Online social media websites have become a growing phenomenon from all different kinds of users around the world. The most prominent social media sites that are used today are social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, and even LinkedIn. In today’s society we are so consumed with being constantly connected with one another that we have developed checking, updating, and sharing information into our daily practices (Boyd & Ellison, 210). These social media webpage’s fulfill our constant need to be updated and "connected to wherever we want to be" by allowing us to constantly share information, communicate with each other, blog, share photos, videos, opinions, thoughts and create an online persona that (Turkle, 1). However the problems associated with constantly being connected to what we want and when we want is that when we are together each person is in the room in their own bubble plugged into their own device (Turkle, 1). We no longer have relationships with each other face-to-face, we now share a virtual world relationship with people through text, email, photo sharing, and commenting through online social media.
I feel as though people are so self-indulged and vain to believe that people actually care what you are doing on a day to day basis that we now have to document and share every single thing that we are doing. We share parts of our lives that friends and even strangers do not need to be aware of. The problems associated with sharing so much information is that young generations do not understand the risks that are associated with the public nature of sharing things on the internet (Boyd & Ellison, 222). When a teen posts a picture of them at wonderland on any social media site for example, now everyone who can view your profile now is aware of where you are. This is potentially dangerous for predators that are one the internet and even for personal privacy.
When I share information online on any type of social media I do not share any type of information that can potentially put me at risk. This includes information like my phone number, address or any personal information like my banking or sin number. However on online social media pages after thinking about it I do share a lot of information that should not be shared like my date of birth, gender, places I have worked my school and even places I have been or am currently at. When I present information about myself I try and keep it as “classy” as possible because I am aware that future employers as well as family members can have access to this information. Having the notion that my “life” that is presented on social media forms a sense of constant surveillance, not only by my friends but also by future employers, research analyst, This online profile in my case Face book allows me to develop the self that I want to be seen as, allowing me to edit and even delete information I do not want to be available to the public (Turkle, 2). However on other social media sites such as twitter, I have all my tweets blocked and only allow my “friends” not “followers” to read my tweets and I have the ability to post whatever I please. However even though I understand that only my “friends” or the people I have accepted on my twitter page can read my tweets I find myself still feeling as though I am under constant surveillance. Many people use twitter as a way to share what they are doing, how they are feeling and it also has the option to post pictures and retweet other peoples tweets. This is a way in which as Albrechtslund says is a “snoops dream”. If you follow a person on twitter that you went to high school with but have no other connection to, you are now being updated with their information on a daily basis. Or if you want to find out what your ex best friend has been doing, that information is also available to you.
References
Albrechtslund, A. (2008) “Online Social Networking as Participatory Surveillance.” First Monday. 13,3.
Boyd, Danah M., and Nicole B. Ellison. "Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship." Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13.1 (2008): 210-30.
Turkle, Sherry. The Flight From Conversation. New York Times Sunday Review. April 21, 2012.
I do agree with you when you say that individuals today lack a sense of face-to-face communication because we are so reliant on communicating through our phones and social networking websites.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that one of the main issues when teens are using social networking websites is that they are not aware of the consequences when they are posting personal information. I think schools should be teaching students what they should and should not post on social networking websites where everyone can see, as well as what kind of privacy settings they should have. By doing so, I think this will help educate individuals and teach them the dangers of posting personal information out to the public.
When I put information on Facebook I only put basic information that will not harm me if others know such as my birth date and where I went to high school. I do this so friends that I have Facebook that I have only met a couple of times do not have any personal information about me.
It is possible that some might turn to social media to shy away from direct contact. Perhaps many agree that this might be a bad thing. Individuals that are very shy and have trouble communicating face to face may actually appreciate social media much more as it helps them express themselves without being uncomfortable. Perhaps then social media can actually increase a person's communication skills, although in a less implicit way where physical human relationships can't be developed. We would not be having this discussion now if this website did not exist. I think it is important for people to engage online. My knowledge and perspective has been developed even more since I’ve been using social media sites. I would also like to think that my ability to interact socially has not been adversely affected. I don't see social media replacing more traditional forms of communication; I simply see it enhancing the toolset we can use to communicate on a more global level. That to me is progress and should be embraced.
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