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The Pros

1-Increased criminal prosecution because of social media


The NYC police department began using Twitter back in 2011 to track criminals
foolish enough to brag about their crimes online. When the Vancouver Canucks lost
the Stanley Cup in 2011, their Vancouver fans took to the streets and rioted, but
local authorities used social media to track and tag the people involved, and they
caught people who were stealing during the riot.
2-Social networking creates new social connections
Statistics show that 70% of adults have used social media sites to connect with
relatives in other states, and 57% of teens have reported making new friendships on
social media sites.
3-Students are doing better in school
This is an interesting statistic about the pros and cons of social media and its effect
on students doing well in school. Students with internet access at a rate of 50% have
reported using social networking sites to discuss school work, and another 59% talk
about instructive topics.
4-Better quality of life
If you want to talk about the pros and cons of social media, take a close look at all
the support groups on Facebook. Members of these groups discuss their health
conditions, share important information, and resources relevant to their conditions
while creating strong support networks.
5-Social media as a source of employment
Job sourcing has gone modern thanks to social media. Sites such as LinkedIn are a
major resource that 89% of job recruiters take advantage of when looking to hire
potential employees.
Now lets take a look at the Cons of social media.
1-Social media and the news
Much of the news information that people read about comes from social media
websites, and that figure estimate is around 27.8 %. This figure ranks just under print
newspapers at 28.8%, greater than radios figure of 18.8% and far outpaces the
figure for other print publications at just 6%.
2-Too much misinformation
With the advent of the web, people started to create their own websites and blogs.
While many of those blogs were just basic diaries, a few of them were about topics
like health and politics while others were how to blogs.
Many blogs have turned into rumor mills, spreading misinformation that people tend
to believe just because its on the web.
Rumors about hurricane Sandy and gunfights in other countries like Mexico have
been picked up by reliable news services, and this misinformation has been shared
without the proper vetting of the sources providing the information.
3-Pupils spending too much time on social media sites have lower academic
grades
Here is another argument about the pros and cons of social media as it pertains to
students. Statistics show that pupils using social media too often tend to have GPAs
of 3.06 compared to GPAs of 3.82 for pupils who dont use social media.
An even scarier fact is that students who use social media tend to score 20 % lower
on their test scores then their counterparts.
4-Social media sites to blame for lost productivity
Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter are a direct cause for lost
productivity at the workplace. In a survey 36 % of people said that social networking
was the biggest waste of time in comparison to activities like fantasy football,
shopping, and watching television.
5-Social media is the cause for less face to face communication
One last discussion about the pros and cons of social media is a lack of one on one
communication. In a 2012 study families who reported spending less time with one
another rose from a level of 8% in 2000 to 32% in 2011.
The study also reported that 32 % of the people in the survey either were texting or
were on social media sites instead of communicating with each other during family
gatherings.
The twenty-first century is the world of the Internet. We connect to people through the
Internet. Social networking sites (SNSs) help us to connect to our relatives, friends,
colleagues, and even strangers far away from us. We learn about other people, their
interests, their work, etc. through social networking sites. These sites have become very
common among individuals of all ages. Today, there are SNSs that have influenced modern
human lives in many aspects. These sites have their own pros and cons.

The first SNS was SixDegrees.com, which was launched in 1997. Some of the most
commonly used SNSs today are: Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter, Flickr, Bebo, MySpace,
Meetup, Meetme, Orkut. Users can create profiles, add interests, add photographs, add
friends, and more. Their friends can be relatives, colleagues, or even strangers. Friends can
be added from anywhere in the world.

SNSs are common among children, teenagers, adults, and also among old people. It is a
very common pastime, and the most convenient means of connecting with people whom we
can't meet in person or connect with by phone. We can use SNSs to video chat, voice chat,
or do video conferencing with friends added to our 'friends list'. This is the most important
feature provided by such sites. Even jobs can be searched for on these sites; Linkedin is one
such professional networking site of this type. There are SNSs for dogs and cats also, called
Dogster and Catster respectively. Their profiles are managed by their owners.

SNSs sites are extensively used by youth, not only by college and school-going kids, but
also by people working in offices. It wastes valuable time which was intended for productive
work. These sites are blocked in many offices and in schools and colleges, but there are
various proxy servers which can be used to access these sites. These sites are also
involved in cybercrime.

Technology has its own advantages and disadvantages. Thus, these sites can be the gift of
science and technology, if used with great care.


The Pros

Social networking sites have paved the way for easier communication to your friends, family,
or colleagues. One example is that instead of meeting in a certain place, you and your
classmates could discuss a school activity by having a conference in a certain site that you
are all members of, thus saving you time and effort. Virtual communities are also formed,
which are composed of people connected together by common interests, purpose, and goal.
People of different races also get to mingle with each other in just a few clicks.

The idea of socializing with millions of people of different backgrounds excite the Web
surfers. This is one thing that you can hardly do outside the virtual world.

The Cons

While social networking sites have become places for establishing connections and meeting
friends, they have also become likely places for identity theft and fraud. As you have to
provide certain information such as your e-mail address, name, and location, others use
these information and pretend to be you, especially when they are into illegal activities.

Furthermore, someone pretending to be somebody else can make you believe that he or she
is up to some business offer, ask to meet up with you, and take your money. It has also
become easier for someone to stalk you and harass you online.

You should make use of the pros and cons of social networking sites to take precautions in
the kind of people you should trust and share some information about yourself to. The
debates whether you should or should not be a part of the social networking community is
never ending. And, at the end of the day, the best weapon that you have is sound judgment.

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