Kevin Mehler
Computer Final
How Social Networking Websites Have Affected Society;
Albert Einstein once said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge”.
No quote has proved truer in the 21st century, technology has surpassed peoples
wildest expectations and continues to do so everyday. A major way the Internet has
been adopted is through the use of social networking websites. These websites have
influenced how communicate and interact on personal and professional levels by
bringing people closer together and quicker access to one another. On Social
Networking Websites friends and family can easily keep in touch with each other.
Sexual predators have new forums and places to find victims, as well as cyber
bullies. Companies have new opportunities to expand, find new customers and
receive consumer feedback. There are endless possibilities that are bringing people
to think of the Internet in new and exciting ways.
One way social networking has affected society is by offering people a way
they can keep in touch with friends and family, meet new people with similar
interests and express oneself. It is a way people keep in constant contact with one
another, its greatest effect on society being its fusion in to our daily routines. In
essence, online social networks allow their users to connect with people who have
common interests while giving them power to be independent communicators. With
cell phones people can view their social networks through out the day, keeping in
contact as long as they have service. This ability has affected how we think of cell
phones as well; they are not only for calls anymore, but tools that allow us to never
be a button away from the Internet. The instant communication and simplicity of the
websites has attracted older generations to the Internet. As of January 2008, more
than 50% of Facebook users and 44% of MySpace users in the U.S. were over 35
years old, according to ComScore estimates. Social Networking Websites are
bringing more people to think of their website and the Internet as simply part of the
their daily routine.
While people consider social networking part of their daily lives to keep in touch,
these websites have professional uses for people as well. Using social networking
websites college students can communicate group work, businesses are offered increased
exposure to potential customers and advertisers have new opportunities to reach people of
a large range of ages. They have brought new economic opportunities to the digital age
by expanding peoples usage of the Internet. Revenue relies heavily on advertising;
Facebook generated about $150 million in revenue during 2007 according to research
firm Framingham. Most recently a new type of advertising has emerged called
Location Based Functionality. People can update where they are on websites such as
foursquare.com and Loopt.com, by going somewhere the most you become the
mayor of that location. Consumers can rate their experience with the product or
service, essentially advertising to their friends. New methods of marketing and
advertising are one recent way that social networking has affected society.
A more frightening way that social networking has affected society is through
those who abuse the websites. Sexual offenders can roam the Internet for people to
prey upon, and children can be bullied online. People often put too much personal
information on their websites, or post pictures of themselves engaging in illegal or
stupid activities that look bad to potential employers. Because of these new risks
people have to learn to remain cautious with what they post and what pictures they
are tagged in on social networking sites. These websites have already had a large
impact on society because they are the first testing grounds of what Internet privacy
laws should be in an age when every ones information is every where. There are
also concerns that people are losing face-to-face skills by socializing online. This
could lead to shortened attention spans and compromise education by being a
constant distraction. With each example people become more aware of the dangers
that these websites can mean. Social networking websites are affecting society
through being a new arena for people to explore and get in to trouble. Lawmakers
are working to fix these problems and campaigns are working to prevent cyber
bullying and encourage people to be aware of what they post in the Internet.
Social networking websites have affected every aspect of our society. We
have changed our daily routines to get to a computer or check our profiles on our
cell phones. Distance is only physical, as your friends and family are only a click
away. There are new ways for people to be creative and express themselves.
Students can keep in touch with one another, and businesses can advertise to
millions of people a day. There are also down sides to this vastness of information.
People are cyber bullied and sexual offenders can operate freely, masking their true
identities and coercing victims. what they post, people have lost jobs because of
pictures or things they said on the Internet. Social networking sites thrive on the
information that we the users put in to them. Our imaginations built these websites that
altered our society so much. These social networks because of the massive amount of
people and data they hold will define the 21st century.