Social Networks; for or Against?

Social media has become prominent parts of life for many young people today. Most people engage with social media without stopping to think what the effects are on our lives, whether positive or negative. Are we as a society becoming more concerned with Facebook "friends" than we are with the people we interact with face-to-face in our daily lives? What will the longterm effects of today 's social media use be? There are many positive aspects, but there are equally as many dangers that come with the use of sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google +, Tumblr, Instagram, gaming sites, and blogs. Social media has both negative and positive effects on society, it is up to the user to decide what impact they want to make. In order to make the right choices, we must dig in and research this topic thoroughly.

Many people have different opinions about social network sites. Some think that social networking is fun and a great way socialize, however, no one really take the time to realize how bad it could be and/or get. Social network sites can negatively impact lives because it can be the cause of missing important life moments, the reason of students getting bad grades, and be very extremely dangerous for anyone.

Social media such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Instagram, and Flicker was invented to keep us in touch and keep us closer to our family and friends. But according to How Facebook ruins Friendships “we took our friendship online” (Bernstein). First we began communicating more by email than by phone and then switched to instant messaging or texting. By joining social Medias online

There is debate over these social networking sites; do the benefits outweigh the dangers? Some people argue that social networking sites promote increased communication with friends and family, familiarize people with valuable computer skills, and allow contact and interactions with people from around the world. Others argue that these sites expose children to predators, increase vulnerability to computer viruses, lower worker productivity, and promote narcissism and short attention spans. Social networking sites entice people to spend more time online and less time involved in face-to-face interaction. On an average day it is said that American’s waste about 17% of their day on the internet interacting on social media and networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace. The popularity of these sites has more than

Social networking is helpful for everyone that knows how to use networking in their everyday life. Social Networking is not only going on nationally, It is a vast group, that’s been going on internationally. People from all over the world take part in it. It has information about anything. Anything new, everything old and whatever the reader wants to know. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest are few of the important Social networking sites that are playing an important role, now a day in the life of a person. As of July 2015 there has been a huge increase in the number of people who has started using social networking websites more and more. “76% of American adults online use social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, as of July 2015, up from 26% in 2008”. (Social Networking 2015). This shows how much increase in social networking has in adults, who are relatively new to this. The youngsters are way ahead and around 98% of the young users are found on the websites like Facebook and Twitter.

While there are risks in online social networking, there are also many potential benefits. Many people are passionate to participate on ‘social networks’ in order to express their ideas, on social media site such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and MSN (Windows Live Messenger). People think that it is a good idea to have a social networking site, because you can stay in touch with your dear ones. There are many social networking sites that are used for different reasons, where people can communicate with their family and friends or worldwide “Kids can gain confidence from interacting with other people online by sharing updates, photos, videos and messages”. [1) Parent Further]. Family members can stay connected even if they are not living together. In addition, it’s good to encourage positive relationships through various ways including internet.

Social networking sites are web based and applications that allows users to communicate via-web to share their content or follow with other users. For example the most well known online networking sites are Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. When you sign up to these sites it asked you to make a profile, which can be time consuming, but you can alter it for your needs as an enjoyment. Online networking has become a very significant piece of social communications inside our society. For example when you meet another person, one of the principal things you do is include them on your friends or followers list on social media. This is a form of communication. We communicate to people every day through all different forms of interpersonal communication.

Over the past few years something has taken a toll in most people’s lives, we use it, love it, talk about it, and check it almost every hour of every day: this thing is called social networks. It was only a few years back, in 2003, when MySpace was discovered, and in 2004 when Mark Zuckerberg established Facebook, and soon after in 2006 Twitter followed. These sites became more than just an online destination, but a way of life. Notifications, follower counts, friend requests, photo comments- all what might seem like silly things that teenagers and adults alike await the moment they come home to check. We scroll unconsciously through feeds and pictures of people we barely know, from the inquisitive human nature. At school everyone is

Social network sites (SNSs) such as such as Friendster, CyWorld, and MySpace allow individuals to present themselves, articulate their social networks, and establish or maintain connections with others (Ellison, 2007). These sites could be used for work related situation, romance, connecting with individuals with shared interest, or creating a connection amongst college students. Facebook enables its users to present themselves in an online profile, accumulate ‘‘friends’’ who can post comments on each other’s pages, and view each other’s profiles (Ellison, 2007). Individuals can write on the wall of friends, send private message, comment on posts, as well as chat via instant messaging. Much of the early research on online communities assumed that individuals using these systems would be connecting with others outside their pre-existing social group or location, liberating them to form communities around shared interests, as opposed to shared geography (Ellison, 2007).

* What makes social network sites unique is not that they allow individuals to meet strangers, but rather that they enable users to articulate and make visible their social networks. This can result in connections between individuals that would not otherwise be made, but that is often not the goal, and these meetings are frequently between "latent ties" (Haythornthwaite, 2005) who share some offline connection. On many of the large SNSs, participants are not necessarily "networking" or looking to meet new people; instead, they are primarily communicating with people who are already a part of their extended social network. To emphasize this articulated social network as a critical organizing feature of these sites, we label them "social network sites."

Social networking sites have become a big part of our lives. These sites are indeed twofold, and their impact on society is both positive and negative. My essay will, therefore try to answer both sides of the impact social networking sites have in today’s culture.

Social networking sites (referred to more broadly as social media) are a collection of websites and applications that enable users to swap ideas, post updates and comments, and participate in activities and events while sharing their interests with other users. From general chit-chat to propagating breaking news, scheduling a date to following election results, gentle humor to serious research, social networking sites are used for a variety of reasons by various user communities. Nowadays, nearly every person who has access to a computer and Internet indulges in some kind of social networking on a daily basis. The introduction of social media has changed the entire dynamics of our lifestyles: the ways we live, work, and maintain our friendships. Despite its numerous advantages, social media does yield some negative effects. However, the benefits of social media greatly outweigh its negative effects.

Ellison, Steinfield and Lampe identify that social networking sites are among the main use of internet today. According to the authors, social networking sites are among the social media platforms that facilitate interaction in the computer environment. The writers identify the main motives for using social networking sites, for example, Facebook. One of the benefits is that Facebook improves the quality of life both social and at workplaces. According to the writers, social media has become common in the society that a majority cannot remember previous life without them. Social networking sites have become popular among college students who find it as a major platform for social interaction.

Many cyber chats, although good for online communication however also has the potentials to cause emotional distress. Insults, profanity, humiliation and much more are some of the causes of which resulted many people to depression, suicide to ‘get out of this misery’. Through social networking, online reputations are being humiliated through verbal communications or offensive images that are being posted up onto social networking sites, such as Facebook. Chanelle Rae, a 14-year-old former student at Geelong’s Western Heights College, took her life on Friday the 17th of July 2009 in another cyber bullying incident, of which Chanelle’s mother, Karen reported to 3AW radio on the 21st of July 2009. Her mother reported, ‘she wanted to die because of the message that was given to her that night.,’ This highlights the fact that lives can also be lost while having the benefits of social networking on Facebook, Bebo, Twitter and much more. Thus shows that social networking can have a severe impact on many of our lives through what we say or post online.

First of all, social networking is dangerous for children, teens, and adults. To be specific, in stating the dangers for teens, (Allen) states, “ But in other cases, disclosure reaches a level that is troubling for parents and those concerned about the safety of online teens, and once children put this information online, they will never get it back”. This quote explains that teens will put their personal information on social media and once they put this information online, it will always be there. The information can always be found and brought back up. This is causing parents to be worried for their children because sometimes this can mean that teens will put their location online. There is also a way that apps can track individuals if they