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The dangers of social media
The cause and effect of cyber bullying
Why social networking sites do more harm than good
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Introduction
The Internet and social networks have become a great source to the world and everyday life. However there are many negative aspects of using the Internet. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google are very popular and a lot of individuals use these sites to socialize with others. When using these sites researchers say “they increase cyber crimes and bullying throughout various communities”. However many may feel as if the dangers of online networks are exaggerated. Social networks are dangerous for teens and adults because of health issues, job opportunities, and legal issues.
Dangers of Online social sites
Individuals all over the world may feel as if dangers of online social networks are exaggerated. “ Conflicting statistics display that accurate numbers of teens getting exposed to or that is affected by social risk don’t exist”. “Ed Roman Espejo of the Detroit Green Press expressed that, “ Fears of online crimes, sexual predators, cyber bullying and sexting of the internet is overblown”. “Young adult users who face these issues are unreliable and inaccurate; the risks of online dangers faced by teens and adults are similarly to offline issues. Although many people may feel as if the risk of social networks won’t affect them, it can if not responsible and smart.
Research Studies
As the technology era elaborates social Internet has changed and increases have risen based upon the lack of improvement. Research studies precisely shows a slow increase in sexual predation or cyber crimes the past 2 years, as a result of Internet use among young teens and adults. A professor by the name of Sameer Hinduja at Florida Atlantic who studies Criminal law suggests, “ About 20% of youth have been either ...
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...Bullying Epidemic." http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com. 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Kelleher, Kevin. "Facebook Immorally Exploits Its Users." Netiquette and Online Ethics. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Facebook, the Most Cynical Tech Giant Ever." Reuters.com 25 May 2012. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
Snow, Gordon M. "Social Networks Are Vulnerable to Crime." Policing the Internet. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Statement Before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security." www.fbi.gov. Courtesy of The Federal Bureau of Investigation and The Department of Justice. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and The Department of Justice, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 11 Mar. 2014.
The article ‘Web of Risks’ by Brad Stone, is about how young adults misuse social media and there are consequences. Cameron Walker, a sophomore at Fisher College had organized a petition dedicated to getting a campus security guard fired and put it on Facebook. Marc Zuckerberg designed Facebook in 2003 and it is a well-known website used worldwide. On the Facebook page Walker wrote that the security guard harassed students and needed to be eliminated. His plan backfired due to his use of wording and it came off threatening so he was expelled. Social media is looked at as a way to express yourself. Different social networks are used such as Facebook, Bebo, and Myspace. On these sites sometimes personal life is published,
Williams, R. (2014). Children using social networks underage 'exposes them to danger'. [online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10619007/Children-using-social-networks-underage-exposes-them-to-danger.html [Accessed 24 Apr. 2014].
“I didn't know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time –Betty White (“Betty White Quotes,” 2014, para. 1).” This quote can be interpreted to fit with several of the social media avenues that many people spend their time on. Day in and day out people post, tweet, share, and pin countless times throughout the world. These different forms of communication were first created for an easier way for people to connect with others. Yet now, so much time is spent on these social sites that it has warped the interactive part and is causing more damage than good. Many are growing a desire and are living for the amount of “likes” they can receive on a post or how many re-tweets they can generate. Instead of going to these outlets to participate in a partial portion of their social lives, people are filling that time with the technological aspect of communication. As White said, this can become an inordinate amount of wasted time and can ultimately grow into further damaging circumstances. These different social media channels can cause emotional harm through disparaging the relationship between friends, conjuring of a narcissistic personality, and the retrogradation of ones self-esteem.
According to the statistics, “One in five U.S. teenagers who regularly log on to the Internet says they have received an unwanted sexual solicitation via the Web. Solicitations were defined as requests to engage in sexual activities or sexual talk, or to give out personal sexual information. (Only 25% of those told a parent).” Online predators have the opportunity to talk freely and direct to someone on social media than in person. Imagine being a parent in this situation, who would not want an online predator coming for their child. This can cause fear on a child for many years. Social media can be a disgusting world for the youth of today.
...ile Steven Pinker believes that social networking is improving society and Sherry Turkle finds it to be harmful to individuals, the real answer lies in-between the two positions. “It is a well-known fact that the web is a valuable asset for research and learning,” stated Sue Scheff in her article “Social Networking Sites Can Limit Interpersonal Skills and Physical Activity,” “…[but] it can also be a very dangerous place” (1). While the Internet is beneficial in gaining knowledge and connecting with others, it will always come with downsides as well because it can become addictive and an easy source for predators and bullies to prey on those who are vulnerable. Ultimately, “it is in our collective interest to ensure that the Internet lives up to its potential as a revolutionary connective medium” (Pariser 11) while being aware of the risks and practicing self-control.
