MySpace gained popularity when businesses and bands began using it for advertising. Since the launch of Facebook, both have made social networking part of daily life for millions of people worldwide. Internet relationships have become more popular and face-to-face interactions have become more rare. Though these websites allow friends to stay in touch more easily, they also raise safety concerns. Predators have found ways to gain access to innocent bystanders. The age of account users on these sites has become an issue. Parents’ main priority for their children when it comes to the internet is their safety. The safety risk has caused many parents to ban social networking sites in their home. The question on everyone’s mind is, is it worth risking personal safety to communicate more easily?
While staying in touch with friends is essential to adolescent development, there are less risky ways to do so. An article by Jennifer Sexton and Marlanda English states that online sites put young people at risk for online predators when they believe they are socializing with friends. Cyber relationships can delay the growth of real relationships according to Sylvia Engdahl in Online Social Networking. Anne Whittaker and Geraldine Wagner wrote that these websites can stimulate the economy by creating advertising opportunities. Advertising and socializing can be combined with these sites, and as Craig Belanger and Laura Finley wrote in an online article, they allow even the shyest of people to express themselves freely. MySpace is a great place to advertise businesses, while Facebook can create the virtual interaction that everyone seeks. Safety precautions can be implemented to ensure only those of suitable age can have access to these sites.
Each year there are more advances in technology that allow the world to connect on more personal levels. The new-found popularity of social networking sites accompanies advancements in technology. Social sites allow people around the world to connect with one another in an instant without much hassle. With many great achievements or advancements comes a controversy. The controversy over the popularity and use of social networking sites has alarmed groups of people around the globe. Each group seems to have its own opinion on each miniscule detail of the ever popular sites such as MySpace and Facebook, and they state their opinion in every way possible. While advancements in technology have allowed social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook to connect people around the world, they may be releasing too much information and therefore making innocent people vulnerable to dangerous situations.
Fleming begins her argument by paralleling the transformative properties of the invention of the telephone years ago to social networks today (Fleming). But, Fleming states that “students’ online identities and friendships come at a price, as job recruiters, school administrators, law enforcement officers and sexual predators sign on and start searching” (Fleming). Social networking websites like MySpace and Facebook are frequented favorites, especially by college students. These sites have become so popular that “friending” a person is now a dictionary verb. However, Fleming believes that students are not as cautious as they should be. In fact, “thirty percent of students report accepting ‘friend’ reques...
“The standards of what we want to keep private and what we make public are constantly evolving. Over the course of Western history, we’ve developed a desire for more privacy, quite possibly as a status symbol…”(Singer) Technological change leads to new abuses, creating new challenges to security, but society adapts to those challenges. To meet the innate need for privacy, we learn what to reveal and where, and how to keep secret what we don't want to disclose. “Whether Facebook and similar sites are reflecting a change in social norms about privacy or are actually driving that change, that half a billion people are now on Facebook suggests that people believe the benefits of connecting with others, sharing information, networking, self-promoting, flirting, and bragging outweigh breaches of privacy that accompany such behaviours,”(Singer) This is obvious by the continuous and unceasing use of social media platforms, but what needs to be considered is that this information is being provided willingly. “More difficult questions arise when the loss of privacy is not in any sense a choice.”(Singer) When the choice to be anonymous it taken away through social media, the person loses the ability to keep their personal information
Social medias have become a big part of our society now, they are being used in all aspects of our life. We are connected twenty-four hours a day, at work, school, home, shopping etc. There is a necessity, a need to be connected to these social media’s, to feel like you are a part of society. With these growing numbers in being connected to social media’s on the web, there comes a growing desire for privacy and safety. In this paper I will discuss and analyze the social media’s themselves, the dangers that arise from them, and how all these correlate to privacy.
Social Networking sites play an essential role in today’s culture as they provide people with the ability to interact, blog, share pictures and videos, flirt, and date without having to move an inch. People pour their minds and hearts into the world of cyber communication; it is an easier way for them to clear their heads without having a face-to-face confrontation. Undoubtedly, this is advantageous to certain people. It helps establish connections with people, friends and family from any corner of the world, but one cannot ignore the extensive privacy breach that occurs in the universe of online social media.
The 21st century has brought a lot of modern ideas, innovations, and technology. One of these is social media. The invention of Facebook has completely changed the way we communicate with one another. Instant messaging, photo sharing, and joining online groups have created a way for families and friends to connect. Some argue that Facebook is the greatest invention however, while it is seemingly harmless, Facebook has created an invasion of privacy. The accessibility of Facebook and its widespread use has created privacy problems for users, teens, and interviewees by allowing easy control to viewers.
Technology has become a big part of the today’s world. More specifically, the internet. People use it every day, whether for work, play, music, communication, and/or finding their way from place to place. Friend making has also developed where it can be done on the internet, but it is not the best place to do so due to uncertainty, lack of actual socialization, and social media. Many actions that were done manually have turned in actions that can easily be done mechanically, but that does not mean that they should be done the new way.
