Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using Social Networking Services for university students currently studying Media

With the development of social media，communication has become faster，more communicable and more interactive.Nowadays，more and more people use social media to communicate and share experience.Social media has become a common communicable tool for today’ s students.Media students share ideas and get their work known on the social media.This essay will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using Social Networking Services for university students currently studying Media，such as WeChat and Facebook.

There are some advantages and disadvantages of using Social Networking Services on WeChat for university students currently studying Media.WeChat is a mobile text and voice messaging communication service，which allows people to communicate，share photos and videos.There are two main advantages with WeChat.The first advantage is to meet new friends and access new ideas.For instance，by meeting new friends and communicating with them around the world，students can get more enhanced information.Media students can also get involved and add their own ‘Subscription’ accounts，accessing new ideas.Secondly，audiences are engaged to this opportunity.For example，media students can create their own ‘Subscription’ account and show their films on it，which contributes to attracting more audiences.While it is helpful to communicate with other people instantly and share ideas，there are some disadvantages.Firstly，it wastes students’ time.Elmansy （2016） says that “Being addicted to social networks leads to significant time loss.Checking new updates and engaging with others all the time consumes production and creative thinking time.” Students check new updates，and keep up to update on WeChat，which takes time.It is difficult for students to control the time in the digital world.Secondly，it influences students’ school work.Students who multitask and do too much video gaming get poorer scores.Even if it leaves students less time to do school work and attend school activities，there are also some advantages，such as accessing new ideas and attracting audiences.

There are some advantages and disadvantages of using Facebook for university students currently studying Media.Rouse （2014） said，“Facebook is a popular free social networking services that allows users to create profiles，upload photos and video，send messages.” One of the main advantages in favour of this method is that it expands students’ knowledge.For instance，students share new ideas and discuss assignments through studying groups，which allow students to communicate all over the world.Another advantage is that it gives students a chance to apply for jobs.For example，more and more companies hire employees on Facebook，which gives media students a chance to apply for jobs at home.Even if it is helpful to expand students’ knowledge and apply for jobs，nevertheless，there are some disadvantages.First of all，stealing other people’s ideas and reducing the ability of create.Students share their ideas on Facebook，and people could steal the ideas to put them in their own projects.This could reduce the student’ s ability of create.Secondly，it influences mental health.When students spend a long time in the digital world，students lack face-to-face communication.Even if SNS leads to losing touch with real life and become withdrawn，as well as apathetic to issues，there are also some advantages，for instance，the ease of applying for jobs.

In conclusion，social networking services have advantages and disadvantages，but they are a part of people’s lives.Though the disadvantages are obvious，such as the amount of plagiarism，wasting of time and influence mental health.There still are some advantages，such as offering communication，accessing many new ideasand helping apply for jobs.Although social networking services have some disadvantages，there are more advantages.Media students should use SNS suitably and reasonably.

References

[1]Elmansy，R.How social media affects your creativity[J].Designorate [online] Available from： www.designorate.com/howsocial- media-affects-creativity/ [7 June 2017]，2016.

[2]Rouse，M.（n.d） Facebook.Whatis[J].techtarget [online] Available from： http：//whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Facebook[7 June 2017].

作者簡介

王鑫雅（1998—），女，本科，河北大學—中央蘭開夏傳媒與創意學院，動畫。