The Good, The Bad and The Ugly sides of Social Networking

Social Networking:
Bebo, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Social Networking sites seem to be the most frequented websites on the net. It's very rare that you'll meet somebody who doesn't have at least one profile from the three listed above. Social Networking is allowing us to become more connected than ever before. But considering the risks that are out there; is it really worth risking our safety? In the following blog I'll be investigating the the pros and cons of social networking sites before coming to a conclusion.


The Good:

Social Networking sites have brought communication to a place nobody could possibly imgagined just a few decades ago. In the 1980’s, when so many young Irish people were emigrating to America, England and Australia, their means of contacting their loved ones back home were severely limited. They had to settle for a letter every couple of weeks or the odd phone call every once and a while. In contrast to this I’m currently able to have a conversation with my cousin in Canada while I take a break from writing this blog. It’s incredible to think that there is 3,500 miles apart and we have 5 hours of a time difference between us and yet I can talk to him on facebook chat right now and get instant updates on the Montreal weather. There are so many people that we meet in our lives that we form friendships with and enjoy keeping in touch with. Between school friends, college friends, work friends and relations, the number starts to become very large. There’s just not enough time in our lifetimes to keep in touch with everyone in person. Thanks to our status updates on the likes of Bebo, Facebook and Twitter we can see what all our friend’s are upto everyday with just the click of a mouse. Social Networking is bringing us all closer together.



The Bad:

Before I sat down to write my blog I was uploading old photographs I had to my own Fcebook account and it suddenly occured to me that I would be mortified if certain people saw some of the photos I was uploading. I imagined a scenario where I went for a job interview which went very well. The prospective employers were prepared to offer me the job until they did a quick background search on google and a link to my facebook account came up. A quick glance through some of the photos on my page and all of a sudden I become the last person that they want to represent them. Of course it would be my own fault for not having my settings set to "Friends Only" so that I can have some privacy. But it's not truly private even then is it? There are people I don't know in the world who can access my photographs and view them any time they want to. Employees of facebook can gain access to photos of me and my friends. Even some top tier employees can gain access to my account whenever they want with a "universal password". It's a little scary when you think about it. On top of that I have to contend with the fact that anybody can gain access to my account if they can guess my password. Makes you think twice about using your cat's name as your password doesn't it? Identity theft is becoming increasingly more common. Once somebody knows your name and has access to a photograph of you they can easily assume your "online identity", causing all kinds of harm. So the question needs to be asked; is being able to see what your uncle John is doing on his trip to Cambodia as it happens worth sacrificing your privacy for?


The Ugly:
In January 2010, Phoebe Prince took her own life after months of bullying in her school. Her tormentors didn’t think that it was merely enough to persecute her at school they also berated her on facebook also. Phoebe couldn’t even escape when she was in the comfort of her own home. Even when Phoebe had died and a memorial page was set up for her on facebook, her tormentors continued to say nasty things about her, leaving very hurtful comments for all to see. Facebook have strict no bullying policy for their site but event their administrators can’t see all and they’re powerless to help unless the bullying is reported. The problem is children who are being bullied often find it very difficult to work up the courage to report bullying to the authorities. Thus many cases of online bullying, such as this go unnoticed. Phoebe wasn’t the first victim of cyber bullying and she won’t be the last.

The Verdict:
So the question needs to be asked; are social networking sites useful? Yes they are. The are so many things that we're capable of now thanks to social networking sites. Things that were thought of as impossible just a few decades ago are now considered the norm.
Are social networking sites dangerous? Yes they are. It's very easy for people to become victims like Phoebe was. Traps can also be set by sexual predators and paedophiles on these sites which means the danger is very real. However I must say that overall these sites can be safe as long as they are respected and people exercise a certain amount of caution.
Overall the pros by far outweigh the cons in my opinion and I believe that we can now accompish so much through the use of these sites. It will be interesting to see how these sites will grow and how they will develop. I for one am very excited about what the future holds.