Social Media: common form and how it affects people in society

Common Form of Technology and The Ecological Systems Theory

While technology is a very broad subject, a sub area called social media can narrow it.
This subject is a very handy but detrimental tool for development and human growth as some can use social media as a way of employing people, although it is handy for someone to contact distant loved ones.

The most famous social media site is called Facebook. Facebook was originally launched in February 2004 and, as of September 2012, had over 1 Billion users worldwide. Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook along with his fellow Harvard roommates; Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mokovitz and Chris Hughes. Originally, Facebook was only for Harvard students but is now worldwide and anybody over the age of 13 can sign up. ("Facebook", 2013)

There are many different views of how social media is used throughout the world and in the area of education, as it can affect many different people at any given time.

A negative way of how social media is used for example is; if you had found a job on seek or trade-me and applied for it, gave your full name, your address and what country you live in, employers can then get on Facebook and read about your "crazy antics" in the weekend and even possibly see your photos of you doing something questionable that may be harmful to the company you have applied for the position for. This then results in not being hired because of your professional appearance and then can result in many rejections from other companies making it harder to gain employment. This related to early childhood settings and the community because, from not getting employment, parents will have no income to provide for their children, so therefore food and education may become an issue. 

On the other hand, there is a positive side of social media. Social media can be a great tool for reconnecting with special people in your life or finding old school friends that you have missed. This is one plus side of social media along with many others.

Both negative and positive social media then, in turn, can affect the Ecological Systems theory of children, families and businesses. The ecological systems theory was a theory created by a Psychologist named Urie Bronfenbrenner. The Ecological Systems Theory is based around an individual and has a circle of factors that influence the individual in day to day life. An example of this will be as I mentioned before about jobs. A parent (the individual), can be affected by work, money, the government, therefore making it influence the individual and their surrounding peers.

Berk (2010) states that this approach is a well-known approach and has "moved to the forefront of the field because it offers the most differentiated and complete account of contextual influences on development" (p. 24). What this is saying is that there are many influences that can affect an individual and what happens in life all have a contributing affect on the individual.

Here is a small video of the ecological systems theory: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXqcYXTgpB4

References:

        Berk, L. E. (2010). Development through the lifespan (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

       Delicious – Features Update | Delicious Blog. (n.d.). Delicious Blog. Retrieved March 16, 2013, from http://blog.delicious.com/2012/07/delicious-features-update/

       Ecological Systems Theory - YouTube. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved March 16, 2013, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXqcYXTgpB4

        Facebook. (2013). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved on: March 15, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Facebook&oldid=551160702

        Nielsen, J. N. (n.d.). Metaphysical Ecology Reformulated | Grand Strategy: The View from Oregon. Grand Strategy: The View from Oregon | Grand strategy and geopolitics from the perspective of the Pacific Northwest. Retrieved March 16, 2013, from http://geopolicraticus.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/metaphysical-ecology-reformulated/
          
             Scooter, J. V., Ellis, D., & Railsback, J. (2001). Technology in early childhood education: Finding the balance. Portland, United States: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.