Let us face it –
Social media is everywhere.
People talk the “social media tongue” without even
knowing it these days.
Man made social networking sites and technically he
should be changing it according to his needs but the youth today change
according to the social networking site. Our world revolves around Facebook,
Twitter and sites like that. Like every coin has two sides even this has its
own pro’s and con’s.
So the question arises of “Social Networking sites- A boon
or A bane?” but no answer.
Our elders say a bane, because it has pulled most of
the youth away from responsibilities and into the virtual world. The youngsters say it is a boon because it
has kept friends in different parts of the world in touch with each other. It
is true that social networking sites are of great advantage to all of us but a
boon becomes a bane when it is overused and that is what we need to understand. We cannot orbit around social networks, we need to prioritize and that is what
we don’t do.
Also, it is not only the youth forgetting the responsibilities there are several other problems that we face but cannot recognize yet. As
students we rely too much on the information on the social media due to which
we have reduced use of our thinking abilities, this may not affect us so much
now but later on when we have to do research studies and cannot rely on these
networks, this is the exact time when we will face the major difficulties.
Now , we have to think who is
at loss here. It is definitely not the creators of the social networking sites
or the teachers and professors or our parents.
Additionally, being a
social networking individual may make us an introvert because we reduce our
comfort zone to making friends virtually and when it comes to interacting with
someone in a social setup we do not know what to say and how to begin a
conversation, which leads to us becoming antisocial and in the chain of events
even depressed.
The old saying’s always hold true in such cases “ Too much of
anything is bad.”
Guest blogger - Saniya
Nadkarni
B.O.T
The effects of social networking sites on Teens
ReplyDeleteIn the UK Facebook is the number one social networking site with Bebo, MySpace and Twitter lying in its shadow. Incredibly, these sites combined are enough to make up the Facebook user community. MySpace remains popular with young adults; it is said to reach around 30% of those aged between 15-24. It has been suggested that it’s as common to have a MySpace account in the UK as it is to own a dog.
With the increase in popularity and use of social networking sites amongst the younger generations there too are concerns about safety and what these sites might expose to teens. Online predators, cyberbullies and peer pressure are to name a few. In addition to this, there are fears about teen’s futures regarding university enrolments and jobs possibilities being compromised due to past personal profiles and online posts.
A study in the US examined the content of public MySpace profiles and found that 54% of young adults frequently display high-risk activities including sexual behaviour, substance abuse or violence. The researchers of the study noted that these online displays of risky behaviour could just be displays and may be showing intention or considered behaviour. If so, there may be an opportunity to influence and educate those partaking in risky behaviours. A second study took this opportunity and aimed to reduce online displays of risky behaviour. Research fellow Megan A. Moreno created an online profile “Dr. Meg” showing her professional credentials and research interests. Moreno sent an email to all the public profiles used in the first study providing basic information about the risky nature of disclosing personal information online as well as a link to a website about sexual health. Three months later, a total of 42% of subjects took at least one of three protective measures against their profiles: a decreased reference to their sexual behaviour or substance use or profile security settings were changed from ‘public’ to ‘private’.
This study suggests that social networking sites are an effective way to communicate with young adults about their online displays. Through online communication, researchers were able to change teens’ behaviour. Parents and health officials can learn about how teens make health-related choices and there are opportunities to provide information on teen related issues of concern.
It is easy to speculate negatively about the increasing use of social networking sites amongst younger generations. However studies such as these show that it is not all doom and gloom. They bring a positive spin to ways in which social networking sites can be used productively to reach out to teens about risk taking behaviours in a less invasive way. Similar techniques could be used to provide information and warnings on other issues of concern such as cyberbullying and online predators.