negativity and rumors, which has led to an increase in violence in society. Jealousy in the minds of other people is now seen as a deadly disease in a person’s creative work on social media.
One thing can be said in the latest comment that the need for information and communication technology to improve our people, our nation, especially the young society is undeniable. That is why we have to accept the good aspects of social media and social networks and eliminate the bad aspects. And through this it will be possible to turn the manpower of the country into an ideal and efficient human resource.

The writer is an Assistant Professor, Department of Management, Sankuchail Degree College, Burichang, Cumilla. Email: [email protected]