why is social media used and why do we use it in everyday life?

Facebook- Facebook, as a social media site, it used to communicate with family and friends who perhaps don't live near your area or who do and wanting to keep in touch. The 'wall' allows you to post or share photos and comments between the people on your friends lists. The events generally shows you birthdays or upcoming birthdays. Newsfeeds are found on your wall which again allows you to see shared photos or videos and statuses. With messenger you are able to talk to the people on your friends list and arrange meet ups with group chats.

twitter- twitter, in a sense, is similar to Facebook in the fact you can like or in this case 'follow' famous celebrities and keep an up to date track of their daily life's the same also applies to the friends you follow. You are also able to write a status "tweet" to share your thoughts. however, unlike Facebook you only have 170 character word count. with twitter you are also able to like and share photos and their is also a private messaging. a newsfeed is also included which shows, like Facebook, top stories or in this case top tweets.

by looking at both sites we see that they are very similar in comparison and not much different from one another. They are both as popular as each other and are both the most used apps and websites on the internet. However, with them being so similar, your not really missing out on much. For example, if owning both a twitter and a Facebook you are most likely to see similar post or the same posts on each site, especially if you are following and friends with the same people.

what are specialist social media sites and what would they be used for?

deviantart is a specialist social media site as it is focused directly on art. deviantart is a great way of viewing new art, styles and it is also enjoyable to see each creation posted. the site is also a great way of self promoting your art. however, if you are new to using the site there is always the fear of posting a piece of art and being criticised for it. no artist wants to be knocked down or judged on their work

why do we use social media?

I usually use social media sites to keep in contact with friends, distant friends or family. most of the time I use Facebook with it being so easy to use. what I dislike about using Facebook is the constant game requests and notifications. I also use instagram which I have two accounts for, one for personal use and another for art. instgram for me is a great way of posting photos and commenting on others. I have also become friends with people in the past through instagram so I think its a great way of meeting new people. I also use things like snap chat and kik which again i have family and friends on.

I believe that business or self employed people use social media to self promote. using social media is a great way to get your self noticed and is rather easy. by self promoting you are taking control of your style and you are able to get your point across clearly.

social media for personal use for example a personal Facebook or instagram, you are able to follow or become friends anyone without it affecting a personal account. social media for business use is strictly for business and nothing more. you wouldn't want people or friends from your personal making rude comments or irrelevant comments on your business account as it will make you look bad.

personal risks for me on social media is cyber bullying. I've seen cyber bullying taking place before and occasionally stepped in defending the victim. I have also been cyber bullied before which is why I feel strongly about the subject. its not something that should be taken place and needs to be stopped sooner rather than later.

with any social media site you have to be aware of the risks which could ruin an employment offer. it is easy to post something and not think twice about it but the outcome of that post could affect you. for example if you put something up accidently on a business account thinking its a personal, the affects could mean you loosing a job or employment offer.

luckily I have nothing on any of my social media sites which could cause or get me into trouble. I take caution with what i post on social media as anything could happen through the internet.

the privacy setting on my social media accounts are set to 'only friends can see' i don't like the idea of random people being able to see my profile or pictures.

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