Song Ju Na
Final Draft
SNS, a World Wide Web-based service now more commonly referred to as an abbreviation than a social network service or a social network site, has recently emerged as a social and academic concern, growing exponentially. As the number of services that have appeared is large, it is not easy to define them in a single word, and each person defines them differently. And even with the same service, the actual appearance is being implemented differently depending on sociocultural conditions, which also makes it difficult to define. Wikipedia (Wikipedia, 2012) defines SNS as “an online service or platform that builds and shows a network of and communicates among people who share interests or activities.” Definitions vary depending on which point of view they follow, but the factors commonly pointed out in definitions are the online spaces of websites, the formation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships, the structure of relationships, the waves of relationships, the exchange of information, etc. Considering these factors comprehensively, SNS can be defined as a web-based online service that allows a certain number of people seeking common interest or activity in an online space called a Web site to form a network of interpersonal relationships by revealing their personal information publicly or privately for more than a certain amount of time. In addition to SNS, social media, social software, microblogs, etc. are mixed, but the term SNS seems to be more neutral and comprehensive compared to social media with marketing origins and social software with technological emphasis. In this essay, I will talk about a group of celebrities who mainly use this SNS and are hooked on it.
Once SNS has different functions implemented for each service, it is not easy to define the functional characteristics of SNS in a nutshell. Nevertheless, several typical functions can be extracted, with recent services showing a similar tendency for functions to converge. The most representative function of SNS is the registration and disclosure of personal information, specifically the users’ gender, age, occupation, cultural taste, ideology, religion, etc. may be fully or selectively disclosed. This is sensitive information, so there are many social problems with privacy protection. Next, as seen in SNS’s original function, the interpersonal network and its structure are revealed. Users reveal other users who have connections with them, and they can also be identified by expanding the scope of the network to include other users’ networks and, by extension, networks that users on that network. Through SNS, users can post comments or information, and another user, including those who have links to those users, can post another opinion and information in response to it. This is what we call the stem of the post. Like interpersonal networks, this writing stream shows a unique network structure. If the posts are very public, you can also exchange personal messages such as “papers.” If these functions are those shared by SNS, they may offer specific functions for each service. For example, it may provide the ability to share photos or videos, and it may also provide a default blog function. Examples include instant messaging and mobile-enabled features, which most social networking sites have recently included.
We are very interested in celebrities who are exposed to the media. Even if you’re not really interested in it, when you see an entertainer on TV unintentionally, you know about him or her naturally. SNS is the best way to know the real world of celebrities. This is because celebrities post their own writings and photos and post comments. Through this, people can learn how celebrities speak and behave. In the past, celebrities were all forgiving and special as if they were any positions. But now it’s hard to get back on the stage if you do something morally wrong. Like these celebrities, there are people who get attention for their luxurious lives and luxury goods, or for posting dangerous videos that could almost cost their lives. The people who became famous by doing this are called “SNS Star.” We can easily think of Kim Kardashian as an example. When you ask most people, you know who Kim Kardashian is and what he looks like. I even got to know some of my fans at school. But people don’t know what she does and how she makes money. Because there is no remarkable achievement she has made. She is a very famous SNS star. It is no exaggeration to say that he rose to stardom through SNS. She even makes money on SNS. Every word she writes becomes an entertainment news item. There are more people who want to be like her than you think. They try to gain popularity by posting beautiful pictures and writings by posting comments in pretty words like celebrities People who have become so famous boast connections, “following” similar kinds of people. The connections, which may be real or fake, serve as a medium to further boost each other’s popularity.
Because SNS has unique functions and features for each service, it is not easy to comprehensively define the characteristics of SNS. However, the academic, social, and industrial views of SNS each focus on certain aspects of SNS, and in this respect, the characteristics of SNS can be summarized. Twitter-focused views on SNS can be summarized into five. The first is the view that SNS is viewed as a marketing tool. Not only ordinary businesses but also traditional media and IT businesses emphasize such functional use. So some companies use their already famous Instagram as a tool. Because paying them money in advance and posting photos of certain items they want to promote, as he or she normally uses, is a huge publicity stunt. Second, the view of SNS as computer-mediated communication is often observed in the tradition of communication research. This point of view notes how different and similar SNS has to face-to-face communication. The third view is that social networking services are viewed as social networking networks, and the social network analysis (SNA) is a field of view. This view is of primary interest to show the network architecture itself and its architectural features. Fourth, the view of SNS is that it is a place where power or influence is revealed or exercised, and it is a view of politics, political communication and research. This point of view focuses on the attributes and characteristics of power users and tries to clarify them. The last point of view is that SNS is considered to be a research object for utilizing computers. This view is largely based on the perspective that computer scientists have gained from studying social phenomena called SNS, and they try to computerize large amounts of data and discover some regularity in it.
Not everyone is, but those who enjoy most social networking services want attention. And there are many changes in other people’s opinions or comments. These people are sensitive to fashion and want to be the best. Recently, famous South Korean K-pop idol singer Sully committed suicide due to Instagram’s bad language. She has been dogged by bad words all the time since her debut. As a fan of her, I was very shocked. And I thought again about the role of SNS and the people who use SNS.
