Issues Paper

Thesis: On balance, Social Networking Websites have a positive influence on our society today. This paper will list and analyze the arguments made for, and against theses sites.

Defenition:

• We define social network sites as web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. The nature and nomenclature of these connections may vary from site to site. (Boyd, 2007)

• A "social network site" is a category of websites with profiles, semi-persistent public commentary on the profile, and a traversable publicly articulated social network displayed in relation to the profile. (Apophenia, 2006)

Argument for SNS :

• Social networks and the need to communicate are universal human
conditions. A general assumption is that communication technologies help to
increase and strengthen social ties. The Internet provides many social
networking opportunities. (Coyle, 2008)

• Outside the UK, organsations are actively leveraging the power of social networks to find new business opportunities, new groups of like-minded individuals and companies, and new sources of industry-specific wisdom, advice and expertise. Many companies are also investigating social networking sites’ potential to recruit new employees, including the UK Secret Intelligence Service. (Wilson, 2009)

• The friends that you can make are just one of the many benefits to social networking online. Another one of those benefits includes diversity because the internet gives individuals from all around the world access to social networking sites. This means that although you are in the United States, you could develop an online friendship with someone in Denmark. Not only will you make new friends, but you just might learn a thing or two about new cultures or new languages and learning is always a good thing. (Brown, 2009)

Arguments against SNS:

• One of the biggest changes in the report was the increase in harassment online from off line acquaintances. Harassment could take several forms, from sending threatening or sexually explicit emails to the dissemination of erroneous information on websites such as MySpace. This supports the idea that cyber bullying is playing a larger role in the youth culture. (Gerber, 2007)

• One of the more interesting statistics taken from the 2007 Internet safety statistics for children report was the very slight increase (1 percent) in the number of online solicitations leading to meetings in person with children. One would expect due to media reports that online predators were making more headway than cyber bullies were in online harassment. (Gerber 2007)

• BUT there is another side of the coin that some people unfortunately tend to forget. That these sites are in the Internet and everything one posts on these sites can be viewed by anybody, especially one's employer, past, current or future. Some (or a lot) of employers have taken to “googling” the names of their employees or prospective employees to find out if there’s anything they need to know about their current, past or prospective employees. And there have been cases of employees getting fired because of what they put on these sites. There have also been cases when the applicant was not accepted. All because these employers saw some things in the employee’s / applicant’s social networking site that they did not like. It is on these cases when we can honestly say that the social networking sites actually became a bane for these (poor?) employees. (10 Ways, 2009)

• 28% of online teens say they use code words on a daily basis to hide online conversations from their parents (Teen Research Unlimited, "Topline Findings from Omnibuzz Research." October 2005.)

More than one fourth (27%) of teens report that they have talked online about sex with someone they have never met in person (Teen Research Unlimited, "Topline Findings from Omnibuzz Research." October 2005). (Children Online, 2009)

Wrap Up:

• One way to prevent problems in social networking is simply not to have your own page. If you do have one, take steps to ensure that your information remains private. Boyadjian uses privacy settings so her students can't see her Facebook profile. "It's not that I have anything to hide," she says, but that "it's unprofessional to have a socialnetworking relationship with my students in the same place that I communicate with my peers." (Teacher Federation, 2008)