Social Networking is constantly evolving in this age of new media and has become an essential part in our lives, both socially and professionally. This new way of connecting with others allows us to communicate with people from friends to family to even recruiters. The possibilities are endless nowadays. Take a look at Facebook, for instance. Today, it's hard to find an individual who is not on the popular social media site. Almost everyone has an Facebook profile that they use to keep in touch with friends and family members that they are close with or that they haven't seen in a while. Not only are we able to connect with others, but we can also express who we are through our status updates, likes, and other bits of information we choose to put on our page. According to Clive Thompson's "I'm So Totally, Digitally Close to You" article, Facebook has created an atmosphere that social scientists have called "ambient awareness - very much like being physically near someone and picking up on his mood through the little things he does - body language, sighs, stray comments - out of the corner of your eye". Not only are we able to tell all our friends how we feel, but we can see everything that surrounds them as well, whether it be a status they posted, a picture they were tagged in, or even who they became friends with. Other sites such as Twitter also allow us to do the same by letting us follow our friends and even celebrities and even tweet them, something that we would not normally be able to do otherwise. On a more professional level there is LinkedIn that allows us to build a profile only illustrating our work experiences, skills, and education which can be scouted out by recruiters. According to Frank Langfitt's article "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting", "professional recruiters have started hunting for job candidates using social networking technology" and how these sites are helping "job hunters market themselves online by setting up profiles". This has allowed recruiters to find talent that could be added to the company through a faster and cheaper approach. So as you can see, there are plenty of benefits that come along with this new form of technology, for we can not only build an online community that allows all of us to connect and keep in touch with what is going on in our friends/followers (depending on the site) lives, but we also have a chance of gaining professional opportunities. This form of technology has brought networking to a whole new level, where connecting is as easy as 1,2,3.
Although, almost all of us use social networking on a daily basis, it is not without it's flaws. This form of technology can be used in the wrong way and therefore does have a "dark side". Probably the most obvious con of social networking would have to be the privacy issue. According to the article, "Leaving 'Friendprints': How Online Social Networks are Redefining Privacy and Personal Security", "Few of these users realize that the information they post, when combined with new technologies for gathering and compiling data, can create a fingerprint-like pattern of behavior". No matter which sites you use, all of them require you to give your personal information in order to make an account. Once that account is set, even more information can be shared, depending on the individual's preferences and a lot of that can be seen by others. Therefore, we are not only providing information to the site we use, but also our friends or followers that we allow to view our page. This leaves room for our data to be stolen or sold. Another "dark side" is the anonymity that some social networking sites provide. For example, Jeffrey R. Young's article "They're Back, and They're Bad: Campus Gossip Web Sites", shows that students are using these sites to "post anonymous attack on classmates". This means that individuals can post negative comments and gossip about others that they may dislike. This, in turn, makes it easier for bullies to verbally attack their victims. So note that even though these sites may seem fun to have, they can be used for the worst if in the wrong hands. You must keep your information safe and stray from using this new technology to hurt others when social networking.
As for the future of social networking, I am quite curious as to what will be next. I know for sure that it will continue to develop and evolve, but to what extent, the possibilities are endless. Personally, I think that it is only a matter of time before someone else forms a new site that replaces Facebook just as Facebook replaced Myspace in a way. Additionally, I also believe that recruiters might possibly one day solely rely on social networking sites to find the right matches for job positions, just as LinkedIn has already done. I think that social networking will continue to be a dominate force in our society for years to come.
Hi Judy,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you that social networking will continue to be a dominant force in our society. It is indeed amazing how important social networking sites have become in our lives as well as how these technologies have been incorporated into the professional field as well.
As you mentioned, social networking users provide vast amounts of personal information when they participate in the sites. Of course this brings up the issue of privacy, but I also think users should be responsible with the information they post, provide and make public. Thus, despite how difficult this is, people should be mindful of their actions and the things they post because, despite the fact that they are posting via a computer, it does not lessen the gravity of their bullying or negative comments.