Effects of Social Networking on Society Essay

Networking as we know it today has gone a notch higher thanks to the internet and technology as a whole. The number and popularity of social networks has grown immensely since 2005. Sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Tagged and a numerous number of dating sites have found their way into our PCs and phones. All one needs to gain access to these social networks is a pc or phone and an internet connection. There are easy steps in creating a user account and once the account is up you go ahead on making new friends. Social networks allow people to overcome barriers caused by proximity and terrain helping them reconnects with far away relations and also meet people. With social networks, one does not need to travel to faraway places just to unite with their loved ones for that would take time and resources. With social networks you can use instant messaging to pass on the love to your cousin in Australia. It’s also been proven that social networks provide for creativity allowing the users to create their own awn profile and decorate it as they see fit. Blogs come in handy when it comes to creativity, We can all agree that social networks help lower social anxiety. If you suffer from such anxiety we find it easier to talk behind the silver screen where we are more comfortable. A teenager who is socially awkward will find it very helpful to ask a girl out to the school dance over Twitter. If she turns him down, it doesn’t hurt as much as it would have had it been face to face. Social networks help bring people with common interests together. Chat rooms have been developed which are more specific to their topics of discussion. With such online communities online, it’s like one has access to this titanic database of information since the discussions expose us to new ideas hereby enhancing our skills. Social networks have also helped many people with life issues like what car to buy, where to go for a holiday, where to shop and so on. One gets guidance from someone who has already had experience in the area of dilemma and once the problem is shared, the person will make a more informed decision. Social media also helps people in the low income bracket familiarize themselves with modern technology. Skills like uploading and editing pictures and videos and using the html language to edit Social networks are a powerful tool for social change. For instance in 2009 Twitter was used by Iranians to circumvent government control. Social networks are also used by politician to popularize themselves amongst the youth which are the majority in any country. Social networks are known to kill face to face interactions.  The family setup for example is affected when the teenagers are twitting during the evenings which is the only time their parents are available and thus the parent child relationship suffers immensely. A study carried out in the states showed that teens spend more than 9 hours in online chats every week. Privacy is another issue on social networks. Only recently was it found out that pictures posted over the net were not entirely erased even after the user removed them from their profiles. Unscrupulous parties who are up to no good could retrieve them and woe to you if they showed one in a compromising situation. Employers have been known to fire employees because of embarrassing photos and comments. When one creates a profile over a social network, there is no way of verifying that what they portray on their profile is true. This makes unsuspecting users vulnerable to fraudsters the likes of the 419ers. Social networks are also linked to health hazards. A new syndrome identified as the watch glass syndrome was diagnosed in social network users were people became very impatient and edgy. It also poses a problem with kids who are growing up. Once they become accustomed to instant essaging and everything at the click of a button, it becomes difficult to adapt to the real world were protocol is mandatory. A child accustomed to social networking at a tender age would probably be lacking in social skills. Another problem that comes with social networking is cyber bullying. This is especially with teens who would feel short of something and as a result their self esteem drops and performance in school related activities drops. There is also a drop in performance in companies whose employees have access to social networks. Forms get delayed brochures are not designed in time and the presentations are not up to standard all because the person concerned decided to tweet for a few minutes to â€Å"wind up† just an hour after he arrived late for work. Social networks also bring about unnecessary network traffic. Most people log into social networks between six and eight in the evening a study carried out by Steadman in Kenya showed. During this time download speeds nose dive to zero when using your phone to surf the net thanks to social networks. Social networks do not also scan their mail for viruses and scam making your phone or PC prone to a virus attack. We consider mail through social networks safe but only recently was that proven to be a false sense of security. Social networks can also be used as a tool of rebellion. Inciters have an easy time getting to the crowd since groups have been created for almost every institution and thus what one needs to do is place a comment on the group’s wall and all hell breaks loose.  Exams are boycotted, classes are forfeited, strikes are arranged and there is actually no way of stumping this out or getting the culprits since no one has succeeded in controlling the internet. From the discussion above, it is clear beyond doubt that the cons outweigh the pros and thus I conclude that social networks are doing more harm to society than good. We do not however disregard the good it has done but it need to be put to better use if it is at all to benefit society