Human interaction, bringing people together and making connections is becoming more and more important in today’s society. Part of being successful in any career field of your choice has to do with who you know and how they can help you. Today, more than ever before it has become virtually effortless to get in contact with whoever is on the web. Your ability to get in touch with your cousin halfway around the world or complete strangers from all around the globe has become incredibly facilitated. Social networking sites have been built as an arena for you to connect with whomever you desire out of potentially millions of individuals. Social networking has become a huge phenomenon in the past decade and has exponentially grown to become a major part of millions of people’s lives.
Although before we dive into the realm of social networks and what they have to offer, we have to understand exactly what is defined as a social network and what it constitutes. As M.E.J. Newman points out, a network is a list of items, which we call vertices or nodes with connections between them labeled edges (Newman, 2003) . He also states that as networks have been studied extensively by sociologists, they have reached the realization that the patterns of connection between people lead to the comprehension of the functioning of human society (Newman, 2003) . In turn this leads to the conclusion that as each year passes by and new social networks are created, people eventually leave the old and engage with the new and that is how connectivity keeps growing. We are constantly looking for the ‘new’ way or the ‘next’ outlet to keep metamorphosing as individuals.
Potential benefits of social networks are quintessentially endless. With the opportunities at the stroke of a few keys you can benefit from social networking sites in many ways, depending on your goal and what you make of it. There are over a hundred recognized social networking sites on the internet although to name a few; you have Facebook, Myspace, Tumblr, Blogspot, Stumbleupon, Twitter, Xanga, Ebay etc. These social networking sites have become so popular in recent years that even a movie was made about one of them, Facebook. Some of these sites are used purely for personal reasons, or at least people view them in that manner. Take, Facebook for example, most people use Facebook to keep in touch with their friends and make new ones, although even if there are marketing aspects to Facebook most people do not recognize them. On a large portion of these social networking sites you are supplying the provider with money, and you are being marketed to constantly with advertisements surrounding the pages. Consciously you might not realize it but subliminally you are constantly being marketed to. There are other reasons as to why people might use social networking sites such as Ebay to connect with customers. If an individual or small business owner is searching for a larger clientele, posting their items for sale on sites such as Ebay or Etsy could help expose them to billions of potential buyers not only in their country but internationally. Personally, for some time I sold vintage pieces online on the site Etsy and hand packaged and shipped off the items myself to customers all around the world. Not only was it cheap, convenient and secure but it helped me start a business I could never have done by myself. According to Collins, many businesses are also using these sites to network, approaching customers not just as a company but as real people, placing a human face on a local or national business makes you more likely to get attached and come back (Collins, 2010). Twitter has become an incredible source for real confirmed sources such as politicians, celebrities, scientists, etc. to communicate about their lives and build rapport. Twitter has indeed become so legitimate that it is often used and quoted on the news for up-to-the-minute outbreaks of information. As Ben-Ari states, “whom you choose to follow on Twitter is key to the quality of the information you receive” (Ben-Ari, 2009). Twitter is yet another social networking site that can be incredibly useful if you learn how to use it right.
Certainly with the advantages of social networking also comes risks of creating social problems that would otherwise be averted. Since the Internet allows you to remain somewhat anonymous and hide behind a computer screen, it is much easier for people to state their accusations and opinions. That is one of the disadvantages of social networking, a lot of people pretend to be something their not, using other people’s pictures, names and information. You really have limited knowledge when it comes to the authenticity of ‘internet buddies’. Chat rooms are often places where people get bullied, or talked down to if they aren’t acting in a certain way (Baron, Branscombe, & Byrne, 2009). Chat rooms can be great for connecting with others who share similar interests and hobbies although many online predators make their debuts and target their audience that way as well. Although it can be easy to come in contact with an online predator its just as easy to get out of that potentially threatening situation as well. The networking sites are not binding and therefore you can remove yourself from the situation just as easily as how you entered it. If you want to remain safe it is vital that you do not stick around in a threatening environment, as long as you are in those surroundings you will be continually harassed. Boundaries need to be respected for an enjoyable time online. Most problems occur with people being bullied online because they are not of strong moral fiber and therefore are influenced very easily by people who take advantage of their low self-esteem and residual self-confidence issues. It is important to be aware and educated about potential risks associated with social networking to be able to enjoy the tools offered to us and not be scared of using them. You almost always hear bad news about online security issues, you hear about how the Internet places people at risk, although the Internet has been helping people keep safe as well. One example includes the website Ihollback.org, this website is used by women to write and share their sexual harassment stories in order to raise awareness and help prevent future abuse by providing safe grounds to discuss bothersome and troubling issues (Sharkey, 2011). The efforts of this site might seem very minute and small scale compared to the abuse that goes on around the world everyday but it is one step in the right direction, stories are powerful and could most certainly be preventative of abuse in a way. You don’t often think of the Internet as being a safe haven to share very personal information you might even be uncomfortable sharing with your closest loved ones, but there is security in anonymity, being able to receive support and help without having to disclose who you are and where your from is very relieving for some.
In conclusion, social networking sites are only going to keep growing and become more and more interconnected, they will let us reach others in ways we never thought possible at lighting fast speeds. We have just begun to graze the surface of networking, soon it will become almost impossible and totally inconvenient not to be affiliated with at least one social networking site. Albeit while some popular sites today will fade will the emergence of new ones tomorrow, in order to be of the moment we undoubtedly need to follow the current into new technological advances in the social field whether for entertainment, business or personal reasons. All the while we can stay safe on the web by making sure we talk to legitimate people with intentions we are at peace with in order to cultivate an environment of peace and growth for all.
References
Newman, M.E.J. (2003). The structure and function of complex networks. Siam Review, 45(2), Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25054401
Ben-Ari, E. (2009). Twitter: what's all the chirping about?. University of California Press, 59(7), Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/bio.2009.59.7.19 doi: 10.1525/bio.2009.59.7.19
Collins, I. (2010, February 25). 5 common uses for social networking and the effect on your target audience. Retrieved from http://www.blogussion.com/social-media/uses-social-networking/
Sharkey, J. (2011, February 28). Keeping women safe through social networking. The New York Times, p. B6.
Baron, R.A., Branscombe, N.R., & Byrne, D. (2009). Social psychology. United States of America: Pearson Education.
