Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our Society?

Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our Society?47% of American adults used social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Classmates.com in 2011, up from 26% in 2008. [26] On social media sites like these, users may develop biographical profiles, communicate with friends and strangers, do research, and share thoughts, photos, music, links, and more.

Proponents of social networking sites say that the online communities promote increased interaction with friends and family; offer teachers, librarians, and students valuable access to educational support and materials; facilitate social and political change; and disseminate useful information rapidly.

Opponents of social networking say that the sites prevent face-to-face communication; waste time on frivolous activity; alter children’s brains and behavior making them more prone to ADHD; expose users to predators like pedophiles and burglars; and spread false and potentially dangerous information. Read more… 

Social Networking Sites Impact Teen Drinking and Smoking, Study Finds

imageAdolescents who see their friends partying or drinking on social networking sites are more likely to smoke and use alcohol, according to a Sep. 3, 2013 peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Adolescent Health. While viewing friends’ online pictures of smoking or drinking “significantly contributed” to adolescent smoking and drinking, the frequency of social media use and the number of online friendships were not associated with those behaviors.

The National Institutes of Health-sponsored study, “Peer Influences: The Impact of Online and Offline Friendship Networks on Adolescent Smoking and Alcohol Use,” surveyed 1,563 10th-grade students across five Southern California high schools. Researchers coded smoking and alcohol use into 5-point scores ranging from “not susceptible” to “daily smoker/drinker.” Students were asked about the frequency of their own social media use, and asked to name seven best friends and describe their smoking, drinking, and social media behavior.

34% of students have at least one friend who talks about partying online and 20% report that their friends post party/drinking pictures online.

“Exposure to risky online content had a direct impact on adolescents’ risk behaviors and significantly interacted with risk behaviors of their friends,” according to the study’s authors. “These results provide evidence that friends’ online behaviors should be considered a viable source of peer influence and that increased efforts should focus on educating adolescents on the negative effects of risky online displays.”

Source: socialnetworking.procon.org

Are social networking sites good for our society?

Social NetworksThe 47% of Americans who use social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have spent billions of minutes social networking in 2012.

The increasing prevalence of social communication via computers, apps, and mobile devices has been constant and controversial. Is social media advancing beneficial social, political, and business changes, or is it causing a harmful dependence on screen-based technology and spawning less meaningful interpersonal relationships? Are we better off in our new world of constant social connectivity, or has more social media communication brought more problems?

ProCon.org, a nonpartisan research organization devoted to critical thinking on controversial issues, debuts its revamped website, socialnetworking.procon.org, and delves into the pros and cons of the core question “Are social networking sites good for society?”