Social Networking: Better or Worse than the Real Thing?

             Everybody uses social media in some sort of way, until recently I didn’t use any of the major social media networks that most people use such as, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or LinkedIn. To be completely honest I really don’t have the time to be socializing in these networks and worrying about what happens in there. However reality hit me last September when recruiters and professionals where asking for my LinkedIn, people from my classes where asking me to join a Facebook group for a group project, and lastly friends asking me for my Instagram or Snapchat. The end result I ended getting into all of these networks except for Snapchat. The end result was that I got to know more about companies by linking with recruiters and employers, and seeing friends and family that I haven’t seen in years. Until last year I had been doing everything the old way and meeting people organically and in person and it was going great, so have these social media networks really helped me?

               In my term paper I will be analyzing social networking with the end goal of seeing if it's better or worse than the real thing. I will be discussing how social media has evolved and the effect it’s having in the way we communicate and interact with each other. I will be touching upon the economic, technological, moral, and educational effect’s social media has made over these past few years. I also hope to point out the pros and cons of social media on networking in the way individuals are applying and getting jobs. The conclusion will be based upon facts and studies that have been made into this ever-growing area of social media and networking.