Social Media as a Disruptive Technology

This is a paper I wrote for my Digital Technology and Disruptive Change class. In this paper, I chose to write about social media as a disruptive technology.

Social Media as a Disruptive Technology

Information technology plays a crucial role in influencing how individuals interact and share information and ideas. The creation of online communication technologies is among the significant innovations that changed how people share information worldwide. Social media platforms have experienced continuity and unexpected changes that enhance interactions among people. For instance, introducing social media is a significant step in promoting communication. Various studies stipulate that the use of social media has interrupted the social order, thus deeming it a disruptive technology. Social media refers to multiple applications and websites that enable individuals to create and share information with others and engage in social networking (IRMA, 2018). Also, social media is an online platform that allows people to share information with others through videos, audio, and text messages. Social media has experienced innovation, continuity, and disruption from traditional media due to its high potential to influence people in a never expected way.

The role played by social media in influencing the United States presidential results in the 2016 elections indicates how it acted as a disruptive technology. The widespread use of social media, particularly Twitter, influenced voters to elect Donald trump against many’s expectations despite having no government experience and multiple protests in his campaigns. Trump was able to interact with voters on a personal level through Twitter (Johnson, 2018). He also distributed his campaign content to voters, which promoted the development of close relationships with citizens. As a result, American citizens interacted with him on Twitter and changed their attitudes toward him, thus supporting him. Donald Trump’s unimaginable win in the presidential results was due to the extensive application of disruptive technology, especially social media. Also, social media is considered a disruptive technology since it has negatively influenced literature and other modern press. In contemporary society, many people visit social media sites for information and news, unlike in previous periods when they relied on the media and literature.

There is fear that the continued use of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter will kill literature and the mainstream media due to continuity and change and therefore be considered disruptive technology. Social networking can disrupt the social order, although the content shared on social media sites is less monitored to guarantee quality (Emery, 2017). As expressed, social media is a disruptive technology despite its massive contribution to promoting information exchange. Individuals rely on social media for news and information, which might eliminate the mainstream media and literature. The content shared on social media should be governed to prevent false information use.

How Social Media Disrupted the Traditional Media

Social media has disrupted the traditional media in the way individuals absorb and communicate information. It has enabled access to news in real-time scenarios, identifying trends, and making predictions that previously cost a lot of money to conduct. Digital communication and relationships would allow people to acquire information and news from various social media platforms soon as they emerge. The high demand for an audience to know what is happening worldwide motivates the news outlets to update on social media. However, the official sources do not always get the information first. Social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook allow people to interact and control the news, creating a tuned-in audience at a particular time in various scenarios such as natural disasters faster than the time incurred by traditional media to publish the story. An audience can create its news feed by following specific Twitter handles or Facebook accounts (CARR, 2012). The specified access to certain instant news makes it hard for news outlets to reach a bigger audience. For instance, I skim my Twitter feed daily to click on headlines that draw my attention. The headline draws individuals’ attention to click on specific stories, which minimizes the ability of other brands to capture their audience. On the other side, Facebook and Instagram deliver information based on customers’ interests, making it hard for brands and news outlets to reach their audiences.

Social media allows people to present their opinions and make them feel like they have a voice. Multiple social media platforms such as Facebook and Snapchat have created a public forum for individuals with ideas. Although this has formed an irresistible social atmosphere, it has also resulted in authentic voices and influencers. Social media has also proved to be an effective tool for marketers to research and analyze conversations and tendencies. PR personnel can use social media tools, competitors’ reports, and public statements during a campaign. Social media is a more straightforward method for boosting article reach than traditional media. A single tweet or post can reach a considerable population depending on the following, and people will share the post, thus increasing the coverage. Nowadays, news outlets publish a story and post it on their Twitter accounts for their social followers.

