IT A level 12.3

Question 1

Analyse the role of social networks in changing social patterns among young people.

Answer 1

1) Social networks provide instant/intermittent reward to human brain so influence behaviours.
2) Use of social networks becomes addictive/distracting so young people waste time/show behavioural changes.
3) Sharing of ideas/areas of interest reaches many people.
4) Sharing of ideas/areas of interest can influence peoples’ choices.
5) Sharing of ideas/areas of interest can make people feel involved
6) Social patterns can be altered/influenced by sharing on social media.
7) Increased visibly of ideas/views has moved balance of power from few to many people.
8) Restrictions/limitations of ideas/views of young people through restricted access.

Question 2

Describe how a blog enables social networking to take place.

Answer 2

1) Users post discrete/diary style text entries for others to read
2) People react to the posted entries by adding comments
3) Can be open for everybody to read and add comments
4) The blogosphere can allow leaps/jumps between blogs
5) Can include/lead to links to sponsor sites/other bloggers.
6) Can be work of selected group of authors recording activities/entries

Question 3

Describe how the use of social media can improve access to govermonet for individuals and organisations.

Answer 3

1) Can empower individuals by attracting large numbers of others to ideas/views/discussions that are brought to the attention of governments
2) Can allow access to government by marginalised
individuals/organisations to raise awareness by government
3) Can overcome social divides in access to government because social media is used across social/ethnic/minority/income/gender groups
4) Can be used to deliver advice/information quickly and to direct users to sources of more information/help
5) Enables/encourages/forces governments to be more responsive to public opinions/polls/views/organised interest groups of people by active listening/monitoring of
6) Encourages government transparency and accountability by providing easy/open access to government policies/departments/information

Question 4

Describe the impact of the use of social media on the health of individuals.

Answer 4

positive
1) Older/senior/isolated individuals can connect to families/keep in contact
2) Increase in their happiness/feeling of usefulness/involvement/reduces sense of isolation
3) Improves sense of belonging/well-being by connecting people separated by distance/circumstance
4) Reduces stress by providing entertainment/respite from other tasks/engaging with interesting topics

negative
1) (Increase in sedentary lifestyle due to lengthy use of computers) can lead to health problems
2) Can become addictive leading to e.g. withdrawal symptoms/social awkwardness/isolationism
3) Can lead to cyberbullying by individuals on others/of individuals by others.
4) Can increase feelings of jealousy when comparing with
achievements/successes of others

Question 5

Discuss the benefits and drawbacks to individuals of using blogs to advertise their businesses.

Answer 5

benefits
1) Can increase business/add new business if content is
relevant/meaningful/honest/trustworthy
2) Can encourage feedback from existing customers
3) Repeat visitors/users can update their views/experiences with products
4) Can analyse the data from blog to learn more about customer base to target with sales offers

drawbacks
1) Blogs have to be continually updated/amended
2) Content/advertising copy is often poorly written and difficult to follow/so may not be easily understood
3) Can be inconsistent in details/views/feedback/may be confusing to customers
4) Relevant content/advertised items/services/goods can be difficult to find/does not turn up in search results/can be overlooked

Question 6

Discuss ways that social networking has changed social patterns

Answer 6

1) Can (re-)connect with friends very easily/more often
2) Can keep up to date with latest news/developments
3) Difficult to keep views/personal activities secret/private
4) Can become victim of e.g. cyber-bullying/victimisation
5) Have more ‘friends’
6) Become more isolated from family/less interaction with others so more vulnerable to external influences/extreme views/radicalisation
7) Less likely to share private/personal/confidential details in case it is shared widely
8) Less trusting of friends in case they share personal details/ inappropriate images/conversations/facts

Question 7

Describe the benifits and drawbacks of using microblogs for social networking.

Answer 7

Benefits
1) Topics are very specific/restricted so focus is kept
2) Updated to reflect real time activities/what is happening now
3) Can be impromptu/spontaneous comments/thoughts/no need to construct passages/post

Drawbacks
1) Pages are difficult/cannot be customised for use.
2) Word count may be restricted/not much information included
3) Microblogs may be difficult to retrieve after certain time/may not be long lived