Social Networking: Detrimental to Today's Youth

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Social networking is a revolutionary advancement in technology that has captivated the minds of many of today’s youth. It is said that teenagers spend an average of 2 hours daily on the computer, with 80% of that time being spent on websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. (“Scribd”) The ability to connect with anyone from all over the globe is an intriguing idea and in instances, can be beneficial, i.e. international business deals, political campaigning, and so forth, but one cannot help to think of the negative impact social networking can have on our youth. Invasion of privacy, cyber bullying and procrastination, are some of the most detrimental issues that teenagers confront while social networking.

Teenagers of previous generations perpetually complained that parents never gave them enough privacy, and the prevailing youth do not differ. The difference lies in the multitudes of personal information they willingly divulge online, through these popular social networking websites. Although the general public may not be able to access these online accounts due to privacy settings, certain advanced technologies may allow someone to hack a profile or view private information. (Online Social Networks - Book Citation) Many social networking users may be ignorant to the fact that even if deleted, much of their information or multimedia is stored by the server in their online databases in order to document user traffic. (1) Much of the information teenagers post such as age, location or photos, can be hazardous to ones safety if it comes into contact with the wrong person, such as sexual predators or kidnappers. In 2007, Cox Communications and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children rendered a survey and d...

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... It is clear that the recent and heightened interest in social networking has not been disregarded by the youth of today. If anything, it is the current generation who have brought websites, like Facebook and Twitter, to life. As with any new fad, there are always pros and cons, however in the case of social networking, the negative aspects greatly outweigh the positive. The creation of social networking websites have led adolescent to procrastinate, to fall victim to cyber bullying, to ignore personal privacy. These issues are remarkably hazardous in terms of today’s youth overall well-being. In order to protect this generation, and generations to come, one must take a stand and restrict social networking usage, or abolish the idea altogether. Social networking horror stories are increasing everyday, and it is time to put a stop to the reign of the social networks.

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