Problems with Social Networking

Throughout the years, communication has become excessively dependent on technology. Where people once had to physically go out in order to see someone else, it now only takes a laptop and web cam in order to get the same effect. Some of the most major sources of cyber communication are social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. Although these sites do allow people all across the world to get in touch with one another, they continue to negatively affect the lives of many of its users. The use of these social networks endangers people’s privacy, has a negative impact on students’ grades, changes offline socialization, and may even lead to psychological issues. The least commonly pondered issue with these social networking sites is the invasion of privacy. It is not hard for information to get leaked over the internet, which can later be used against a person. In, “Teenagers, Parents and Teachers Unaware of Social Networking Risks,” author, Victoria, discusses a report by a Dr. Henderson in which he discusses a few potential issues.
"Such risks exist in the areas of privacy, breach of confidence, disclosure, defamation, intellectual property rights, copyright infringement and criminal laws including harassment and distribution of offensive material, and this report recommends that education about the full range of legal risks potentially encountered via social media should be part of a fully integrated school curricula," Dr Henderson said (Victoria).
These are the things that many people do not read or consider when they sign up for these networking sites. By being on social sites, you are allowing anyone access to your most personal information. There are even ways around privacy settings. In, “Negative Impact of Social Networking Sites,” Karen Frazier reports,
While many users feel their personal data is safe on social networking sites because they have set high levels of security settings, research suggests this is not the case. According to a 2010 Northeastern University and Max Planck Institute for Software Systems study, researchers created an algorithm to discover an individual 's personal attributes by examining the one thing that most people leave public even when all other privacy settings are place: their friend list. Using the algorithm, researchers were able to infer many personal traits merely from friend lists, including educational level, university attended, hometown and other private data (Frazier).
This study shows that even when using all of the privacy settings, there are still ways for others to find out personal information. This information can be used for a number of inappropriate reason, such as stalking a person by figuring out where they live, work, go to school, etc. The dangers behind having personal business displayed on the internet are limitless. Another, more common, issue with social networking sites is the toll they take on students ' grades. Facebook and Twitter have become popular even amongst younger children and are a distraction in almost every grade level. Instead of taking time to study or do homework assignments, students get side-tracked by the computer and can spend hours at a time on these sites. “Facebook can be distracting and can negatively impact learning. Studies found that middle school, high school and college students who checked Facebook at least once during a 15-minute study period achieved lower grades” (OneIndia News). This distraction does not only effect younger students, professors take notice when college students ' work becomes lower quality as well. Marlee Shaulis wrote an article in CalTimes in which she did a number of interviews about the effects of Facebook on college students.
According to Professor Swarndeep Gill of the CalU earth science department Facebook can be very distracting. He says that many of his students’ grades show how they get sucked into distractions such as Facebook and remain glued to their computers for hours. He is concerned that some students are spending too much time on the social networking site when they need to be focusing more on their homework.
“College is not easy and takes a great deal of focus, “Gill said. “There is little room for the distractions of Facebook when you want good grades” (Shaulis).
When students get too involved in social networking, it leads to slacking in other areas that should be priority. Some students may claim that they can be on a website and do their work at the same time, but according to Jolie O 'Dell in, “Mashable,” “Students who use Facebook and hit the books simultaneously found their multitasking led to 20% lower grades than those of their more focused peers” (O 'Dell). So, although it is possible to multitask between social networking sites and homework, it will more than likely lead to less effort, resulting in lower grades on assignments. Once people get attached to the online world, it becomes harder to change that mentality. It may change how one communicates in person or even have them carry harsh feelings around with them. Joe Thomas discusses this in his article, “Social Networking Sites ' Effect on Relationships Among Students,” where he states:
Those who fear these sites become socially isolated, and develop extremely shy social skills according to McMillan. There is an increased power struggle between men and women, and those who are antisocial offline become more introverted when introduced to the Internet...The Internet often consumes and overwhelms young adults (McMillan et. Al, 2006). This means that people who fall under this category will have negative relationships with those surrounding them both online and offline. They take their experiences from using the internet and carry it over later into their interactions with peers and teachers...negative interactions that occur on these sites, can lead to negativity on a user 's self-esteem. For example, if negative reactions on a user 's profile occur, there will be a negative influence on the social self-esteem of the user. This can also carry onto the person 's social life (Thomas).
Holding on to negative feelings caused by something that occurred on the internet can lead to miss-communication with an unsuspecting bystander. He use of these sites also take away basic communication skills when people have to speak in person. Marlee Shaulis interviewed a Junior, Meghan Gavin, who mentions that, “Social networking sites, specifically Facebook, effects students’ face-to-face communication...They often forget how to communicate correctly with people in person” (Shaulis). Sophomore, Katie Mitcheson, adds on that, “Facebook also takes the expressions and emotions out of communicating...Instead of meeting in person, many people choose to virtually chat with friends, family members, and even employers on Facebook’s instant messenger or comment section” (Shaulis). These sites are taking away the want and need for meeting in person, destroying all social skills taught to people growing up. This can cause problems for a person during school interviews, job interviews, or any other major face-to-face meetings. The final problem with the excessive use of social networking is the effects it can have on a person 's psychological being. In his paper entitled, "Poke Me: How Social Networks Can Both Help and Harm Our Kids," Larry D. Rosen, PhD, professor of psychology at California State University, found that “teens who use Facebook continuously may show narcissistic tendencies and young adults show more signs of other psychological disorders” (Rosen). These behavioral go beyond narcissism, social sites can lead to depression. Jolie O 'Dell mentions that, “Not only do grades and finances suffer, but students might actually end up feeling more depressed or lonely. Almost half of students believe they are sadder than their friends on Facebook, and 25% of college students have shown signs of severe depression in their status updates at one time or another” (O 'Dell). These feelings of depression can come from many different online sources and can eventually become severe, especially if those feelings are caused by cyberbullying. Reynol Junco discusses cases of cyberbullying in his review, “The Need for Student Social Media Policies.”
Media reports have focused attention on the potentially dangerous use of social media by students. The most striking recent example was the case of Tyler Clementi, a Rutgers University student who committed suicide after his roommate allegedly live-streamed video of Tyler kissing a man, and then tweeted about it. This incident is an example—an extreme one—of what has been appropriately labeled as "cyberbullying." Cyberbullying is when someone purposely embarrasses, harasses, or torments another using digital media...We may not hear a lot about cyberbullying on college/university campuses because it typically doesn 't reach the extreme level that it did in the Clementi tragedy. However, data indicates that cyberbullying is much more widespread and insidious than we might think. The Pew Internet & American Life Project states that 32 percent of teenagers who use the Internet report having experienced the publication of private content and/or pictures, rumor spreading, and threats online—all of which can be categorized as cyberbullying (Junco).
Incidents of cyberbullying can greatly impact a person 's psyche and lead to spiraling anger or depression and social networking sites are the main settings of such bullying. In conclusion, social networking sites can lead to a number of problems. Although these sites seem like harmless sources of communication and entertainment, the negative impacts they have, and may continue to, caused on the lives of their users are great. Social networks endangers people’s privacy by allowing anyone who searches to see their information. They have a negative impact on students’ grades by being distractions during valuable study time. They change offline socialization skills by having people rely on a screen being between them and the other person, and they can even lead to psychological issues such as narcissism and depression because of cyberbullying.

