Social Networking

The growth in social networking is in large part due to the growth in technology sector as well as the digital information age we are living in. These social networking technologies can be used in ways both harmful and beneficial to society. The most harmful way social networking is used in society is through means of exploitation or invasion of privacy. Many users on these digital platforms form relationships with virtual friends or people they've never met in real life before, which can lead to an increased level of dishonesty and attempt to take advantage of young users with scams and stealing personal data / information. "By 2006, students were posting heaps of personal details onto their Facebook pages, including lists of their favorite TV shows, whether they were dating (and whom), what music they had in rotation and the various ad hoc “groups” they had joined (like “Sex and the City” Lovers)." (1). This information could, and would, be used to target specific users and information they had previously not know was to be made public could be easily sold to third parties looking to mine data and build a profile of you for large-scale corporate agendas. The benefits of these technologies to society include keeping users updated with current events and with the status of their friends / family members which they otherwise would have been unaware of. Social Networking allows for a more intimate relationship and sense of community among users because you could share with your following whatever you decided and similar to a blog, allows for feedback and comments and interactions digitally that seem tangible on the surface. These connections could help stimulate growth among shy users who are nervous about taking a step into the spotlight or even provide a means of connecting with distant relatives that you were unable to keep in touch with before. "That has turned Twitter into a tool for people to peer into the collective mind and see what people are talking about in real time. It is also a tool for businesses to reach customers and monitor what their customers are saying about them." (2). This is a unique benefit of social media because it allows for interactions between customers and organizations that would never of been thought about beforehand of their existence. These platforms serve as a means of communicating effectively and efficiently all the while sharing ideas and spreading ideology. 
I believe that social networking can evolve in the years to come as a means for connectivity and uniting multiple nations, races, and people to one another and break down barriers and destroys stigmas that people currently hold toward one another. There is a lot of unique features social media holds for its users and the global population of those influenced by this technological era is just growing and growing. 

(1) "Brave New World of Digital Intimacy " by Clive Thompson, NY Times, Sept 7, 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html

(2) "Facebook Is Going for Some Twitter Sensibility" by Claire Cain Miller, The New York Times, Sept 13, 2009. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/technology/internet/14facebook.html?_r=1&ref=business

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