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BeingSocial?

PamelaSalcedo
October14,2016
SonjaLinman

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PamelaSalcedo
SonjaLinman
Purpose&Perspectives
September18,2014

Social networking is a topic that greatly dividesopinion,therearethosewhobelieveitis

an amazing tool and then there are those who are worried about the impact it's had on people's
lives.
Through social networks you can do a variety of things, u
sually without having to go
through the trouble of leaving the comfort of your home which is a way better alternative for
most nowadays. Social networking sites have revolutionized the way we communicate and
socialize online, it has had a tremendous impact on our culture. Taking a closer look at the
effects social media has had on politics, business, and socialization, some of the real impacts
social media has created can be both negative and positive.
Browsing will make you feel more
connected, like youre part of a larger community, but such easy, casual connection in an
electronic environment can also have itsdisadvantages. Therefore,eventhoughitmaybefunto
logontothesesitesandconnectwithothers,howsocialareyouactuallybeing?
Communicating was quite difficult back then, especially when the distance betweentwo
was far. Decades ago, a person usuallyhadtotravelorgovisitthepersonthey wantedtotalkto.
But thanks to our need of wanting to build relationships, we kept trying to find better ways of
being able to stay in touch. For example,
through letters, pigeons, telegraph, light signals,
telephone and radio. People have been communicating across distances for a surprisingly long
time, in fact, the earliest form of postal service dates back to 550 B.C. in which letters were

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delivered by hand from one person to another.Then,thetelegraphwasinventedin1792making

contact between two faster than a horse or runner evercould. Althoughthe messageswereshort
it soon became a much more popular way to share news and connect with others. Bytheendof
the 1800s, two important discoveries enabled people to communicate instantaneously, the
telephone and radio still currently used till this day although more sophisticated now were
definitely something humans had never experienced before. Later on, after the first
supercomputers were createdinthe1940s,technologybegantochangerapidly.In theyear1978,
two computers thatweresittingrightnext toeachothersentandreceivedthefirst everemailthat
read
qwertyuiop
. Since then, the progression in computers and technology thenfinally leadto
the birth of the first social networking site. I
n 1979 UseNet allowed users to communicate
through a virtual newsletter and by the 1980s social networking sites and home computers
became more common. In 1994, theBBS(BulletinBoardSystem)wasanetworkingsitecreated
to be able to be accessed over telephone lines.
Six Degrees, created in 1997, was the first
recognizable media site which allowed users to create a profile and make friends with other
users. The invention of blogging became extremely popularinthe2000sleadingtothecreation
of photobucketandFlickrfacilitatingonlinephoto sharing.In2005,Youtubewasacombination,
creating an entirely new way of sharing and communicating. Now, facebook and twitter which
were both created in 2006, are a couple of the most popular social media sites at the moment,
along with instagram and many other sites that have managed to allow crosssharing and an
instantconnection.
As we experience new and improved technology we learn that networking sites can be
good for our society and are useful in a variety of different ways. For example, students are

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doing better in school. Social networking sites allow students to contact other students for help
and questions which is an opportunity not accessible all hours of the day with teachers. It is
common forstudentstohavedifficultyonthesameconceptorcourseandwithsocialmedia they
are capable of creating groups online concerning the topic to collaborate and share study tips
through a group chat. Research from the University of Maryland by Professor Christine
Greenhow states that since 2007 Greenhow has been watching adolescents internet habits and
found that the sites have actually boosted the creativity and technical skills of high school
students. If used responsibly. Social Networking sites are also being used by colleges and
universities to give students a support system that consist mostlyofnewandcommuterstudents
to provide a comfortable atmosphere.
Another good aspect of social networking sites is that the
police department can join these sites and catch criminals. Some people take the what are you
up? to literally, and shareinformationonlinethattheyshouldnthave,whichmakesiteasierfor
cops to find the culprits. Back in 2008 the Cincinnati Police Departments RealTime Center
Specialist, Dawn Keaton, prevented a huge gangrelated brawl using social media by watching
gang members activity and tracked them downandstoppedtheattack.Whether theinformation
collected online ispositiveornegativeit canbeincrediblyvaluableandincreasesthechancethat
the police can take the criminals off the streets and stop any future incidents. Social websites
have also playedanimportantroleinmanyelectionsaroundtheworld,includingintheUS,Iran,
and India. The spread of ones opinion and or wordissurprisinglyfast,peoplelearnfrompeople
about running candidates increasing the voting count and supportforthepartyfitforthepeople.
Users can participate in campaigns, stay updated on the latest global developments, take part in
activities of their choice or even learn about different societies and cultures by connecting with

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people from other countries. On Social media sites candidates can get quick, easy messagesout
to voters and the public. For example, a candidate may only have a million subscribers or
followers, but will gain up to 10 million or 100 million followers outside of his subscribers
because of its viral effect. Whether they like it or not everybody is seeing a ton of campaign
contentwhenonline.
On top of that, Companies have started using social media to advertise their products,
build customer loyalty and many other functions. Interactions with customers help businesses
understand what their customers want and need which makes it easier to fine tune their
strategies. Social networking sites are a cheap and effective way to enhance brand image and
popularity for a business and furthermore social media provides a wide variety of sources of
employmentforthoselookingforajoboremployees.
Social networking sites also allow new social connections, such as, adults can connect
with relatives in other states and teens can make new friends, allowing the extension of
realworld friendships. These sites have reunitedlovedonesandisaplace that ismadetoensure
that bonds stay strong over distances. People have been able to reach out to others after an
accident or huge disaster to help them cope with the tragedies or even have been abletodonate
money to certain people and sources to help those in need. Social media is a catalyst for
charitable donations, a couple examples would be when people rantotheRedCross bloodbank
after the Boston Marathon or when many donated to Japan andHaiti.Byallowinguserstoview
and connect with the world around them, social networking sites have managed to slowly build
andhaveusworktogetherasthecommunityweshouldbe.

