Being an introvert, I am naturally quiet and choose to withdraw from large social groups, so you'd think that social networks would be a haven for me. But I don't use social networking sites very much, I actually forgot both my email and password for Facebook about two years ago as I just wasn't using it. From my own personal experience with social networks, I saw social networks be taken over by extroverts and was probably why I stopped using them as often. But lately I was wondering if people just act as extroverts on line because the anxiety of face-to-face conversation is removed. I mean, its not a stupid question to ask is it? In fact, many people could be labelled as an offline introvert, on-line extrovert. And it would explain why so many people who are usually very guarded with personal information or opinions in the real world, to then post all this private information without even thinking.
I take it this person wasn't thinking when he posted this
'You just put into words what I was thinking! Social media gave those of us that 30 years ago would have had jobs in a back room somewhere a way to communicate with confidence. But like you said, the problem arises when we step back into the real world and don’t live up to expectations of being the person we’ve allowed everyone to see on line.
(I could never say what I just said in a room full of people)'
Is this why social networks are so popular now-a-days? As they appeal to people who prefer to be alone to communicate in a way that suits them? I mean if your going to create an invention that promotes social interactions and communication of course extroverts are going to be all over it, they don't even need something to talk about to talk (as by definition) just give them the tools to do so and they will get at it. But introverts prefer to be alone then to socialise with a bunch of acquaintances whom they don't know very well (as it gets quite exhausting after a while), so social networking sites actually remove the exhausting element of socialising because you don't have to make the effort to open your mouth and make words come out, making social networks convenient for introverts as well as extroverts. Which explains the popularity of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter because they appeal to such a wide audience.
'1 in 5 divorce petitions processed cite Facebook'
'20% of all divorce petitions have references to Facebook'
'Computer firms are now cashing in by creating software
programs for people to spy on their spouses'
A woman of 28 years of age divorced her husband after discovering her husband was having a virtual affair with a woman whom he had never met. Whilst another woman of 35 even discovered her husband was divorcing her via Facebook. I would of hated to be their divorce attorneys!
Here is an unfortunate example of a relationship gone sour because of social networking related issues on the Jeremy Kyle show USA. The fact that a relationship can break down without someone physically saying or doing something to another person to cause a break-up is something of a new reality to us. Before, say 10 years ago, the most common reason for divorce was financial difficulties and abuse from a partner. Now its because of social networking posts, pictures and flirty messages sent to people many of the senders haven't actually met. Quite like the little grey bloke explained on my previous post.
'facebook dating - for those wiht no socail skills! who cant talk to a woman in REAL LIFE face to face!'
-Youtube User (2 years ago)
Although I don't totally agree with this statement made by a fellow Youtube user, I do kinda agree that there are no social skills included in talking to people on social networks. I don't know about you (although I probably could know everything about you just by typing your name into Google) but have you ever met someone in real life that you have only ever spoke to on line? Awkward isn't it? Of course not all the time as many people met there spouses or partners on social networking sites, in fact, its the third most common way in which people met there partners according to a survey by match.com. Remember back in the 90's where everybody thought of Internet dating as a last resort as it was widely thought that Internet dater's were the social rejects of society? (Well, I don't because I wasn't born then, but hopefully you do.) Well it turns out all those Internet daters in the late 90s weren't social rejects after all; they were just a few years ahead of the digital Zeitgeist. So I guess that social networking sites aren't all bad as demonstrated in a working paper presented at the 2010 American Sociological Association meeting showing that 25% of new marriages originated from on line meetings. So social networking can be described as the root of both destruction and creation in some relationships, not all remember, and the amount of relationships originating from social networking sites I predict will rise (but please note I am not an Internet expert and also wrong in most of my predictions of the future, but the thing is with social networking sites is that they are unpredictable, some fail some are overnight success's). Let me leave you with a statistic from this source http://cp.match.com/cppp/media/CMB_Study.pdf .
15 years ago (that's 1997 people) Social networking sites accounted for 0% of marriages.
Fast forward 15 years (that's 2012) Social networking sites account for 17% of marriages.
In the last year, more than twice as many marriages occurred between people who met on an on line dating site than met in bars, at clubs and other social events combined.
1 out of 5 single people have dated someone they met on an on line dating site.
1 out of 5 people in a new committed relationship (including marriage) met their significant other on an on line dating site.
I'll see you on match.com!
What about friendships?
I think we can all relate to this picture...
Of course not all relationships are between a couple, we all have friends (Hopefully you do, but if you don't, well then this is just really awkward), but does social networking stunt friendship growth? Many good friendships bloom on networking sites and last for years, but on the flip side, how many friendships between BBF's (again if you don't have one of these then I have just rubbed salt in your wound) have ended because of something related to these networks?
'As the Internet and online social networks continue to grow so does cyber bullying.'
Megan Meier was a pretty, 13 year old girl who killed herself due to online bullying and was a well known case back in 2007. This was writtten by the telegraph newspaper.