environment where increased critical thinking and collaboration are possible. A study done by Annetta and Jackson shows that students who participate in social media as part of a class feel more connected to their peers that those students who do not participate in social media type education (Annetta, Jackson, 2011). Social media allows students to not only group themselves with peers who are similar, but also to enhance and link existing peer groups. In addition to enhancing established peer groups, social media can bridge the diversity that exists in classrooms by establishing a “neutral zone” in which students can interact with one another. For many
With the level of exposure that teens are facing today by joining the social networking trend, they often forget the dangers of social networking such as stalkers and pedophiles, who may use the sites as a major tool of the trade. Said dangers can befriend naïve teens and lure them into dangerous situations. For example, Raymond Wang had a friend being stalked by an unknown person through one of the social networking sites. This stalker acquired private information about her via Facebook, and it got to the point where the stalker was sending her threatening or perverted letters to her actual mailbox detailing what he would do to her. “This has really affected her a lot because now she’s scared other stalkers might do the same and she doesn't want that to happen or have anything happen to her.” (Wang 19) Even though users are given the option to make one’s profile private, there is still the looming threat that stalkers are able to gather enough information about the person’s whereabouts. Another similar incident happened to Regina Chau, a member of a social networking site catered to the raver lifestyle, Plurlife. When she first joined with her offline friends she liked everything about the SNS, but “[where] most of the people you accept to your friends list would probably be strangers.” (Chau 18) she had befriended a person she did not know offline and one these “friends” got a little too friendly with her; “he would keep asking over and over if I wanted to meet up with him at the next event. I found this a little creepy and did not message him back after that.
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.
The Internet is a connection of computers across the world through a network. Its origin dates back to the 1960s when the U.S Military used it for research, but it became more available to the public from the late 1980s. The World Wide Web was created in 1989 and browsers began appearing in the early 1990s. Over the last 24 years, the Internet has enabled people to shop, play, do research, communicate and conduct business online. It has also become cheaper and faster in performing different tasks. As much as the Internet has done immeasurable good to society, it has also dominated people’s lives and brought with it an array of cybercrimes. According to Nicholas Carr in his book The Shallows: How the Internet is Changing the Way we Think, Read and Remember (Carr, 2010). He debates on whether the Internet has done more harm than good. People use the Internet daily to exchange accurate information and constantly personal data such as credit cards, passwords and Social Security numbers are travelling through the network from one computer to another. With security measures put in place on the Internet, personal information remains confidential. But unfortunately, criminals have adapted to innovations in technology, and today, more people are increasingly becoming victims of cybercrime. The Internet has had profound effects on the public, both positive and negative. In this paper we will examine how access to personal information has led to an increase in online and offline crimes. The essay will particularly focus on ecommerce and hacking.
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.
There are about one and a half billion users of social media worldwide. It can be used to meet new people, find old friends, chat the day away, join interest groups, or even to share pictures. Social networks were mostly created so people could meet and find new friends. What most users of social media don't know, are the dangers of using social media. One example is when you meet a person online, because they are not always who they say they are. If someone is not who you may think they are, who could they be? They can be a stalker or a person that wants to steal your identity; which could be done easily thanks to new developments of new technology. Also thanks to new technology it is now easier for people using your information to track you. Posting personal information can risk your family and friends lives. Social media can be used as a weapon against you. It can even lead to a kidnapping, or even someone's death. Many people use social media to help to waste time, but could also become an unhealthy addiction. Also social media can damage your future. When you are a teen you tend to post pretty much anything you want. This is dangerous because you can post too much personal information. What most teens don't realize is that what they do on social media now can affect them for the rest of their life. It can even come back to haunt you in the future. Social media is dangerous because it makes it easier to be stalked, identity theft to happen, kidnappings and murders, and also can ruin your future.
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.
In today’s society, much advancement has been made throughout the universe. However, one that seems to stand out in particular is the use of social media. Social media has both positive and negative effects on society. This advancement has led to a difference in communication to everyone by reconnecting with others, or even informing the public nationwide through televisions such as the news or talk shows. However, is social media safe to use? Social media has a great impact on everyone in society. While allowing your children or teenagers to engage in social media a few things to consider are the risks of youth using social media, what age is too young, and also how social media is useful in some cases. Children participate in cyber bullying now and even find themselves involved in bad habits, such as sexting (Schurgin O’Keefe). According to a recent poll conducted, over 22 percent of teenagers log onto their social media site more than ten times a day (Schurgin O’Keefe). Not everything is negative towards social media, but there are precautions that need to be taken when there is the youth involved.
As the internet has evolved it is now a part of many people’s daily lives and with that, many could not function or conduct their daily business or lives without it. It is impressive that we can now communicate and even see someone all the way across the country with just a few clicks of a mouse. But as technology changes and progresses seemingly for the good, many will always find ways to exploit technology and use it with the intent of committing crime, turning a positive tool into a negative one. As such the negative side of the World Wide Web, cybercrime has evolved as just one of the major disadvantages of the internet. Cybercrime itself is a broad term and can and does include any crime that is committed via the internet or computer network including seemingly minor acts as downloading music, to denial of service attacks, to even acts of cyber-terrorism. With the newly formed threat of cybercrime has also come new ways for law enforcement to attack and prevent it as well but with limited resources not much can be changed but to continue to prevent new methods from approaching the cybercrime world. This is not only just in our own neighborhoods but is at an international scale. This paper generates the insight about the overall rise of cybercrime among our societies. The main focus of this paper is to describe the types of computer crimes and its effects on individuals and businesses.
Wolf, Ulf. “Cyber-Crime: Law Enforcement Must Keep Pace With Tech-Savvy Criminals.” Digitalcommunities 27 Jan. 2009 .