Research Social Networking and Social Media Popularity

Social Networking
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Social media popularity has grown rapidly in the recent past, and the social media platforms are some of the most commonly visited sites on the internet, where users make connections with others on a list (Laudon & Traver, 2014). The use of the internet has made it easier for people to connect through virtual platforms, where there are websites allowing parents to discuss and communicate. The social networks may be interest-based, focusing on affinity or general community. The most popular sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, are general community social networks (Schneider, 2015). The message boards allow social network users to leave messages that can be viewed by the public, specific group or targeted at individuals.
Even as social networking has become popular in different age groups, there are concerns about the privacy and safety of users. There is a risk that people may exhibit inappropriate behaviors when they remain anonymous and use false identities. The virtual world allows the same person to create differ profiles, and they may share inappropriate information and details with other users and friends. This highlights the case for improving the privacy features of social networking sites, where the users share information to a selected group of people. One of the challenges of maintaining user privacy is that, those who access the social media content are then expected not to share information in the public arena. Social media users often downplay the privacy risk of writing and publishing content in the social media outlets, where a wider audience can view comments and discussions that would rather remain private.
Organizations are well placed to take advantage of social networking to improve their reputation. The growth in e-commerce sites highlights that more people are shopping online and relying on internet-based information to make purchasing decisions. Social networking provides an opportunity for the companies to engage actively with potential customers, since there are platforms to post ideas and comments (Zhao et al., 2013). Motivating the internet users to engage actively through social media, is necessary if the e-commerce administrators are to reach out to more customers who first seek information online to compare prices and the quality of goods or services. Social networking empowers consumers as they are more actively engaged in economic activities, highlighting that social networking can be a valuable strategic tool for organizations (Zhao et al., 2013).
The use of social networking sites in the workplace is associated with the popularity of social media, as more people now use the social media sites. Users of social ...