In the contemporary world, people generally consume plenty of time dealing with media, primarily television, newspaper and radio, which spread and disseminate information with an incredible speed. A typical example could be the average hours (3-4hours per day) of citizens in Europe and the USA spend on watching TV. Also, social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter contribute a lot in developing domestic and global conversations.
Social media
People certainly still meet others at different social venues such as parties or clubs, but it is easier to identify someone who share similar interests or have mutual friends on social platforms, whether that means via group on Facebook or following people on Instagram.
It is true that there is only so much conversations that could happen on certain social network, but through events like Tweetups (an organized, in-person gathering of people on Twitter) and other offline activities, people are actually expanding these online interactions into face-to-face meetings. Usually, introductions are initially made through social media platforms and gradually using phone calls or in-person meetings in developing the relationship.
Studies have shown that social networking usage is estimated to remain on an increasing trend, as our time on social networks has almost tripled in the last year. And with Facebook primarily centered around connecting and staying in touch with friends and family, researches also reveal that a growing number of internet users are using different social networks for different purposes, such as Facebook for contacting family members and Instagram for sharing pictures and feelings.
In short, social media is used to find and maintain both old and potentially new friendships.
The influence
Of course, social media is growing exponentially and gradually playing an imperative role in our daily lives. While the influence impacts all areas of people’s lives including mainly personal, political and social aspects.
Personal influence
Even through social media do allow people to purse interpersonal relationships with distant friends and family, it could have a downside as feeds often resemble an endless stream of stress in some way. A research published in Computers and Human Behavior found that users who engaged in social media platforms (more than 3 social networks) are three times more likely to have strong anxiety symptoms than 0-2 platform users. For example, when you compare yourself to others online by stalking their aesthetically splendid Instagram photo shootings or staying up to date with their relationship status on Facebook, it is often nothing but self-doubt and frustration left.
Political influence
The political influence of social media has increased tremendously in recent years, in electoral polities for example. The first one would be the unsuccessful candidacy of Howard Dean in 2003, followed by the election of the first African-American president in 2008. While according to New York Times, the election of Donald J. Trump in 2016 would probably the starkest illustration that social networks helps to fundamentally rewire the society. More important, as these services provide opportunities for people to communicate more convenient and freely, they contribute to build surprisingly influential organizations among once-marginalized groups.
Social influence
Clicking a “Like” button or “re-tweet” seems to be quite prevalent of current social media platforms, and neologisms such as “slacktivism” appears more frequently in the social media platforms. It is a term combines “slacker” and “activism”, which refers to virtually no effort in participating in support an issue or social cause. Some argue that social sharing has encouraged the behavior of using digital devices to merely express their concern on social issues without engagement or commitment. Issues often associated with signing online petitions or joining cause-related social networking groups. It is particularly common in social media, where statuses, images and information are posted and shared, allegedly to promote awareness within the slacktivist’s network.
Media Era 