Bishop1 Jessica Bishop Dr.

Wilson English 1101 March 28, 2012 A Look At the Dark Side of Social-Networking; How Facebook Negatively Affects College Youth and How Using it dangerous. Social-Networking has become one of the main sources of communication for the majority of individuals living in the twenty-first century. With email, instant messaging, photo sharing, and video chatting the ability to communicate has become instant. These advances in technology have changed interpersonal communication and the manner in which people socialize. Once information has been posted or shared online, it can be impossible to retract it and even easier to find for others. This goes for personal information as well. For the vast majority of us, our experience with online social-networking is uneventful. A few comments posted here or there, maybe an album of our recent vacation photos, nothing too personal. In the group of college youth in particular, social-networking sites such as Facebook, have almost become common phrase and common place. Everyone who is anyone seems to be connecting through this social-network that was designed originally for this particular group of individuals.. But now everyone can gain access to this social-networking site. Literally individuals through this online technology can be interconnected worldwide. While individuals are no longer geographically bound in their communication and socialization, these new freedoms bring new dangers, with a hazardous downside. It all begins with choosing to sign up. A new Facebook member is asked to ll out forms with some basic information such as name, gender, hometown and/or location, birthday,

Bishop2 religion, ethnicity, some personal interests, contact information and an about me section. A profile photo is also encouraged to be uploaded. Though no one is really forced to join, or reveal personal information, with the growing movement of majority online communication, college students can fall prey to over sharing personal information. According to researchers (Acquisti and Gross 2006; Gross and Acquisti2005), an individuals privacy concerns are only a weak predictor of his/her membership in an SNS. In their studies, they showed that individuals concerned about privacy nevertheless join SNSs and reveal great amounts of personal information. (Aysu Arsoy, et al.)( SNS stands for Social Networking Site). This study was conducted on college students confirmed that regardless of knowing the risks to personal privacy, students still became members. So is a lack of knowledge on privacy the issue? The answer is no! In a study of students from a freshmen class, Stutzmann (2005) found that out of 88% of freshmen who had an active Facebook prole, only 13% of them used privacy ags. Moreover, over time, the privacy use dropped from 3% to 1%. In an analysis of how much and which type of information freshmen are sharing with their fellow students, Stutzmann (2006b) discovered that 75% of the student sample revealed their birthday, hometown, sexual orientation, relationship status and political orientation. (Aysu Arsoy, et al.) Keeping this information in mind, if we can see this information, so can potential predators. College students are particularly vulnerable to over sharing because of their new adult freedom combined with very minimal real life experience in general. Without a parent to monitor what they are posting and/or sharing, young adult college students can fall victim to many predator and/or scammers. Identity theft could also become an issue. Aside from just the security threat of providing too much personal information, another big problem is real life social identity being overly influenced by an individuals cyber identity.

Bishop3 In a journal article on the contingencies of self-worth and social-networking-site behavior it states Social-networking sites like Facebook enable people to share a range of personal information with expansive groups of friends. With the growing popularity of media sharing online, many questions remain regarding antecedent conditions for this behavior. Contingencies of self-worth afford a more nuanced approach to variable traits that affect self-esteem, and may help explain online behavior.(Stefanone, Lackaff & Rosen) Although media and networking sites were created to facilitate better communication, social networks are ruining the public communication skills of college students in America. According to Northern Michigan University, college students who used Facebook while studying, even just having it in the background, earned grades 20 percent lower on average than non-users in 2010.( Puglisi) Social networking sites are designed to allow college students to maintain bonds with family and friends often separated by distance. However, it has become a detour for college students to avoid personal contact with professors and campus peers, which is a key for success. Reliance on social media has decreased the relationships formed between students and their professor due to the detachment of e-mail, hiding the face that matches the voice. In conclusion, I believe that social-networking sites, such as Facebook, cause students to have stress, misunderstood emotions, and detract from the in personal social life that is needed to continue a healthy growth pattern into adult hood. Weighing both the pros and cons of online connection, proof has been presented that not only does use cause lower grades than that of an individual who does not use, it also detracts from the personal connection that a college student needs with his fellow peers while also placing their personal identity at risk.

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Works Cited Auer, Matthew R. "The Policy Sciences of Social Media." Policy Studies Journal 38.4 (2011): 709-36. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. Social-Networking-Site Behavior." Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking (2009): 100722182519069. Academic Search Complete [EBSCO]. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. "Disclosure of Personal and Contact Information by Young People in Social Networking Sites: An Analysis Using Facebook Profiles as an Example." International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics 6.1 (2010): 81-101. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2012. Puglisi, Megan. "Social Networking Hurts the Communication Skills of College Students." The Daily Athenaeum. The Daily Anthenaeum, 13 Oct. 2010. Web. 28 Mar. 2012. <http://www.thedaonline.com/opinion/social-networking-hurts-the-communicationskills-of-college-students-1.1689315>. West, Anne, Jane Lewis, and Peter Currie. "Students' Facebook 'friends': Public and Private Spheres." Journal of Youth Studies 12.6 (2009): 615-27. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.

Bishop5 Wheeler, Thomas. "Facebook Fatalities: Students, Social Networking, and the First Amendment." Pace Law Review 31.1 (2011): 182-227. Academic Search Complete. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.