'Cyber bullying victims are more likely to have low self esteem and to consider suicide.'
-Cyberbullying Research Center, "Summary of our cyberbullying research from 2004-2010" [online]
Bullying victims are 2 to 9 times more likely to commit suicide.
The CDC states that bullying victims are 2 to 9 times more likely to commit suicide or attempt it than those who do not experience bullying. This is not just true for the victims of bullies, but it is also true for the bullies themselves. Bullies are often the product of an abusive environment and are likely to be victims of bullying themselves. These specific numbers come from the 2011 Mortality and Morbidity report that the CDC issued. In the report, CDC professionals cite a correlation between bullying and higher suicide rates.
This was a chart created in 2008 (hopefully you can see it)
Over the past week or so, I've tried to gather some research of my own by going out and about with a friend of mine asking people what were their thoughts about social networking, and let me tell you now you'd be surprised at how fast people can run when they see someone with a clipboard!
Although, I probably shouldn't of then ran after them :/
The people who didn't want to answer
my questionnaire and a red
dude.
Anyway, although I couldn't get any results, I took the time to read the book The Facebook Effect. The book talked about the growth and impact of Facebook and how it has made an irreversible impact on society, marketing and politics -- even facilitating political protests around the world in countries such as Colombia and Iran. I hadn't been able to read the entire book, but I was able to get an overall sense of Facebook and be able to get to know the social network better, and look forward to reading the rest.
Of course I cant copy the entire book onto this blog. Because I'm just lazy like that and there would probably be a copyright issue. But I did find this video on youtube for you related to it...
In this video Mark Zukerberg says ''Facebook is just a platform and the content is created by its members.''
This quote made me think up that maybe social networking has no negative or positives, maybe the negatives and positives are created by the people that utilise this media, but that then brings up the question of does this still make social networks responsible? As it is giving the people the tools, in some cases the murder weapon, to make something either really great or really disastrous. Although I'm mostly likely wrong and thinking too deeply about it :/
''I think that there is something to be pointed out here. These things may be true but they aren't in anyway facebook's fault. Thats the way that people chose to use the service thats provided to them. Nothing more.'' -Youtube user (0 likes)
''Facebook Is The place where people add you as a friend & walk past you in the street. Where relationships are perfect, affairs are started, & liars believe they are telling the truth. Your enemies visit your profile the most, yet your friends & family block you, &… even though you write what you are really thinking, someone always takes it the wrong way, & people think your status is about them...repost if you agree..... AHH sheeit ' thats SOOOOO true .''
- Youtube user (34 likes)
The Facebook effect. If you've read all of my very dull posts on this blog in order to understand social networking better (Lol good luck) well then I suggest you look at this video. This little bloke explains it all...
And whilst he was at it, Twitter too...
'Now FB has 800 million users, 300 million more than when this was posted. This FB nonsense has got to stop somewhere. It may be that one day, you can ONLY get hired if you're on FB, and what's on there pleases somebody. That's way to demonic for me to handle.'
-Youtube User (25 likes) 2 months ago
The Faceook effect.
A good book you could read.
Whilst researching Youtube for videos to learn from about social networking as only a good and dedicated media student does, I came across the above comment and it got me thinking about the new reality about being a person that society has now come across thanks to the social networking revolution. 'I am on Facebook, therefore I am.' Whether this is actually the new reality or not doesn't matter, what does matter is that many people believe this is the new reality, and many employers do now-a-days check an employee's social networks profiles and in some cases can lead to employee's being fired because of posts or pictures put up by that person. Hopefully, the power of social networking will never get so far as to someone ONLY getting hired because of how many friends they have on their facebook page, but in this video above 'The facebook effect' Mark Zukerberg couldn't say what Facebook would be like in 40 years. I thought it quite funny that Mark Zukerberg, the creator of Facebook, couldn't say what his social network would be like in 40 years but neither can any of us. I had a very hard time even defining social networking in my previous post let only even comprehend the power of social networking in the future and knowing that the overnight success Facebook creator couldn't either didn't exactly give me much hope or optimism. But you never know whether people will only get hired because of how many Facebook friends they have or whether they will only get hired because of how good there Farmville on Facebook is (which I must admit, mine is very impressive) as we just can't predict what the impact that social networking will have on us in even 5 years. But social networking has already played a part in political movements in such countries as Iran, Egypt and Columbia. Such a big impact that Egyptian citizens are now calling there children 'Facebook' to commemorate the role it played in the revolution.(And I thought my name was weird). I think this naming children after social networking just demonstrates how powerful they really are, although I think they shouldn't let the naming get out of hand though, I’d hate for little “Facebook” to have to share a classroom with a little “AOL,” or even worse a little “Yahoo.”
I mean who would've thought a Egyptian president for 40+ years would resign over a 2-week protest using the Internet? The internet, social networks in particular, are a pretty powerful tool if you ask me.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