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On the other hand, being the tool that people all around the world use with a purpose to
promote and aid communication, social networking improves very quickly and therefore luresa
person into spending more time on the computer. Social networking sites also have their
downsides. They may help and improve the way we interact and share with the world butsince
social networking sites have progressed, many bad factors about paying too much attention to
them have come up. First of all, those who use social media everyday have less facetoface
interactions with their family and friends and usually prefer to stay indoors instead ofgoingout
and hanging out. The fact that these decisions to isolate oneself enough to not even want to go
out practically means that soon enough these peoplewillbegainingweightandwillendupvery
unhealthy or will then be very antisocial or become depressed because of not knowing howto
properly interact with a regular group of people. For example, a person would end up having
facebook depression because recent studies by the University of Houston and Palo Alto
University,
have shown that comparisons are the maincauseofFacebookdepression thestudy
showed that downcomparison (comparing with inferiors) was just as likely to causedepression
as upcomparison (comparing with people better than oneself) (Ramasubbu).
A big situation
with socialmediaisthatyougetdistractedbythewidevarietyofdifferentplacesandpeopleyou
get to scroll through, usuallyupdatesbythosewhoareoutexploringorlovingthemselves,while
you sit at home wishing to be them instead of acting and doing so because youve come
accustomed to just sitting and watching. Another downside is that social networking sites make
identity theft easier. When you put in information about yourself on a new site in order for
people to find you, it gives others the opportunity to steal your identity or hack into personal
accounts and steal your identity. PC World reports that an individual has at leastthreepiecesof

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personal information such as names, birthdates, mothers maiden name, kids/pets names and
numbers that could help the thief piece together your identity. One third of social networkers
admitted that they use the same password for all their social networking accounts.

(Siciliano).
Making access way easier once the hacker is in. Also, people sometimes have their bosses or
coworkers as friends online and have managed to hide plenty of the bad parts of their life, but
not setting your privacysettingscorrectlyor likingsomeone'sphoto,simplethings,canhavebad
resultssuchas,jobloss,etc..
Companies have recently begun hiring and assessing individuals with the help of social
media.
Which is the definition of why what you post online, if you are not careful, can come
back to haunt you. According to CareerBuilders survey, 34% of employers stated that while
screening candidates they were forced to decide on not hiring the individual due to discovered
content that was inappropriate, included foul language or was highly discriminating. It is
important to keep your pages clear of clutter to prevent a bad reputation or assumption of your
work quality. Cyberbullying occurs more often online than in person now a days, and has even
lead to the end of many lives or made the victim become psychologically distressed enough to
require medical intervention. Mental health is very important and when kids are being
cyberbullied online, often by anonymous strangers, the children dont view the comments as
another person since the identity of the person is hidden they read the commentsasthemselves,
talking about themselves.Theriskscannotbeoverlooked,thosewhousesocialwebsitesandthe
internet daily lack selfregulation and have difficulty withsusceptibilitytopeerpressuremaking
adolescents vulnerable to realistic threats such as, facebook depression, sexting, and
cyberbullying.
Hiding behind an Internet screen can give users a powertheydidnthavebefore.

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When children, and many adults for that matter, arent interacting with someone facetoface,
they are less likely to feel the implications of what they are really saying. It is too easy to say
somethingyouwouldntsaytosomeoneelseiftheywerestandingrightinfrontofyou
.
Social networking sites also affect workerproductivityinworkplaces,especiallybecause
most of the time they're too busy updating their page.
Its a waste of time,peopleusuallylogin
to check something and then end up behind the screen for the entire day resulting on not doing
anything usefulwiththeirlives.
Manyusers,bothadultsandteenshavealsobeenshowntoplace
too much emphasis on their virtual interactions and ignore the realworld outside.
Many
companies have blocked social networks on their office Internet as addicted employees can
distract themselves on such sites, instead of focusingonwork.Infact,studiesshowthatBritish
companies have lostbillionsofdollarsperyearinproductivitybecauseofsocialmediaaddiction
amongemployees(Ta).
To conclude, it is good that social networking sites have improvedourabilitytoconnect
with others. These sites are a source for interactive, educational, informational and entertaining
purposes and seems that they will exist in human lives in some form for as as long as weexist.
However they have also greatly damaged our society and can pull you into a risky situation.
Social networking sites have met many of our needsandcontinuetoimpressuswithallthenew
improvements and possibilities but can turn out to be an extremely dangerous experience.
Between todays cellphones and traditional computers there is no obvious functional difference
but one cellphones are roughly always on hand allowing users to have access at almost any
time and place. It is up to the user on whether or not they use socialnetworkingsiteswiselyto
enhance their professional and social life and be cautious to ensure they do not fall victim to

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online dangers. There should be less internet connectivity and more actual facetoface
socializing.

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