Negative Impact of Social networking (research)

For most people, using a social network is enjoyable and useful, however if the potential pitfalls are ignored, an individual could find themselves languishing in the negative effects of social networks such as; Facebook, twitter etc. The keys to having a successful experience on the network is to be attentive to the disadvantages, and educate and protect yourself by using the tools Facebook provides. Combining these with common sense can help mitigate some of the problematic issues generally associated with being a social network member. Sometimes we may think think that we are aware of the negative impacts of social networking, but maybe not as aware as we may like to think we are, as any of us can be the victims of:

• Identity theft/fraud
• Cyberbullying (Ex; threatening,harassing,humiliating,stalking,sexually exploiting a targeted person.)
• Breakdown of 'in person' relationships due to social networking.
• Misinterpretation of 'posts'
• Can be used as a way for illegal activity to commence( ie; Drug deals made, rioting etc.)
• Less time to do things in the real world
• Loss of privacy
• Addiction to checking your profile/s

The list of negatives is endless just as the positives are! But we are going to focus on the negatives as I am just in that kind of pessimistic mood.

This particular post has links or references to the negative impacts of social networking. All sources are reasonably reliable sources of information.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/are-we-living-in-sensory-overload-or-sensory-poverty/?ref=socialnetworking -New York times

Mainly when people talk about the negative impacts of social networking they refer to cyberbullying, identify theft and computer viruses. But many do not mention how it impacts our daily interactions with other people or our 'in person' social network (referring to the previous post) which is what this article is centralised on.

http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/09/fighting-cyberbullies-with-laws-and-laughter/?ref=socialnetworking -New York Times

This particular newspaper article is interesting as it involves a case of a 45 year old woman being bullied online via a fake Facebook account created in her name portraying her as a paedophile and a Drug dealer. This article is interesting because tend to usually in the media hear of only young victims of cyberbullying whereas this article is written about an elder victim. This demonstrates that not only young people are perpetrators or victims of the negative impacts of social networking.

http://soulthinks.com/2011/05/16/social-networking/ -Soul thinks

Alike to the New York times article at the top, it mentions the unproductive health impacts of constant social networking usage, which is very interesting as it has several quotes included in the text.

Watch Charlie Chaplins speech. Although at first glance it doesn't seem relevant it does have some relation to technology today and is also quite poignant.

I found this graph below quite interesting as the results show that cyberbullying cases have actually decreased, which was opposite to what I thought it would be as I would have guessed that as the Internet has grown so would the cases of cyberbullying, but instead the results contradict that. These results show that in February 2010 the cases of cyberbullying have decreased by 19.8% from June 2004. And the even stranger part is in Feb 2010 they had a larger sample size of 4441 people compared to in June 2004 when they had a small sample size of 370 people. The reasons that these results could of been produced could be because either cyberbullying cases have actually gone done which is a great thing, or the people asked could of been giving untruthful answers as to whether they had experienced cyberbullying which could be a possibility as according to statistics by the i-SAFE foundation 'Well over half of young people do not tell their parents when cyber bullying occurs' and 'More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyberthreats online.'

Cyberbullying statistics dating from June 2004 to February 2010

What is social networking?

To be able to understand what social networking is we must first understand what is meant by 'social network' that is not involved with computer usage.

Social network: (In person) 

• A network of friends, colleagues, and other personal contacts: Strong social networks can encourage healthy behaviours.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/social+network

• Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like small rural communities or a neighbourhood subdivision.

http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/

Wikipedia: A social network is a set of social actors (e.g. people, organisations, communities, nations) and a set of social relationships (e.g. friendship/affect, communication, economic transactions, interactions, kinship, authority/hierarchy, trust, social support, diffusion, contagion, shared memberships) among them.


From these definitions shown, you can gather that the general term defining an 'in person' social network is personal relationships between two or more people.

http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_network


Social Networking: (Computer usage)

Wikipedia: The use of a dedicated Web site to communicate informally with other members of the site, by posting messages, photographs, etc.

Dictionary.com: a.an online community of people with a common interest who use a Web site or other technologies to communicate with each other and share information, resources, etc.: a business-oriented social network.

• b. a Web site or online service that facilitates this communication.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/social+network

WhatIs.com:Social networking is the practise of expanding the number of ones business and/or social contacts by making connections through individuals.
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/social-networking

From these definitions shown, you can gather the general term defining social networking is an online organisation that allows communication between people on a larger scale and is a way of advertising for companies on a broader scale.

From the variety of these definitions we can pinpoint that an in person social networking are the networks in which we communicate with people on a daily basis such as; Family, friends, co-workers etc. and what social networking is, is simular to an in peron network and embodies the same characteristics but allows for this 'network' of people in whom you interact with to be on a wider scale such as; People you met on the bus one time, distant family, acquaintance's, friends of friends, ex-friends, ex-partners etc. That fact that online social networking allows you to communicate with people you may not really know, or may not even of met in person at all, raises both positive and negative reactions in people which we will soon explore.

Response to Brief

I am very scared of this brief. No way am I gonna do even satisfactory on this unit.

:/

- This is my worried face...

Anyway

For this unit of work I will need to be able to get a variety of definations from different reliable sources to define what everyone thinks social networking is. I will also need to research and select what sources and information I will need to post on this blog and which information is the most suitable. I will also need to reference the sources I use and make sure there content is diverse and all together touches all aspects of social networking.

Intro to Media Blog Unit 4

I am very, very smart. I cretad a bloog I did.

Briefing Paper

Background
Many people now live a significant amount of their lives online, using the internet in a positive manner as a source of information, as a social platform and as a forum for collaborative thinking and creativity. Recent reports show that the majority of people now have a Facebook or other social netwroking account, and many people have a smartphone giving instant access to the internet. However, a number of organisations and studies are concerned with the potential risks of such behaviour. Issues include identity theft, cyberbullying, hacking and the impact of computer viruses as well as fears that people are particularly vulnerable to misinformation on the internet.

Life Online: Submissions Sought
Life online is a new organisation set up to highlight both the dangers and the advantages off online technologies. As a student aware of the pro's and con's of online media, we want you to contribute to our growing campaign focussed on promoting understanding and awareness of safe and positive internet usage. Together we can use the whole varietyof local and national media to explore life online in the 21st century.

To be part of our campaign, you will need to investigate the issues surrounding putting your life online. You will also need to research the specific ways in which people in your local region, area or community are involved in this issue. As part of your research, you will need to use some of your findings to identify and justify your choice of target audience. You will then need to develop your own idea's for promoting through the local or national media the danger's or advantage's of putting your life online.

You will need to plan and produce an intergrated campaign using two of the following media forms:

• Print and Electronic Publishing, including newspapers, comics, magazines.#
• Moving Image, Including television, film and video.
• Radio, including commercial, network, public broadcasting, community, etc.
• Web-based Technologies/New Media, including websites, podcasts and gaming.

Your teacher has been asked to act as an agent for 'Life Online' in order to collect your responses and is fully committed to this initiative. Your teacher will set you a strict deadline which you must observe.