Social Networking: Is it making you more sociable?
Rachel Maas, Jr. Staff Writer
December 23, 2011
Filed under Breaking News, News, Top Stories
If you’re a high school student reading this article, chances are you have utilized some form of social networking site. According to digitalbuzzblog.com, the number of Facebook users has now reached over 500 million, which means approximately one in every thirteen people in the world have an account. This same website also claims that “71.2% of the U.S. web audience is on Facebook” (Hepburn, np). Facebook still dominates as the social networking site of choice for most teens, but Twitter is quickly gaining popularity as it has recently reached over 100 million users. Statistics for both sites show that about fifty percent of “Facebookers” and “Tweeters” are logging in daily. “Seventy percent of teens surveyed by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University admit to social networking almost every day”( 2). In the past year, mobile apps for these online socializing giants have surged in popularity. Social networking is becoming the communicator of choice, and virtually everyone is subscribing.
But what does this mean for us teens? How does all of this socializing via the internet affect how we interact with others? And how does it affect us as individuals? A lot of people are offering up answers. In August of 2011, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released a study that showed correlations between teens who social network and substance abuse. The study found that teens who are frequently logged into sites like Facebook and Twitter are “five times more likely to use tobacco, three times more likely to use alcohol, and twice as likely to use marijuana”(2). Furthermore, social media could possibly be damaging real life social skills. People are now learning at a young age how to express themselves online, perhaps better than how to express themselves in person. Studies have found that overuse of such sites can actually increase a teen’s chance of having problems with anxiety and depression. Social networking can also make adolescents actually feel less connected. And there’s also the sense of anonymity that teens feel while in front of a computer screen. Often teens update statuses or tweet without truly realizing at that moment that everything they put out there is in cyberspace for good.
However, this same sense of anonymity provided by social media shows to have some positive affects. Dr. Larry D. Rosen, professor of psychology at California State University was recently quoted in an article featured in The Huffington Post. Dr. Rosen said that this feeling of being somewhat anonymous can help shy teens in becoming more outgoing. Rosen’s research also points out another interesting positive of social networking: social interaction on the internet seems to promote empathy between people (Turgeon, np ). The most obvious advantage to sites like Facebook and Twitter has been their ability to make the world a much smaller place, enabling users to easily keep in touch with a large number of people, including friends and family they might not usually see.
No matter which way you look at it, social networking is here to stay. It is quickly changing the way we communicate, for better and worse.
Hepburn, Eden. “Facebook Stats and Facts for 2011.” Digitalbuzzblog.com 11 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2011.
Turgeon, Jordan K. “How Facebook and Social Media Affect the Minds of Generation Next.” TheHuffingtonPost.com Inc. 9 August 2011. Web. 20 Nov. 2011.
QEV Analytics Ltd. National Survey of American Attitudes on Substance Abuse XVI: Teens and Parents. National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. August 2011. Pgs. 2-10.
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I feel as if social networking is giving kids a bad affect. Websites such as, “Facebook” and “Twitter” is usually filled with school drama. These social networks sometimes give people back bones in a situation. Instead of confronting someone or simply talking to them face to face, they will make a “status” or “tweet” about them. This causes many issues because then the world internet world knows your issue with the person. It should be only your business between you and the other person. Cyber bullying happens a lot on these sites. Yes, I have both of these social networks, but I never took part in a fight on them ganging up on someone. I have seen many of them and I think it’s quite sad. The article was great pointing out the statistics on kids with social networks. I enjoyed reading it. These were just my reasons why I think the social networking sites are bad.
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In my opinion, social networking can have good or bad effects, depending on how people use it. If people use social networking to keep in touch with their family, then it can have good effects. If people use social networking for dating or to cause drama, then it could have bad effects. The effects of social networking depends on who is using it, and how they use it.
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If you ask me, the social networking we have these days is starting to get WAY out of hand. I know a lot of people who have been going on Facebook, or Twitter or whatever other sites are out there, twice a day just to let the world know what’s happening in their lives. Is that really nescessary? I mean, if it’s friends or family i can understand, but when you start telling your own personal infomation to the world, it can become a problem. This article has really opened up my eyes on this subject and i completely agree that it can have both good and bad efects. The people who are not using these networks the way they were intended are the real root cause of these bad effects, such as hateful things being said over the internet. Either way, I do not believe that these social networks are in any way going to be shut down. They are just too big a part of peoples’ lives now. So everyone, just remember to be responsible and keep in mind that everything you post can and WILL be seen.
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