Brandon Osborne
1/09/13
Social Networking:
The Immortal Culprit Destroying our Society
Written By
Brandon Osborne
Social Networking
At some time in the midst of August 2003, a game changing, cultural
phenomenon was launched, most commonly referred to as, myspace. Myspace offered a
fast-pace, witty new way, to connect with friends, and keep up to date on all the hot
topics. On a daily basis, myspace gained 230,000 new users, and was later sold by CEO,
Tom Anderson, in 2005, for $580 Million. In September 2006, the fast arising
competitor, facebook, came creeping around the corner, as it expanded its doors beyond
the small web of college students. 2008 rolled along, and the culture grew bored of
myspace’s nagging array of ‘Befriend me!’ thus deciding to relocate to facebook for
good.
A 2012 census conducted by the Pew Internet Project shows that 69% of adults
use social networking sites. The variety of applications generated to simplify access of
facebook and twitter, make keeping up to date, quick, and convenient. It has become a
compulsive habit to insert a new facebook status, instagram a photo of today’s delicious
lunch, or go on a three-tweet rant about the grueling traffic on the 405. Sure, social
networking has contributed to reuniting old friends, and keeping people in the loop, but
the dwelling concern is: When will society’s ruling obsession to ‘connect’ begin to
contradict the original goals of social networking?
The more time spent cyber stalking distant acquaintances, does not only affect a
person’s well being. It can also have a pretty hefty impact on a person’s brain. Students’
attention spans are gravely challenged when the positive ambition to ace tomorrow’s
math test, is overruled by a powerful temptation to procrastinate on facebook. As of July
2012, over 121.1 billion minutes have been spent on social networking sites. When is
there time to spend with friends? Not only can social networking be time consuming, it
can also be dangerous. Not a soul in the world is oblivious to the endangering
repercussions of exposing oneself on the Internet, but how many actually take the
warnings into account?
According to Paul A. Kirschner & Aryn C Karpinski – conductors of the
Facebook and Academic Performance experiment - on the topic of kids and their usage
of social networking sights,
““They live in social networks such as Facebook, MySpace, and Second
Life gathering friends; they text more than they talk on the phone; and they
Twitter the night away often sleeping with their cell phones vibrating by
their sides.”
Students, who fall off of the studying track because of social networking sites,
have 20% lower test scores, as opposed to those, who maintain the acing ambition.
Facebook users spend about 1-5 hours studying for exams. Those abstinent from the
cyber community, spend 11-15 hours studying for exams. The decrease in study habits,
have also had an affect on GPA scores. Those who network online have an average GPA
of 3.0. Those who steer clear from cyber captivity, normally thrive with a gleaming
outcome of 3.8. Not only does the growing addiction affect ones current education, it also
contributes to the decision for further opportunities. In the present day, top-notch
Universities are highly aware of the culture’s increasing obsession with social
networking. This gives them the perfect opportunity to scan the facebook profiles of
desired applicants, and gain a ‘real’ perspective on them.
A major controversy that made a name in pop culture these past couple of years,
is, cyber bullying. A census entitled Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network
Sites, shows that 20% of teens that indulge in social networking, have endured negative
abuse from it. 22% experienced a friendship ending over a conflict that occurred on
facebook, or myspace. 25% of the teens even reported that the conflict later resulted in a
physical altercation. According to a Pew Internet Project spokesman,
"A Facebook profile can be the site of a budding romance or the staging
ground for conflict. In the past, mediated interactions might have taken
place via paper letter or set of wires and a phone between the conversing
partners. Now, all internet users have access to a broader digital
audience. And in this new environment, social norms of behavior and
etiquette are still being formed."
Most people have heard the gut wrenching horror stories: craigslist serial killers,
chat room rapists, the list goes on. Though when it comes to the necessary precautions to
protect oneself from the dangers, people are clueless. According to a Facebook
Spokesman,
“We take safety very seriously and have a strict policy against the posting
of child exploitive content or content that supports child exploitive groups,"
a spokesman for Facebook told FoxNews.com in an e-mail. "Facebook is
highly self-regulating, and users can and do report content that they find
questionable or offensive. Our team of investigations professionals
reviews these reports, removes content that violates our policies, and
escalates to law enforcement as necessary.”
If this is true, then why in a short five-second search, conducted on September 23
2010 by Fox news, were over 87 profiles found that supported the North American
Man/Boy Love Association? More commonly referred to as NAMBLA, a group
dedicated to protesting the right of men suffering from sickly desires. Also, many users
are unaware of the privacy features that you can enable on these sites, thus leaving them
prone to cyber harassment, and invasion of private information. A recent danger arising
in the cyber world is caused by the popular option to geotag. Geotagging allows users to
add personal information – such as date, time and location – to photos, videos, SMS
messages, and so forth. If an individuals profile is not set private, just about anyone can
view their pictures and render a location from the information provided by the geotag.
The Internet is a dangerous place, and those uneducated on the safety precautions, are
prone to just about all forms of hacking.
The endless hours gazing at a bright screen can also afflict physical, and
emotional health effects. Social networking has been known to cause isolation, what it
originally intended to prevent. Lack of socialization eventually leads to depression,
enhancing self-conscious thoughts, and rendering a nasty case of anxiety. Dedicating the
majority of interactions to online might possibly even create a fear of face-to-face
conversation. A UCLA study reveals that pathological Internet surfers have altered
prefrontal cortexes. The brain is literally rewired, to adapt to the fast pace of cyber
networking. Though don’t conform just yet, all is not lost.
There is still hope to turn things around. Limiting facebook to close friends and
family will help grasp a hold on online phishing, and predator’s searching for prey. Also,
parents should always be aware of who their children communicate with online, and have
full access to their networking profile. If neither of these solutions seems achievable, then
just follow by the old saying “Everything in moderation.” Lets limit the number of
facebook updates to twice a day, as opposed to ten, once in the morning, and once in the
evening. This will create time to focus on things of higher importance; like getting better
grades, and seeking higher career opportunities.
It is safe to confirm that social networking has engrained its spot into history, and
will not be going anywhere for a long time. That does not mean it has to be a ruling
predecessor. The more time spent indulging in the pleasures of the real world, will prove
to benefit the wellbeing of our population. The point that this essay tries so vigorously to
achieve is that, when does enough become too much? When does society’s obsession to
‘connect’ contradict the original goals of social media? According to the article Is
Facebook Making Us Lonely? journalist, Stephen Markes, elaborates on this theory,
“When you sign up for Google+ and set up your Friends circle, the
program specifies that you should include only “your real friends, the ones
you feel comfortable sharing private details with.” That one little phrase,
Your real friends—so quaint, so charmingly mothering—perfectly
encapsulates the anxieties that social media have produced: the fears that
Facebook is interfering with our real friendships, distancing us from each
other, making us lonelier; and that social networking might be spreading
the very isolation it seemed designed to conquer.”
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