Side effects of SNS

Side effects of SNS

In 2011, a story of a young man who burned himself to death had provoked a democratic movement in Tunisia called the ‘Jasmine Revolution’. It surprised the world that twenty-three years of dictatorship had collapsed in a flash. Social networking services played an important role in the movement of that as soon as the young man killed himself, people were sharing and tweeting how he died. As far as that moment, SNS seemed to have represented political power in a positive way. Indeed, the introduction of social networking services such as Facebook, Twitter, My Space, etc. have affected our society. Since then, people can easily collect, process, and disseminate information at anytime and anywhere. Unfortunately, despite the convenience of social networking services, some side effects are causing problems in the current society. The following social problems are about adverse effects of SNS on human relationships in reality, a rising number of privacy issues today, and a severe addiction to SNS. These issues can be seen as insignificant matters for now, but it would be better if the problems could be avoided beforehand. First of all, online-based communities seem to weaken social ties in reality nowadays. According to the research, there are one billion Facebook accounts, five million Twitter users, and eighty-one million Kakao Talk users. Likewise, the world has become much informative that people are not willing to go back to the past when there was no Internet. People are already too adapted to highly developed technologies. There is no doubt that the emergence of social networking sites made the world much smaller. However, an incredible innovation seems to weaken the social bonds in the real-world. As an example, people usually make friends easily on Facebook even with someone who has not had any interaction with them before. The problem is that people are steadily degrading their skills to make relationships and maintaining social ties in reality. In other words, people traverse through online connections and click ‘Like’ on others’ walls without any hesitation while they are disconnected in face-to-face situations. Moreover, places like a café or a bar where people usually meet friends to talk seem to be much quieter than they used to be, because people talk without eye contact, busy with staring at their own smart phones, chatting and surfing on the Internet. Problems have not occurred yet since the majority of users are most likely teenagers and young adults, but it could cause some serious social problems when they became more influential in the society. To prevent from the happening, teenagers and young adults should learn old-fashioned ways to interact with others in a proper manner.

Secondly, social networking services are very addictive. The first thing smart phone users do when they wake up is check their texts and news feeds on social networks. Contemporary men never let their smart devices away while waiting for a bus, having a meal and even in the toilet. Without smart phones, they get agitated and cannot concentrate on their work or study. It implies that people, especially, young generations are suffering from severe smart device addiction. According to a study conducted by Wilhelm Hofmann (University of Chicago, 2012), social media is more addictive than cigarettes or alcohol. As a result, texting and checking Facebook and Twitter come in just below sex and sleep as impossible to resist urges. The reasons are, people always shave a desire to check updated comments, reactions and assessments for what they have posted instantly, and if their desires are fulfilled within a short time, then it weakens willpower and self-control which they are more easily addicted to social media. Many addicted individuals feel relief by checking updates in real time. In a situation when, they do not get to check updates, they feel isolated and unstable. However, when it takes a serious turn, many addicts develop auditory hallucination as if they hear ding-dong sounds for notifications, and finally they will suffer from mental fatigue. In addition, using smart devices to check news feeds in real time will interrupt students or workers focus on what they really have to do. It will affect their job performance or on their grades in a negative way. In particular, according to the survey of two different countries, a main purpose of using social media for university students in Korea and the United States seems to be different. The problem of addiction is more serious in Korea. Korean students use SNS as a tool for maintaining interpersonal surrounds, which makes them more obsessed with it. Unlike students in Korea, students in the United States tend to use social networks more to refresh themselves.

Lastly, privacy issues were raised by a rising number of people who use online communities. People often hesitate to give their phone numbers or names to anyone other than public institutions, unlike them being willing to fill out all kinds of information without any blanks on social networking sites. Likewise, to create an account on social networking sites, full names and an e-mail address are the only required data to be a member. However, people usually do not stop there. Virtual communities are interactive to keep users connected so it may ask users to input more private information. The websites allow individuals to create a public profile within a space boundary system. It is doubtful that many of the Internet users in the world would check every single privacy policy of their host web pages before signing up. Then, they would not be able to practice privacy rights to protect their personal information taken over by others without any notice. In fact, Facebook was severely blasted for its privacy misuse. It was reported to have been not only sharing members’ personal information with advertisers, but sharing the data without the members’ consent or recognition. People should be aware that what they have carelessly posted can be seen by the public and be re-distributed in a brief instant. It can be photos, videos, lists of friends, or locations which have been checked-in to. It is possible that users’ personal information can be used in a crime. For example, criminals can easily gather up users’ information based on social networks, figure out their daily schedules, and it can cause cyber bullying, cyber stalking, or even worse. The following tips can protect social networking users’ privacy. First, be aware of the privacy policy of social networking sites. Second, do not accept friend requests from unknown users. Third, think how information could be used before posting anything. At least, these three precautions will prevent personal information from an invasion of privacy.
The primary objective of this thesis has been to discover the dark side of social networking sites and attempt to disseminate several ways to solve remaining problems. The essay emphasized that dependency on virtual relationships could impact negatively on social bonds in reality, a rapidly growing number of young generations are addicted to virtual spaces and cause disorders in different ways, and privacy is an issue that could cause potential crimes which should be handled properly. Nowadays, half of the population on Earth is involved in social networks, and more people will be involved soon. However, SNS is not always effective and useful; it has both a positive and negative impact on our lives, unlike, its main purpose which is to connect and interact with people in an easier way from day to day living. Like, the quality of a well-made sword depends on the user; the usefulness of social networking service depends on how users use it effectively. Again, this thesis is to remind people that the convenience of social network could take away something more valuable in their lives. Therefore, always be aware of how you use social network services. Otherwise, it could become an obstacle in your life.

Reference

Carr, J., 2008, Facebook Privacy Flap Should Spark Concern for Business, SCMagazine, Available from: http://www.scmagazineus.com [Accessed 12 April 2013].

Cohen, A., 2008, One Friend Facebook Hasn’t Made Yet: Privacy Rights, The New York Times, Available from: http://www.nytimes.com [Accessed 12 April 2013].

Daily 49er, 2012, Social technology addiction pushes real life to the back burner, Daily 49er. Available from: http://www.daily49er.com/opinion/social-technology-addiction-pushes-real-life-to-the-back-burner-1.2697267 [Accessed 10 April 2013].

Meikle, J., 2012, Twitter is harder to resist than cigarettes and alcohol, The Guardian, Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk [Accessed 10 April 2013].

Yu, C., 2013, Research on Social Media Network and National Security, Thesis, Springer London.

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Bibliography: Cattell, Vicky. "Poor people, poor places, and poor health: the mediating role of social networks and social capital." Social science & medicine 52.10 (2001): 1501-1516. Chebib, Nadine Kassem, and Rabia Minatullah Sohail. "The reasons social media contributed to the 2011 Egyptian Revolution." International Journal of Business Research and Management (IJBRM) 2 (2011): 139-62. Corrons, Luis. "The business of rogueware." Web Application Security 72 (2010): 7-7. Epstein, Zach. "Facebook and Twitter are more addictive than cigarettes or alcohol, study finds." FoxNews. com (2012). Kidwai, Sabrina, and Catherine Imperatore. "How to Use Social Media as an Advocacy Tool." Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers 86.6 (2011): 36-39.