The negative aspects of social networking

Social networking sites are a great way to keep in touch with friends, share photos and even let everyone know what you are up to. However what is not always as clear is the trouble that they cause.

One of the negative aspects of social networking sites is they interfere with relationships. Being able to write on other peoples walls allows everyone to see what you have written and this leaves the possibility of jealousy from partners. When comments are left and friends are added especially from the opposite sex, it can lead to questions about who the people are and where did you meet them, eventually turning it into an argument.

Furthermore is it really a good idea to post everything that you get up to on a public website? Schools, colleges and future employers are likely to check up on what you have been getting upto and it could come back to haunt you in the future. If after an interview for a job the employer checks up on what type of person you are and what you get up to in your spare time, they may not like what they see and it could potentially damage your chances of getting the job and even worse losing your job. This is not just a possibility; there have been many cases of job losses due social networking sites.

If you are adamant on using them however, it is advisable that you take time to make sure that your profile is completely private and that only the people you choose can see it.

Are social networking sites dangerous?

Recently social networking sites, particularly Facebook have been all over the news but not for good reasons. These days’ paedophiles are taking advantage of the sites and using them to talk to and try and meet up with children.


The dangers of social networking are now clear, very real and extremely scary. It is easy for someone to find out information about someone, especially with users of the sites ignoring the dangers and freely posting private information about themselves, such as where they live, what school they go to and how old they are. It is already too easy to get hold of this information but this is made worse especially when people choose to have their profile open to the public or are not even aware that they can change it to private.


This has however seen Facebook in particular try to improve it's privacy settings in an attempt to stop cases but this is only helping if each user chooses to keep their profile private and not accept friend requests from people they don't know. Even without becoming someone’s friend, it is still possible to private message someone you don't know, this gives people an opportunity to get to know people and persuade them to meet up with them.

Cases of children being abducted and sexually abused is now becoming more common due to social networking sites and with this being the case, for all the good aspects of social networking,

Social networking and its impacts

Six years ago, a social networking site called Facebook was born. A social networking site that was designed to connect people all over the world, so that they could keep in touch and meet new people, through friends, friends of friends or just entirely new people. Facebook has managed to transform into something that can have an outcome on real situations.

Its main attraction over its competitors such as Myspace and Bebo, is an easier way to share photos with the use of 'tagging', this is what was identified as what the users would value most. Since then though it has come a long way and perhaps not planned to be so influencing and popular at first by inventors, comes groups that people can create and join and pages such as fan pages which users can become a fan of.

Facebook had a massive effect on the world last Christmas when a group was created in protest of X factor being the Christmas number 1. This particular group advertised a band called Rage Against the Machines and managed to get a massive 954,443 members and influenced them to boycott X factor being number 1 at Christmas for the 5th consecutive year. After winning the battle and sabotaging the Christmas number one, one retailer said it was a "truly remarkable outcome - possibly the greatest chart upset ever".

This is just an example of what sites like these are becoming capable of, especially when Facebook boasts over 350 million users, of which a vast majority spend hours a day on and some claim to be addicted, it is frightening to think what other effects social networking sites may be able to have.


"Rage Against the Machine beat X Factor winner in charts"(2009). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8423340.stm. accessed 25/3/10.