Presentation

Most of us are currently a part of social networking sites and use them often. Generally what we see at a glance though, are the advantages of being in one. However, there is always two sides to it, so it is important to be more informed about the problems as well, so as to be able to better handle it.

Lets take a look at a brief description of social networking in this video before i start.

The Pros:

Connecting people.
Current friends, old friends, friends of friends, like-minded people etc. People can discover and communicate with one another easily via a social network and it is also a way to meet new people outside one's circle. One can share content, chat, comment on posts etc. It is a wide space that brings people all around together, allowing more interaction between them.

I have made some new friends through Facebook which couldn't happen normally, as well as re-establish contact with my primary school classmates, since all i knew were their names and how they looked like. i find that increased virtual social contact also helps develop skills for real world communication.

It also helps to organize connections between people and in turn makes it simpler to see opportunities than in real life. These include jobs, relationships and possibly solutions for various problems.


Spreading Information.
Many things can spread throughout the network just by twitting, updating a Facebook status, posting a link. Ideas, opinions and information can all be shared easily as people would all be linked in one way or another.

This is a means of which i find out how some of my friends are doing. The various things on their profile all reflect their character and state. I do think that there are some stuff you probably won't know if Facebook didn't exist; Like the little details in peoples lives.

Specific information can be provided by the online community as they themselves can be the knowledge base for others.

Businesses could also use these connections to advertise via groups and fan pages and also using the platform to communicate with their customers. People too can advertise themselves for jobs, dates and also promoting their work.


Applications/Games.(Facebook)
This provides a means of interaction between friends in a different style. Also, sometimes more could be said through quizzes and games than with just words and pictures. This is also a good past-time in moderation and could be useful in multiple ways, such as practicing Japanese(Kanji Box). Below is my friend's opinion of that:

Kanji Box has made it easier for me to memorise and familiarise myself with Japanese words. I'm a self learner, learning Japanese from the Internet, and I find it rather hard to practise on new words as there are not a lot of practice assessments available on the Internet. So Kanji Box drills me on what meanings each words is based on the JLPT syllabus. With that, I now get more practice with more Japanese words, compared to before Kanji Box. ~Wz

The Cons:

Addiction.
With social sites like Facebook and Twitter getting more popular, having more mediums integrated with it, and with easy access to the Internet nowadays, people spend more time online.

Feeling the need to constantly check for updates, change your profile picture, update your status, check for notifications and invites, and constantly using applications would most possibly mean you're addicted to Facebook. Same goes for twitting throughout the day.

It is a problem because this time-consuming habit can lower productivity, reduce actual social interaction and degrade relationships with others.

This is an article on social media addiction.

I realise that i could be addicted somewhat, i use it everyday, its my homepage and i go back to it when i have nothing to do. In many instances, Facebook distracts me when i'm doing work(like now), i tend to take a look from time to time. I think there's just this connectivity that makes it seem beneficial to be always on.

Cyber-bullying/Hate Speech.
Cyber-bullying can be defined as "willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of electronic devices".

Hate speech is defined as "any communication which disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race or sexual orientation"(Wikipedia).

Social networking sites, for example Facebook, are spaces that can be abused, as it allows partial anonymity, free posting of photos/videos and comments without active moderation by an authority.

Being on an online medium, cyber-bullying/hate speech could be occurring at any moment and also has a widespread audience, such content posted could spread quickly and not be entirely removed, which increases its impact.

This is a societal problem, i feel that people need to learn to respect one another and treat others as they would like to be treated. We may be different in some ways, but we're still one people.

Here's a consequence of bullying on Facebook.

This article discusses cyber-bullying on Facebook and Google .

Privacy.
Putting up personal information, especially contact information, and posts/comments/pictures/videos indiscriminately on one's profile could be a problem.

It could be viewed by people you don't intend it for.
Stalkers, bullies, impersonators and perverts are examples of people who might misuse those information to harass, harm or trick.
Less malicious people such as a partner, parent, employer etc could also come across these information. A wrong post and it could mean trouble from them.

I make use of the privacy options Facebook offers so that strangers know only basic details about me. I keep my contact information private as well since people who do need them would have them.

Here are some examples of people not being careful what they tweet.


In conclusion, i find that social networks are more helpful than they are harmful. Problems arise only because of the people who use it. Therefore, the best way to avoid or reduce trouble is to have sound judgement, be responsible and to be careful.

So how has social networking sites affected you?