Social Networking: Is It Really What We Need?

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Social Networking has become a daily part of the lives of teens and adults everywhere. Now, it seems there is no one who cannot be found on Facebook, or followed on Twitter. Social Networking does contain positive aspects, such as being a way to connect with far away friends and family, as well as well as negative, like cyberbullying. However overall, Social Networking has become a dangerous, manipulative, negative influence in the lives of the people today.
There is no such thing as privacy in Social Networking. When one uses the site Facebook, one may believe that all information placed in a profile is private. However, Information is leaked constantly on the web. If a friend likes a status or comments, their friends will see it as well. Facebook also now offers a sharing option, which can share personal photos to someone else’s profile. Many users upload family photos, broadcast their children’s names, or using the location option on Facebook, share the time, place, and address the user will be. This is dangerous since a shocking 94% of teenagers use Facebook daily. There are dangerous people out there who will used this information posted to do harm.
Facebook is not all negative though. Facebook is a great way to connect with old friends and family that may live far away. It is also a way to hear the latest news, 30% of Americans get their news from Facebook. Yet, that’s not the reason one uses the site. Studies show that people join Facebook to fulfill the basic social needs: the need to belong and the need for self-presentation. A connection to family and friends is not the main reason many join daily, but thought of more as a bonus instead.
Most of the Social Sites are just used to advertise. The site Twitter, a website ...

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...ying. Cyberbullying is done daily through the use of sites like Myspace. One million children were harassed, threatened or subjected to other forms of cyberbullying on social sites during the past year in 2011. Now the number slowly begins to rise, because sites are becoming more easily accessed where anyone can use it. Also fake profiles are easily created using fake pictures to do harm to another.
In conclusion, the nature of most social sites is to manipulate one and cause you to become addicted to stay relevant. The overall effect of social sites however, depends on how one decided to make it. It can be used as a helpful tool, to connect with others or as a destructive weapon, to break others down as well as one’s own mind. Remember social sites are for fun and entertainment ever so often, not a full part of one’s life, so do not let it consume it.

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