Social Media :)
Oct 4th, 2010 by palimarrao
Ask any young person if she would like to work as a company’s PR representative. Mention that the work would entail the seemingly arduous task of updating the company’s facebook page every hour. I would assume that the young, extrovert type person would love to take on the job.
In my opinion, this is due to the lure of social media. It can have an addictive effect on the individual . According to Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in central Pennsylvania, this type of technology has “hidden pitfalls”. So, in the context of companies providing extrinsic motivators (like pay) to people to use social media to promote the company, ethical issues arise. While social media like facebook is a free marketing channel for companies to advertise their events and reach out to people, what if the person who handles this channel is harmed. Facebook, in particular, has been found to increase stress and weaken personal relations of people. This means that both the addicted person and his family are harmed. I wonder if there are any limits to which a company can exploit its workers’ human capital.
Newspaper used: Monday, Oct 4 2010 edition of 24 Hours. pg 18, section Workzone