Each One Teach One: Social Networking Issues

Although social networking does not carry with it a huge number of extremely important issues, it is affecting our society (especially in younger generations) every day, and the possible ramifications for this down the line could be great.

Social networking sites, such as facebook and MySpace, have completely changed the social scene for my generation and those younger than I. With the ability and near necessity of students at universities and now high schools to have a facebook profile in order to be accepted, almost all students have a profile. Many of these profiles disseminate massive amounts of information to the viewer as well; some intentionally and some unintentionally. Cell phone numbers, screen names, e-mail addresses, as well as regular home addresses are commonplace information on a facebook profile. Some unintentional information that can be gleaned from one’s facebook profile comes largely from content contributed by other users. Wall posts can give away personal information, as well as information regarding the activities of the person. Additionally, photos posted by others can often be offensive, or at least revealing of some personality traits of the people on facebook. Although there are privacy settings that can easily limit some of this information from being displayed, many users do not think to put them in place.

These sites are raising many issues as to the privacy of information, and whether or not anything is sacred anymore. Facebook and MySpace are being used more and more often to research possible candidates for a job, as well as whether or not students at a university or high school are obeying policy and rules. Although I hate to cite Wikipedia as a source, this list of times that facebook and MySpace have been used in investigations regarding alcohol use and violations of school policy is comprehensive enough to give you some idea of what I mean.

Additionally, the larger issue at stake is how facebook and MySpace are changing social norms in a direction that deemphasizes actual interaction with people. I address these in my fears.

Social networking sites grew very quickly, and without some examination about their use and the amount of information that is available on them; the consequences could be drastic.

My five fears:

1. Human interaction has gone to the wayside. It has become appropriate for one to express a happy birthday or happy holidays on facebook. Gone are the days of greeting cards and phone calls, and I feel that this is a trend that will slowly creep into all other aspects of our lives. My main concern is that soon, wedding invitations will be distributed via facebook, condolences will be posted on people’s walls, and greeting cards will be lost altogether.

2. Privacy is no more, regardless of how many privacy settings are in place. If someone looks hard enough, or if there is enough determination to find information about someone on either of these sites, it can probably be done. Additionally, among the younger users of facebook, do not even think about the possible ramifications of posting this type of information.

3. The commercialization of these sites. MySpace was purchased by Rupert Murdoch some time ago, and Mark Zuckerberg is slowly losing his grasp on facebook in light of all the offers he has received. In September of this year, Microsoft paid a whopping $246 million for a mere 1.6% share in the company. Facebook and MySpace both reserve the right to release user information, and now that these sites are being purchased, the privacy will only diminish.

4. The use of these sites for investigations and legal action. In the past, these sites have been used to track down underage drinking, suspects in crimes, people who have violated university policy by rushing the field after a football game, and a multitude of other cases. There is a grey area between completely ignoring the information available for these purposes, and the current exploitation of it by companies, police forces, and journalists.

5. The obsession that many people have with the site. As I mentioned earlier in my blog about facebook suicide, many people simply spend too much time on these sites. This is concerning when it begins to affect personal relationships as well as job performance.

Want to learn more?

1. Facebook and MySpace. What better place to learn about these problems than to examine the source? Take a look at how much information is on display. It can be surprising at times.

2. Found in (My)Space. This is a great article about how journalists use MySpace and facebook to get information about people, as well as many of the issues that these sites are facing in terms of how they are affecting the younger generation.

3. Social Network Sites Public, Private, or What? A great article about how these sites are affecting the socialization of the youth today, and how public life is now overshadowing the idea of a private life.

4. Trust and privacy concern within social networking sites: A comparison of Facebook and MySpace. An article examining the comparison between how the users of each site express their privacy concerns, and the existence of trust in sharing of information compares on the two most popular social networking sites.

5. Information Revelation and Privacy in Online Social Networks. Another article about how, and more importantly, why people share the vast amount of information that they do on these sites. (Specifically facebook)

6. The Social Networking Weblog. At the risk of repeating myself, I think that this is a great blog about any issue surrounding social networking sites. This blog, maintained by Linda Roeder, tracks most of the social networking services with a critical eye and a meticulous accuracy. She follows and comments on trends in the social networking community, as well as big business news and their attempted takeovers. Much of her examination is relevant to how these sites stand to affect society.

What can we do?
I know all of this sounds awfully foreboding, but there are some simple things to combat these problems in your own life.

1. Pick up the phone once in awhile! Call some friends, meet for drinks or coffee, send greeting cards, get together for meals, whatever. I make an effort to call my friends on their birthdays, and the amount of gratitude that they express for calling instead of “copping out” and writing on their facebook wall is surprising. Maintaining human contact is of paramount importance.

2. Be extremely careful about what is on your site, who can see it, and how private it is. Better yet, perhaps you shouldn’t even use a social networking site, and request that embarrassing photos stay off of the internet.

3. Don’t spend so much time on facebook and MySpace. Try to remember what you did before these sites existed, and focus on those activities. Pick up a book, go for a run, or just watch some TV. Although television is also perceived as a lazy activity, the effects of overusing facebook are not as bad as overusing the television.

That’s all folks. Use social networking sites responsibly, as they can be a great tool to keep in touch. But just remember that they are not the only way to keep in touch.