How Social Media Disrupted Communication

The introduction of social media has affected individuals’ modes of communication in media production, consumption, industries, and institutions. The concept of communication had multiple challenges, but the rise of social media brought the world together. It has not only created new communication ways but also shaped the previous ways. The increased speed in communication facilitated by social media has formed an urgent nature and the necessity to share information with others. New norms have replaced the traditional means of communication. New means of communication increase the speed of communication between people since messages are delivered within a few seconds (TEM, 2020). Also, it has promoted power, inequality, and disruption of the status quo since it enables people to connect and arrange their operations as a group. Individuals with similar interests join to create groups for a purpose. Also, various social media applications such as Whatsapp and Instagram provide individuals with a platform to display their talents. Talented people with talent from rural regions are now getting attention, and many are gaining popularity due to social media platforms. The platforms are also facilitating the invention of new methods of doing things.

Additionally, social media networks are turning company communication from a social perspective. Companies use social media to conduct various activities such as hiring and training workers, building brand awareness, and running promotions. Many organizational leaders are investing in social media to provide digital information to create awareness about their companies, promote corporate growth, and promote future impacts. The social style is changing business operations, thus altering the way companies communicate with their customers. Social media has also changed how individuals relate to friends and family. Approximately 75% of people affirm that they like spending time with their families (Newman, 2014). Similarly, 60% of people deduce that their interaction with family happens through social media since social media platforms are accessible and provide immediate communication between people (Newman, 2014). Digital work and organizations facilitate communication between loved ones and also build new relationships. Social media is changing personal and business means of communication. While people still look for high-touch relationships formed by attending seminars or meeting with loved ones on holidays, society has made peace with many relationships online.

Why Social Media Might not be disrupted in Future

In my opinion, social media will not be disrupted anything in the future. Social media has disrupted the status quo by transforming the world into a global village unimaginably, and I do not think of any aspect capable of connecting the world in a better way than social media. Instead, social media will experience continuous growth due to the high number of people joining the platform daily. Over the past decade, we have witnessed trends moving from public forums to multiple chatting platforms where identities were mainly private. People have started revealing themselves online to family and friends across the globe. Social media has improved digital tech and social connectedness through the internet and portable devices. Social media will always be with people and will become more integrated with everything done online. The platform will improve one-on-one communication between users to increase opportunities. Encouraging interaction between people in social media creates a cohesive nature and promotes communication.

Lastly, social media is a real force in the modern community. Approximately half of the global population uses social media platforms, and individuals spend at least two hours scrolling through the outlets regularly (Freitag, 2019). As a result, the popularity of social media platforms is expected to increase. Also, social media platforms are regularly changing to incorporate better advertising features to promote global trade operations. Social networking sites have helped companies in multiple ways, with the traditional marketing channels such as TV commercials and televisions reducing their popularity. The platforms facilitate digital socialization through connection with their customers at a lower cost, thus increasing profits. Social media has also eliminated all communication barriers, allowing people to express their opinions on multiple topics. The concept of promoting democracy promotes social media growth and hinders its disruption.

References

CARR, D. (2012, March 27). Hashtag activism and its limits. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/web/hashtag-activism-and-its-limits/

Emery, E. (2017). Disruptive Technology. French Politics, Culture & Society, 35(1). https://doi.org/10.3167/fpcs.2017.350107

Freitag, C. (2019, August 4). Social Media’s Impact on Society. Ad Council Org. https://www.adcouncil.org/all-articles/social-medias-impact-on-society

IRMA. (2018). Student engagement and participation: concepts, methodologies, tools, and applications. Information Science Reference.

Johnson, S. J. (2018). Donald Trump, Disruptive Technologies, and Twitter’s Role in the 2016 American Presidential Election. Widener Commonwealth Law Review, 27, 39. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/wjpl27&div=7&id=&page=

Newman, D. (2014, May 27). How Social Media Is Disrupting Communication. Future of Work. https://fowmedia.com/social-media-disrupting-communication/

TEM. (2020, January 20). How does social media Effects communication? The Education Magazine. https://www.theeducationmagazine.com/word-art/social-media-affects-communication/