One out of every five youths online is approached by an online sexual predator, with the integration of social networking; these numbers are alarmingly on the rise (Guo). In present day, it is nearly impossible to find someone who doesn’t at the very least know of social networks, so it is crucial that the general public know about the many negative effects these networks bring. It’s even more imperative that the public know that any existing or rising social networks are not to be trusted. Social networking could be considered negative for society as it provides sexual predators with opportunities, is a source for unhealthy addiction, and disconnects users from the real world. Generally, social networking provides online sexual predators with an easy gateway to youths. Users of online social media services tend to share copious amounts of personal information on online profiles, these same users control who can or cannot see their information by utilizing privacy settings. The problem with these “privacy settings” is that they are often hard to manipulate, leaving a multitude of online profiles vulnerable to often explicit offers from online sexual predators. Lacking the ability to protect their information properly, users are in jeopardy of being contacted by sexual predators. In fact, “[d]uring the years prior to the explosive expansion of social networks, most online sexual predators attempted to contact youths through chat rooms and message boards. In recent years, however, predators are increasingly targeting minors over social networking services”, showing that social networking directly puts youths in peril (Guo, 626). This sheds light on the fact that social networking is basically a way to herd youths and display them ... ... middle of paper ... ...fluence on society. Social media must be stopped before its disastrous effects reach a critical point, making social networking an actual threat to society as we know it. And much like a tapeworm, without proper elimination, social networking will continue to drain society until only a lifeless, anti-social husk remains. Next time you are online, be wary of the hazards social networking merrily offers. Works Cited Foulgers, Teresa. “Moral Spaces in MySpace: Preservice Teachers’ Perspectives about Ethical Issues in Social Networking.” Journal of Research on Technology in Education 2009: 16. Guo, Richard.”Stranger Danger and the Online Social Network.” Berkeley Technology Law Journal 2008, ed: 23:617. 626. Kuss, Daria. “Online Social Networking and Addiction- A Review of the Psychological Literature.” International Journal of Environmental Research 2011. 3535.
We have all watched television shows, we have heard the warnings, and have read numerous articles that expose internet predators and pedophiles. Most of us are aware of the dangers surrounding children and teenagers as they navigate the internet’s virtual world. There is no shortage of predators online. Chris Hanson has a very popular show called To Catch a Predator that has helped bring awareness to the public of this heinous crime against children, and while this is extremely important to know and prevent, there is another large segment of society that is at risk too. This paper will focus on this “other” population.
Social networking sites leave opportunities for vulnerability, however, I don’t believe many youths are an easy target. Using ethos, pathos and logos individuals can create their own reality to relate to the internet world who they think are and how they wish to be seen. In mediated publics such as Facebook and Instagram, the user has complete control of his or her profile and is the only one who can allow content about his/herself to be shared. It is my personal belief that as technology has evolved many people have taken to fabricating some truths here and there and omitting details to give an ideal representation of who they are without incriminating themselves or leaving themselves vulnerable for mistreatment. The fantasy of what is or could be is more desirable than reality. In the past few years, privacy settings have been adapted to cover the growing technological advances to keep users safe from online predators.
Since being introduced in the 1990s, social networking sites have taken over people’s lives. From Facebook to Twitter and Snapchat to Instagram, these social networking sites are included in our day to day life. People use these sites to keep in touch with each other and the world. As a prominent fixture of our lives, social networking has a great influence over our opinions, decisions, and perspectives. Out of all its users, teenagers are the most susceptible to social networking’s influence; it can lead them to living an ethically right life that fosters learning and goodwill, or an ethically wrong life that encourages addictions and bad behavior.
Although most people’s first reaction is to cut off the use of social media altogether, networking sites have become such an integral part of our lives that the thought of completely eradicating it seems impossible. One solution is for all sites to adopt methods to provide surveillance and prevention to report malicious activities of other users and for teenagers to start using it responsibly. Until teens can be trusted with the use of social media, people will continue to be victimized and bullied, which serves as a detriment to our
“Internet Seduction: Online Sex Offenders Prey on At-Risk Teens” written by Bruce Bower, is a study that found an immense of online offenders to be adults who target 13 to 17 year-old children and teens. Janis Wolak, a lawyer and a sociologist confirmed that the sex offenders seduce the young kids into sexual relationships. The author explains, “Internet sex crimes usually represent cases of statutory rape, involving the exploitation of teens legally defined as too young to consent to sex with adults (118).” The author continues to explain how forcing sexual assault and molestation are only small aspect and the start to online sex crimes. The stories we may hear or fear when a sex crimes occur may be false or true. As the internet continues to expand with new technology and software, statutory rapes are increasing. In the United States 7 percent of reported statuary crimes were reported in 2000. Wolak conducting research with her colleagues in where they gather via phone interviews from national samples from 2000 and 2005, which totaled
In today’s society, the growth of the technology has extended the activities of pedophiles and promoted crimes against children due to the communication that new technology allows. In the 1950s, pedophiles who were looking for victims to act upon, they would have to go to a local park, playground, or even school yard. Doing so involved certain risks for them because they can be spotted by parents, teachers, school workers, or any adult in general. Now the location where pedophiles look for their victims is at the World Wide Web which makes it easier to gain access with young children and safer for them not to get caught. “There appear to be four ways in
Social Networking sites play an essential role in today’s culture as they provide people with the ability to interact, blog, share pictures and videos, flirt, and date without having to move an inch. People pour their minds and hearts into the world of cyber communication; it is an easier way for them to clear their heads without having a face-to-face confrontation. Undoubtedly, this is advantageous to certain people. It helps establish connections with people, friends and family from any corner of the world, but one cannot ignore the extensive privacy breach that occurs in the universe of online social media.
