As we approach the end of 21st century's decade, the technology's influence and its presence is seen and felt more and more in our every day lives. And perhaps the one innovation that is most worthy of mention is the Internet and its implication on our personal lives. Without doubt, the Internet has substantially changed every thing in human societies and of course socializing is one aspect that the Internet has effected the most. It hasn't been that long since the Internet was made available for public use, but it sure spread so fast that based on the
World Internet Usage report as of now nearly 2 billion people have access to the Internet whereas in 2000 only 370 million people had Internet access. This rapid growth in the Internet usage says so much about the Internet's impact and its consequences in our world.
Social networking is a phenomenon that allows people to socialize online. Websites such as
MySpace,
facebook ,
hi5, and etc. are good examples of websites that their job is to make social networking convenient and possible for almost everyone. As much as the idea of connecting people and allowing friends to keep in touch seems harmless, however the outcome of social networking has not quite proven to be so. In this day and age using instant messengers, e-mails, and social networking websites has been beyond famous and popular. They are to some extents inevitable for youngsters. Younger people, mostly teenagers are the largest age group to use social networking as a way to socialize, and unfortunately for many reasons they are the ones to suffer the most from misusing social networking tools.
In the report "Growing Up Online" it is mentioned that the Internet has created the greatest generation gap since rock 'n' roll. And this generation gap for the most part causes parents to be ignorant about the consequences of their children being exposed to such websites and to be involved in such activities. Often kids know more about the Internet and computers in general than their parents, so there is not much of a control and supervision form parents on kids and their Internet usage. Given that kids, especially teenagers are at a very critical and sensitive age and that they tend to experience things easier than adults, they are vulnerable and at a risk of being hurt by inappropriate Internet use.
Parents feel like the Internet may be dangerous since nobody is in charge and anything is possible. Kids spend a great portion of their days on the Internet chatting and socializing with friends. Social networking websites are very addictive and many users have admitted that they find themselves spending hours and hours just surfing on those websites. Identity crisis is another issue with the Internet and socializing online, since the connection and relationships are not physical, things are said in an easier ways, perhaps a lot of things that one would refrain from saying, would very easily say or publish on the web. Using aliases to cover their identity is very common to anonymously approach their target. And as a result you no longer know who to trust. Parents worry about stalkers stalking on their children. The kind of information kids share on line is also very important since they don't know who has access to it. After all it's basically about safety of the kids and users in general.
As kids spend more time online, they spend less time on their curricular activities. On many instances they would in fact abuse their resources by taking advantages of the Internet in completing their assignments and or reading. For the most part the problem is that kids know more about the Internet than their parents or teachers. They find it a safe heaven to live the kind of that is ideal to them. But as students resort to cheating through the Internet there has been websites that allow teachers to use to search for any plagiarism. This shows the ongoing battle between the parents and teachers versus kids.
As these problems continue to exist the number of people being socially active online is continuously growing and as much as it has caused a lot of problems and dilemma for a lot of people, but it continues to be the fastest and most convenient way for mass communication. It is so convenient and good that politicians have used online services to reach their supporters and grab more supporters and have their messages heard by every individual. For example President Obama, during the 2008 presidential election used the online resources and tools very appropriately, and that was a big factor and reason for his victory. Mr. Obama is not the only politician to reach people through online tools but his method was unique and so appropriate that made him from an ordinary senator to the President of the United States.
It's absolutely amazing what potentially these online services and social networking websites can do. A game like "Second Life" has been so famous and popular because of its implications in our societies. The developers may have never thought that professors in school would use their game to teach their business students how to do business in a virtual world, or an organization to use the game to help kids that have been abused by their parents or orphans to learn to communicate and socialize with the world around them. Many times socializing online has proven to be very successful for many reasons.
In conclusion one must state that although social networking, and the online world remains very harmful in many cases and it's had effected many lives in negative ways, but one cannot conclude that the online world is simply useless and therefore should not be used. With proper use, the appropriate techniques used, and of course by teaching our kids the right way of using the Internet, we can all benefit from this great technology that is at our disposal for a very cheap price as a whole.
Sources:
Frontline: Growing Up Online
How Obama Really Did It.
Second Life Teaches Lessons
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