Social Media as a Disruptive Technology

Social Media as a Disruptive Technology
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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 to...