Works Cited
Dunn, Jeff. “Edudemic.” The 10 Best and Worse Ways Social Media Impacts Education. 2011. Web.

Frazier, Karen. “LovetoKnow Social Networking.” Negative Impact of Social Networking Sites. Web.

Junco, Reynol. “Educause Review.” The Need For Student Social Media Policies. 2011. Print.

O 'Dell, Jolie. “Mashable.” For Students, What is the “Facebook Effect” on Grades? 2011. Print.

“OneIndia News.” Facebook May Cause Psychological Disorders: Study. 2011. Print.

Shaulis, Marlee. “CalTimes.” Facebook has Negative Effects on College Students. Pennsylvania. 2012. Print

Thomas, Joe. “Yahoo! Contributor Network.” Social Networking Sites ' Effect on Relationships Among Students. 2007. Web.
Victoria. “ScienceDaily.” Teenagers, Parents and Teachers Unaware of Social

Networking Risks. 2011. Print.

Cited: Dunn, Jeff. “Edudemic.” The 10 Best and Worse Ways Social Media Impacts Education. 2011. Web. Frazier, Karen. “LovetoKnow Social Networking.” Negative Impact of Social Networking Sites. Web. Junco, Reynol. “Educause Review.” The Need For Student Social Media Policies. 2011. Print. O 'Dell, Jolie. “Mashable.” For Students, What is the “Facebook Effect” on Grades? 2011. Print. “OneIndia News.” Facebook May Cause Psychological Disorders: Study. 2011. Print. Shaulis, Marlee. “CalTimes.” Facebook has Negative Effects on College Students. Pennsylvania. 2012. Print Thomas, Joe. “Yahoo! Contributor Network.” Social Networking Sites ' Effect on Relationships Among Students. 2007. Web. Victoria. “ScienceDaily.” Teenagers, Parents and Teachers Unaware of Social Networking Risks. 2011. Print.