THE DISGUISED INDUCEMENTS OF ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKING

Abstract

The advent and spread of social media are unprecedented. It has taken the internet by storm, impacting our lives like never before. The origin of Social media can be traced back to the year 1997 when the first recognizable social media site, Six Degrees was created. It was the beginning of the online networking culture. And, today it has spread all over the world with millions of users. However, the utility of the platform is not yet completely explored, it has evolved over time, from a medium to connect with people, to a medium being used to spread information, authentic and forged. And yet, to become a platform for entertainment. There is a constant debate regarding the utility and efficacy of Social media as a Knowledge management tool. There is a constant debate regarding social media’s utility and efficacy as a Knowledge Management (KM) tool. Research has been conducted to explore social media use to spread information in a time of need. This research, however, aims to understand the users’ perception of the utility of social media as a KM tool. Other questions platform is not yet thoroughly explored. It has evolved from a medium to connect with people to a medium being used to spread information, authentic and forged. And yet, to become a paramount to the study are the extent of social media reliability and threats as a knowledge dissemination tool. A comprehensive review of journal articles (peer-reviewed), news, books, and research papers have been carried out in social media and Knowledge Management. After that, the authors have shortlisted seven social media networking sites. A survey with respondents (active users of social media) from various domains was conducted. The findings reveal that the penetration of Social Media Networking Sites has been increasing at a rapid pace with more and more people registering themselves on these platforms and actively using them for various purposes. The paper addresses the concerns regarding the excessive and inappropriate use of such platforms and various risks associated with them. Time has long gone when Social media was only about connecting with loved ones. Today, the use of Social media networking sites is unprecedented and evolving every single day. The paper explores the question of how users perceive Online Networking and

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what impact it has on their day-to-day life. The majority of people who participated in the study have admitted that excessive use of Social media networking sites and the information explosion on these platforms harm their day-to-day functioning, productivity, and mental well-being. The paper explores the dilemma of staying online.