Generally, social networking provides online sexual predators with an easy gateway to youths. Users of online social media services tend to share copious amounts of personal information on online profiles, these same users control who can or cannot see their information by utilizing privacy settings. The problem with these “privacy settings” is that they are often hard to manipulate, leaving a multitude of online profiles vulnerable to often explicit offers from online sexual predators. Lacking the ability to protect their information properly, users are in jeopardy of being contacted by sexual predators. In fact, “[d]uring the years prior to the explosive expansion of social networks, most online sexual predators attempted to contact youths through chat rooms and message boards. In recent years, however, predators are increasingly targeting minors over social networking services”, showing that social networking directly puts youths in peril (Guo, 626). This sheds light on the fact that social networking is basically a way to herd youths and display them ...
and family, and also “meet like-minded people” ( Metz, par. 1). In some cases, business people such as Ron West, claim that he uses Facebook “to become acquainted with new customers”( par. 8). Yes, these types of websites are great tools to stay in touch with old classmatesand faraway family members. It is a great source of communication, but there is always a con to every pro. Even though users are connecting with others, users of social networks never know exact...
The first aspect being addressed is the problem with social network sites exposing information. Social networking has created an environment where it is nearly a duty to expose oneself. Profiles on these social websites are updated everyday with personal information such as locations, status, and future plans. Anyone can search another’s name and find information about their history, pictures, and activity. With the help of social networking sites...
The growing popularity of information technologies has significantly altered our world, and in particular, the way people interact. Social networking websites are becoming one of the primary forms of communication used by people of all ages and backgrounds. No doubt, we have seen numerous benefits from the impact of social media communication: We can easily meet and stay in touch with people, promote ourselves, and readily find information. However, these changes prompt us to consider how our moral and political values can be threatened. One common fear among users is that their privacy will be violated on the web. In her book, Privacy in Context, Helen Nissenbaum suggests a framework for understanding privacy concerns online. She focuses particularly on monitoring and tracking, and how four “pivotal transformations” caused by technology can endanger the privacy of our personal information. One website that may pose such a threat is Facebook.
Social media sites such as Facebook are one of the most popular social media sites that has 700,000-750,000 members joining each day. Connecting with peers shouldn’t be a problem. It’s as easy typing the peers name push search, and some suggestions come up and find your peer you’re looking for and shoot them a message instantly with social media manly targeting young people such as teenagers. Facebook has made it so easy for teens to interact and engage with their peers. It allows teens to come into contact with long, lost relatives and reunite with them. Facebook is a virtual site = which gives teens an endless possibility to engage with peers, family, of maybe even people who they have never meet allowing then to interact making new friends.
Upon the advent of social networking websites, an entirely new level of self-expression was formed. People instantly share updates on their lives with family, friends, and colleagues, reconnecting with those they had lost contact with. Social networking has now become an integral part of contemporary society – a modern analog for catching up with friends over slow, conventional methods or finding upcoming events in newspapers. However, along with this freedom of information, the danger of revealing too much personal information has become apparent. As such, online social media poses an imminent danger to society as it blurs the line between private and public information, creating an obsession with sharing one’s personal life online.
Social media is described as content created and shared by individuals on the web using freely available websites that allow users to create and post their own images, video and text information and then share that with either the entire internet or just a select group of friends (Affilorama, 2012). They are more like a website allowing you to express your daily activities, beliefs, locations, likes, dislikes, photos, music, etc. They are used by creating a profile, and logging in through either the website, or apps now used on smartphones, or any portable device with Wi-Fi connection. Although most social media networks are directed towards adults and young adults, young children are getting into these websites as well. There are usually age limits but there isn’t a certainty that all the users provided their actual age, allowing whoever wants to be a member of these sites to bypass an age limit “security” procedure. Facebook and MySpace require users to be at least 13, but they have no practical way to verify ages, and many young users prete...
Social networks are now widespread in our world; with existing social networks expanding, social networking sites are being created for educators, medical professionals all accessible 24 hours a day via computer, tablet, smart phone, and Internet-enabled devices. Challengers of social networking say that the sites prevent face-to-face communication, waste time on frivolous activity and spread false and potentially dangerous information. Social networks have become a substantial part of our modern civilization. It is a defining trait of how integrated our social interactions have become. Social networks have become an important source of news.
In today’s society, much advancement has been made throughout the universe. However, one that seems to stand out in particular is the use of social media. Social media has both positive and negative effects on society. This advancement has led to a difference in communication to everyone by reconnecting with others, or even informing the public nationwide through televisions such as the news or talk shows. However, is social media safe to use? Social media has a great impact on everyone in society. While allowing your children or teenagers to engage in social media a few things to consider are the risks of youth using social media, what age is too young, and also how social media is useful in some cases. Children participate in cyber bullying now and even find themselves involved in bad habits, such as sexting (Schurgin O’Keefe). According to a recent poll conducted, over 22 percent of teenagers log onto their social media site more than ten times a day (Schurgin O’Keefe). Not everything is negative towards social media, but there are precautions that need to be taken when there is the youth involved.