PROS AND CONS OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA

Hello there everyone,

In the last month or two, a lot has happened and I realised that the social media is the best way to carry any form of information (good or bad). Since the onset of ebola 2014 and it's arrival in Nigeria, a lot of information have circulated on the internet, some good, others not so much.Take for example, the issue of drinking and bathing with salt and water mixture as a cure for ebola. An issue that hit mainstream and spread across the country like a wild fire taking some lives with it, and hospitalizing others.

After that incident, two people came out to claim responsibility. One, a young lady from Lagos; another, a traditional ruler in Jos.  It turns out that maybe the lady lied to get a little fame, as most of the casualties following this information were recorded in Jos.  When the news of drinking salt and water as a cure for the Ebola disease broke, my first thought was of the side effects. I remembered the hypertensive patients, worse among them, being the undiagnosed ones or those with poor control. One day later, my fears are confirmed, two hypertensives die, many others hospitalized, some with ulcers - gastric corrosion. (This is what Nigerians called "double wahala for dead body") because this is a case of running from death and reaching it even before the people it is about to claim. I say this because, even though lives have been claimed following the outbreak, precautionary measures would have prolonged their lives. Following this incident I decided it would be a good idea to share my views on the pros and cons of using the social media.

The social media can be a powerful weapon. It has its good and bad effects as we are about to find out here;

PROS:

• The social media has become a great tool for connecting with people, ( long time friends and family members). Take facebook for example. All you have to do is search for their names, place of work, confirm with their photos and add them. For blackberry users, you just have to have a pin or phone number. Others include Skype, this enables you to video call for free.
• It is cheap. It reduces the amount of money spent on some unnecessary calls and sms in a month. For example, just yesterday, I was chatting with a friend who was in a different city but watching same show as myself. What we were basically doing was discussing the characters in the show. When I had to leave for a few minutes, she kept me updated. That is not the kind of discussion you want to me having on lengthy phone calls.
• Creates awareness people can now record videos of injustice as it is been committed and upload on youtube. Some criminals have been brought to book by identification via social media.
• Helps to promote businesses. It is the reason I brought my business into blogging. It gives you a larger range of clients.
• It can help create job opportunities, directly or indirectly. Directly, for those who have taken to full time blogging and other forms of generating an income online. Indirectly, through contacts made online. Even now, some interviews are conducted online. (Less travelling, less money spent on job hunt in different locations, less stress)
• Finally, for website owners, it improves traffic, helps you interact more with your clients and get instant feedbacks. The evening, I called the customer care line of my mobile network MTN as usual they were marketing their products while I waited to speak with an officer. Then I heard I could get instant replies using their twitter handle, @MTN180. I tried it with little hope of a reply, but I must say, they were prompt with their response, They followed me immediately and solved my problem.
• It can serve as an avenue to spread information fast, and be educative as long as the correct information is gotten. As an educative blog, I try to stay within the limit of what I know, Have experienced, or have researched.
• You can interact with your bankers without have to enter the bank. In Nigeria before, to open a bank account, one had to go to the bank to find out the requirements, then go back after getting them and then go back another day for account details. Now, almost everything you need is in cyberspace, you go to the bank prepared. less time wasting.

CONS:

• Hacking: Many of us have at one point or another had accounts that have been hacked. There was a time on facebook when people you already had on your friend list start re-adding you. An enquiry always showed that they didn't send another request or open a second account.
• Stalking: Because some people details are made available on some sites, some people might access your information and start stalking you. On bbm in Nigeria, we call them monitoring spirits. It can be much worse. Some may attempt to steal their identity, abduct a person or even kill a person. This actually happened to a girl via facebook. She thought she was meeting business clients and she wound up dead.
• Spreading wrong information and rumors, case in point, the salt and water drinking episode earlier discussed.
• Poor performance of students in schools as they are too busy surfing the internet, (mostly for stuff not relevant to school work).
• Time consuming: You have to have spare time to be constantly on the web. To be able to interact with your clients, especially for feedback or enquiry purposes.
• Conversation killer and poor live interaction. I went to a party once, a friend's birthday and I was expecting a lot of old time gist and catching up, dancing and just having fun, What I met was a bunch of people, men and ladies holding on to their phones and chatting with people that where not there at the time. It was the most boring party!
• It has been known to be a very good way of cunning people. Don't forget the 419ers.

So guys, even though the benefits of the social media may be numerous, we should be careful and watch out for the cons.

Cheers.....