As the development of Internet technology advanced rapidly in the late 1990s, social networking has become prevalent throughout the world. People are dealing with their social work through computers eleven percent of the time (Lecture 10). With the help of the Internet, people no longer feel far away from each other and are experiencing easier ways to access information with each other. Consequently, this gives more advantages to do their social work. Furthermore, as mobile phones have become more powerful in recent years. According to the Intermedia Journal, statistics have shown that social networking is the fastest growing content category among any others in mobile phone (Vladar, Fife). From the year 2009 to 2010, the number of social networking users increased 240 percent, which was two times higher than the second category (Vladar, Fife). This trend illustrates that Social networking has became part of our lives. Nonetheless, as we can see now there are many social networking websites in the Internet. They have their own characteristics and attract millions of fans to create their own profiles.
Among many of these social networking websites, Facebook and Twitter have been dominating the market in recent years. The data from April 2008 has shown that within one month Facebook had 250,000,000 unique visitors, which ranked first (Lecture, 10). Twitter had 80,500,000 unique visitors, ranking third (Lecture, 10). Because of the unique characteristics of the sites, the number of users is increasing dramatically. Facebook created the news feed, which can update people’s current 140 words of less status. People are tired of seeing lengthy sentences and they prefer short ones. Most of the time people would like to know what are their friends doing rather than explaining it in detail. This increases the convenience of using Facebook and attracts more users. Nonetheless, Twitter succeeds in the market because it has many celebrities tweeting. In order to follow those superstars and know more about those famous people’s lives, many people become a user of Twitter too. Both social networking systems are winning the market by its characteristics. Even though we have many benefits in using social networking systems, some severe issues are now being discussed heatedly.
Privacy is the major issue of all because people can access information through the Internet freely. In September 2006, Facebook introduced the “News Feed, many personal information is shown freely online. “Craig Ross believes that more than identity presentation influences the use of Facebook, which are personality, competency & familiarity and other factors” (Ross). Therefore, in order to have more friend with same personality and other factors, people are willing to provide more information to the public. If the bad people take advantage of these opportunities, as a result, it increases the possibility of identity threat, property threat and sexual predators (Lecture, 10).
Overall the social network is doing more good than harm. We should have a “concept-oriented family communication” with the younger generation and help them to avoid privacy issues (Lecture, 10).
Citation
Fife, E., & Vladar,. A.(2010). The growth of mobile social networking in the US. Intermedia, Volume 38.
Mahood, C. Social Networking. Lecture 10, Communication of Technology.
Ross, C. etc. (2009). Personality and motivations associated with Facebook use. Computers in Human Behavior. 25, 578-586.
Facebook Image.
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I would agree that the benefits of social networking sites are outweighing the disadvantages. However, I would also argue that we have yet to see the full ramifications of our voyeuristic generation--what will happen when someone our age tries to run for President, and is bombarded with images of his college years that were taken from his Facebook? I feel that many in our generation are undermining the gravity of putting information online--once it is posted, even if you delete it, it is never fully "gone" from the system. Overall, we should definitely be more conscientious about what we post, and realize that the permanency of Facebook and Twitter is the same as getting a tattoo during your college years--you can cover it up, but it will still always be there.
回复删除Grant.340
Social Networking sites have completely revolutionized the way we communicate today. I totally agree that that there are many disadvantages associated with social networking sites as well as many advantages. Many young people today however simply ignore, don’t care or are just plain ignorant of the severe consequences that can come from these sites. I also agree with Kali who brought up the point when an individual from our generation tries to run for president and is confronted with college pictures. Which only adds to how careless young people are today about the images and information they place on line.
回复删除rivas.25
Social networking is a fast way to express ourselves freely and also indirectly. It has become the norm for people to find out not only whats going on in current circles but also to find out about major events taking place in the world. I see the major problem not so much being with individuals being able to access information about people through the websites, but at the corporate level where our information is being sold to advertisers and private companies. It is a means to database every move some makes through an application like foursquare or to keep track of what food you eat, music you listen to, who you associate with, if your a drug addict or anything else under the sun you post to your profile. This is a seriously dangerous problem that is being undermined by many social networking site users.
回复删除I would agree that facebook and twitter are completely revolutionizing the way social networking is looked at. Our generation has made it the norm to have not only a facebook, but a twitter, linked in, and myspace. While I believe there are many more advantages to having a social networking site of your own (like staying connected to family and friends) I can't disagree that there are disadvantages. Now that employers are realizing that people post just about anything on their facebook (and not setting for privacy) they are looking at their employees websites to make sure they are not doing anything illegal or to put the company down. There are also always worries of sexual predators and cyber-bullying. Yes facebook and twitter are revamping society but people are starting to become dependent on comments, wall posts, likes, and hashtags.
回复删除I think that it is crazy how much of our time is spent using these networks. I see the positives and negatives that come from these social networking sites. While there are many positives that come with these networks and they outweigh the negatives, it is the negatives that really stand out. It is scary to think that it increases the possibility of identity threat, property threat and sexual predators. I agree with you that we should work to help the younger generation with avoiding privacy issues. All in all we need to be more skeptic about what we post and say on these sites, because they are with us forever.
回复删除Joseph.273
I agree with this blog that the growth and expansion of the internet has made the world feel more connected and closer to each other. I also find it easy to believe that social networking is the more commonly used website on mobile phones. I think the statistic that social networking has grown 240% is tremendous. I agree that privacy is an issue on social networking sites, especially Facebook which includes more pictures and personal information that Twitter does. It is interesting that on Facebook people provide more information in order to attract more “friends” with similar interests when instead they are subjecting themselves to potential predators online. I agree with this blog’s privacy concern on social networking.
回复删除smith.5921
I like what you mentioned about Twitter being used by famous people and that having such a huge affect on its success. It is really the first social network where the information goes straight from the celebrity to the masses. Most other times we watch or read storied about them on shows like Access Hollywood and magazines like InTouch.
回复删除I also agree that social networking does more good than harm even though there are privacy issues. I read an article a while back about a country going through civil war with a dictator. People were using Facebook to set up meeting points and times to make plans on getting more rights.I don;t think the ability of communication should ever be discounted or underrated.
digiannantoni.5
The more I read about social networking, the more I think that they are doing more harm than good. It is absolutely a great way to keep in touch with old friends, but I think that it is proving to cause a lot of problems in terms of careers and also in terms of predators and hackers. I have never really thought of the content of a Facebook page as a means of attracting similar friends, but I guess that is absolutely correct. If someone has artwork visible or something that I find interesting on their page, I am more likely to friend them over others. There are reasons to keep social networks up and running, the main reason being as a form of leisurely activity, but I definitely think that privacy settings should be monitored and that people, especially young adults, should pay attention to what everyone on the web can see.
回复删除gallagher.532