Social Networking has a huge impact on all the kids and adults who have grown up with it all around them, and in my opinion, has many pros and cons. Social networking is a place where you can be anyone you want. It's a place where no one is watching. A place where a shy person can be themselves, or where a person can go when they have no one to talk to or communicate with. Social Networking can be, and usually is addicting. It can raise your grades or plummet them completely. No matter what, Social Networking is not going away, so we are forced to deal with all the good and bad it has caused and will cause in the future.
Being someone who did grow up online, I understand what it has done to me as a student. Since 3rd grade I have been one of those kids who was always on the computer. It was something to do, a place to learn things, a place to talk to friends, and a place to escape when you have no where else to go. As a kid, it did nothing to my grades, but, as I got older and started making decisions for myself, it caused a change in the way I learn and the way I complete projects. Yes, Online is a great place to find facts about a project you are doing, or to learn about things you never knew, but, it's also a place of distractions. Facebook, Youtube, iTunes, etc., are all things that can stop you from doing your work. A teacher will give me an assignment online, as I will be writing an essay, then minutes later I will find myself on Facebook, or reading an interesting article I found on Google. I am so used to reading online and constantly being entertained, that I can no longer concentrate in class if the teacher does not keep me interested. As if loosing focus in students isn't enough, Online is also a place for cyber bullying. What started as an innocent website like formspring can turn deadly. Formspring, a place where you can ask someone a question anonymously, turned into a place where you can say whatever you want to a person, good or bad, knowing that they will never know who wrote it. Unfortunately, threats and nasty comments on this website caused a suicide of a 17 year old girl a few months ago. Although the internet could be a terrible place, it also has many up-sides to it.
As much as Social Networking can be a place where you can get hurt, it is also a place to escape. Seven years ago, Second Life was launched. A website where you can create a new persona and communicate with people all over the world. This website helps people because it if they don't like how their life is going they can just create a new, virtual one, where you can talk to people who feel the same way. According to the article, "Growing Up Online" on pbskids.com, one girl was fed up with her life and the way people treated her so she made up a new persona on MySpace. This made up person turned so popular and she said that it was everything to her, as it saved her from all the pain she was going through in real life. The internet is perfect if you are in a rush and you need information right away. Instead of going to the library, taking out a book and wasting time you can quickly just pull up an article online. On YouTube you can talk to millions of other people through videos. You can complain about family problems when you have no one else to talk to and there will be someone there listening and maybe going through the same thing. If you are a shy person, you can get out of your shell online and show people who you really are. You can talk to 20 different people at once, as you can also advertise a product.
One person who used the internet as an campaign strategy was Barrack Obama, the current president of the United States. According to the article, "How Obama Really Did It", it states that he used a combination of television, internet, and social media to advertise his campaign. He even announced his selection of Vice President over a text message. Obama did a smart thing in using Social Networking to get through to possible voters being that everyone is connected to the internet these days. He especially did a good job in getting young voters being that most young voters aren't too into politics, and seeing something on the internet where they are usually on could sway the vote in Obama's favor.
Social Networking changed the lives of many people today in more ways then people realize. It's crazy to believe that people even survived without the internet, phones and television. Social Networking has many ups and downs but it is here to stay and will get larger every day. People are starting to learn how to help those who are suffering from this computer-based world, and this will hopefully make the internet an all-positive place very soon.