Social media is so popular that according to a recent article published by forbes.com, “72% of American adults are currently using social media sites; that figure has gone up 800% in just 8 years”(Olenski). Social networking was originally created to simply reconnect people with old high school pals, but in recent years it has evolved into a completely different operation. When social media first originated it was also intended for adult usage, which has in recent years expanded into the usage of all ages. Social media can create a negative affect on lives because it has been proven to be a dangerous addiction, for it takes away interpersonal relationships that are essential in life, and it has been proven to prevent people from being productive in life.
Although social media is a healthy channel for personal interactions among friends and peers for the youth of today, the lack of understanding about online privacy creates a severe threat on multiple levels. Many teenagers and young adults remain oblivious to the consequences of their online posts and have little to no discretion when sending personal information to...
Today technology has created new styles of communication on the internet for us all. This technology has made great impact on everyday life in today’s society. Cyber communications have become hugely popular in the last decade, especially those websites that help people to find new or old friends, keep in touch with families, and even help people to find potential dates! The numbers of people using cyber social networking are growing in millions every year. Cyber social networks have helped people link to each other with common interests, and expand personal ideas and support worldwide. But people are getting too friendly with this technology. Dangers are slowly appearing, and there still have a lot of hidden threats. Cyber social networks are threats to our personal social lives, lead into new addictions, and compromise the security of privacy issues.
Social media has nothing but negative effects on people’s minds. Social networking can become very addicting and people can get wrapped up in the drama and excitement of the cyber world. It would only improve our society today if social media never existed to our knowledge. Our society today feels so connected with social media that it interferes with our lives making every task even harder with the temptations.
Social media is described as content created and shared by individuals on the web using freely available websites that allow users to create and post their own images, video and text information and then share that with either the entire internet or just a select group of friends (Affilorama, 2012). They are more like a website allowing you to express your daily activities, beliefs, locations, likes, dislikes, photos, music, etc. They are used by creating a profile, and logging in through either the website, or apps now used on smartphones, or any portable device with Wi-Fi connection. Although most social media networks are directed towards adults and young adults, young children are getting into these websites as well. There are usually age limits but there isn’t a certainty that all the users provided their actual age, allowing whoever wants to be a member of these sites to bypass an age limit “security” procedure. Facebook and MySpace require users to be at least 13, but they have no practical way to verify ages, and many young users prete...
Social networks are now widespread in our world; with existing social networks expanding, social networking sites are being created for educators, medical professionals all accessible 24 hours a day via computer, tablet, smart phone, and Internet-enabled devices. Challengers of social networking say that the sites prevent face-to-face communication, waste time on frivolous activity and spread false and potentially dangerous information. Social networks have become a substantial part of our modern civilization. It is a defining trait of how integrated our social interactions have become. Social networks have become an important source of news.
Social networking is doing more harm than good in society, if traditional and personal interactions continue to be replaced with conversations through online networking sites, it won’t be long before they are perceived as the ‘norm’. Traditional methods of interaction will continue to be at risk if the effects of social media are not realised. Social networking sites were created as a means of making it easier for individuals to communicate in a timely and efficient manner, they were not created to take over face-to-face communications altogether. The constant use of online networking is doing more harm than good not only individually, similarly through the community
Think of a time when people didn’t have technology and how they had to interact, whether it had been from writing letters to using telegraphs, communicating with people was hard to come by back then. Of course times have changed and now technology has made it easier over the years, social media has become an essential part of our life whether it be on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and many other websites. Now days everybody is using it whether its companies using media to promote its products or even teachers to tweet out what last night’s homework was. Social media is a great tool that helps us connect with the world and communicate our ideas. Yet there are some people who believe that social media has a negative impact towards our society as they believe that people can get addicted to it, it causes them to get easily distracted, and many other dangers. Even though people have different opinions on whether social media has a positive or negative impact on society, it can be said that social media has a positive effect on society as a whole because it lets people communicate with each other easily, it has been said to improve education among children, and has helped improve the economy in the world.