Difference Between Social Media and Traditional Media
Table of Contents
In today’s world, when people are more in favor of talking to each other in messages rather than face to face. It just shows how people have changed, how this modern invention of Social Media has changed the way of seeing the world itself.
Traditional Media and Social Media follow the same concept of disposing of information and data, but their ways of fulfilling this purpose are opposite to each other. Each one has its pros and cons, and it depends from person to person on which form they are more comfortable in.
Social Media vs Traditional Media
The main difference between Social Media and Traditional Media is that Social Media is a two-way street. That is, there can be an interaction between the publisher and the audience, while Traditional Media is an old approach that only publishes or shows information that is authorized by the editor of that particular media.
Social Media is a place that can be used for not only news-related topics but for sharing of a person’s life, promotion of brands, and overall, people who want to stay connected indifferent to their place of the area around the world.
Traditional Media mainly consists of four main components: Television, Radio, Newspapers, and Magazines. Before the invention of social media during the 21st century, it was the main thing that was used to distribute information and data to people.
Comparison Table Between Social Media and Traditional Media
| Parameters of Comparison | Social Media | Traditional Media |
| Another name | Social network, Social platform | Old Media |
| Reversibility | Easily reversible. The publisher can edit or delete the post. | Almost non-reversible. Once a piece of information is published or on-air, it is hard t rewind. |
| Main focus | Social Media’s main focus is to unite friends, family, and other people of the world. | Traditional Media’s main focus is to publish news and entertainment. |
| Communication system | Both the parties, that is, the publisher d the reader, can react. | In Traditional Media, only the only publisher, that is, the editors, is in charge of the information. |
| Time consumed | Almost instant and quite fast in comparison to Traditional Media. | It takes a longer period amount of time to publish information. |
| Examples | Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. | Television, Radio, Newspapers, etc. |
What is Social Media?
“The great thing about social media was how it gave a voice to voiceless people.” This a quote by a famous journalist Jon Ronson and it perfectly describes the use of Social Media and its need in today’s world. Social Media can be described as a way to express information about various topics.
There is the concept of “posts” that are generally used in most Social Media like Instagram or Facebook. This is the main way to share information on these Social Media networks. Other sites like YouTube do not have this feature but are around creating and posting videos.
Because of Social Media, not only an individual get informed but can communicate as well. They can connect to friends, relatives, and families over popular Social Media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and many more. This is the biggest advantage that Social Media has over Traditional Media.
What is Traditional Media?
Traditional Media is the oldest form of communication. The main components of it are Newspapers, Magazines, TV, and Radio. Now, it has added more forms into this network of four, which includes Blogs and digital forms of newspapers that are used to keep people up to date.
Traditional Media is used by marketers and many bug businesses to advertise their services and products to the general public. These efforts are often expensive, especially in comparison to Social Media. But they are quite useful as well.
Social Media has become habitual nowadays, and people are quite active on it. But still, there are certain places, small villages, and islands, whether they be in a small country or a bigger one, where people do not have access to these Social Media sites. Thus, they are dependent on Traditional Media, especially Television and Newspapers, to reach for information.
Main Differences Between Social Media and Traditional Media
Conclusion
Yes, there are people who will favor Social Media, especially today’s generation but it isn’t like Traditional Media is absolutely useless. A big example would be If a business would have to see what suits their company best. If they want to target a more certain type of audience, they will go with Traditional Media over Social Media.
Sure, Social Media and Traditional Media have totally different approaches to share information about the world. The main difference is that Social Media’s way of reaching people is wider in comparison to Traditional Media as the information shared in one country reaches the people of another.
References
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