ASSESSING THE SOCIO-CULTURAL EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE LIVES OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Abstract The invasion of social media has deeply penetrated into the livelihood of people. Social media networking plays a crucial role in helping us to be in acquaintance with our friends and to make new friends. Due to its dynamic nature, internet and Web 2.0 are constantly growing and reaching to an exceptional level , accompanied by a stable development and sophistication of purposes, and usage patterns evident across many different social networking sites. Numerous studies have determined that social media is a potent instrument that may gradually affect and mold both individual and collective behavior. The culture of everyday existence of people has become entwined with cyber space. In an democratic point of view, social media unites people in one floor and moreover through social media, massive changes are happening in the society. The contribution of social media in various acts like opinion polling, political discussions, debates on coalition and public forums seems to paving way to new wave democracy in new media. Many research studies revealed that socio-cultural impact of social media has continuously changed users' life. In such aspects, youngsters are widely perceived to be a major segment of users in social media across the globe and in India. A recent survey by Tata Consultancy Services, 2013 states that About 75% of India’s youths prefer social media to communicate. In such an aspect it is really essential to endure a research learning on the sociocultural influence of social networking among students and the democratic nature in sharing information and content in social media. The proposed research study aims to address the sociocultural influence of social media among students of Chennai University, and it uses a quantitative research approach to address the study's research questions.