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.
I have the same experience as yours. I remember when i was in high school, my teach had assign research project. When i turn on the computer to do the research about about project, I saw a link to another interesting wediste, I would just stay on that wedsite for the rest of the day, and totally forgot about the research project that I have to finish. Internet can help you with your school work, and it can also drawn you away from work.
ReplyDeleteI thought your blog was very intriguing. I agree with the statement you mentioned at the beginning of the paragraph, "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", because even though it may cause conflict, it is inevitable. Social Networking is something that will never go away, it has like become an everyday routine of most students. Also i could and pretty much the majority of people could relate to being distracted while doing school work online. i also find myself roaming or going off topic from what i am suppose to do and end up not finishing my work.
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ReplyDeleteJamie, it is fascinating to me that not only you, but the other two people (Guocong and Marylou) that have commented on your blog, have all had the same problems with completing school work on the computer because of the many distractions available online. As an older adult who uses the computer almost exclusively as a tool and, believe it or not, does not even have a Facebook account, I found this somewhat disconcerting. All the more so because my major is education and next semester I am entering the graduate program to work towards becoming a professional educator. The points that you and your two colleagues make trouble me . . . they make me wonder how on earth I can reach a generation that is bored in the classroom and cannot stay focused for more than three minutes at a time. It seems that I have my work cut out for me. Thank you for giving me food for thought and I wish you the very best in your academic pursuits. (If you can, try to ignore the distractions out there and complete your assignments.)
ReplyDeleteI have to completely agree with the three students who said they found the internet to be totally distracting while trying to finish a homework assignment. That has happened to me plenty of times during high school while i was researching information for my project. I actually ended up not completing my project a bunch of times because I got caught up in doing something else.
ReplyDeleteAs for the social networks, I also agree that there is nothing we can do about it. Sometimes it invades our privacy but it always helps us to meet new people and stay connected with everyone.
I enjoyed your blogpost. I completely agree with computers being a huge distraction when studying or trying do an assignment. I think computers are great tools to have at our disposal to aid and enhance human intelligence, the problem comes in when people use computers to do all the work for them, causing them not to have to think and reason for themselves.
ReplyDeleteWhat you said about Obama was interesting. I never before considered that texting is a great tool to keep young people informed about political issues being that young people are rarely concered and/or aware of who the leaders are in our country.
My final comment is about the virtual world. I don't support the creation of a new identity. The young girl that created a new persona because people weren't treating her right, made whoever those people were, dictate how she felt about herself. In my opinion her self esteem is what needed to be altered and worked on, not her web page. I mean what happens when she gets older and she can't post the pictures that she does now? What happens when people get bored of this personality that she has invented, then what? Is she going to keep reinventing herself to satisfy these people? Her self esteem issues won't just diappear because she created this gothic girl, it is just a temporary fix not a solution.
Jamie, I found your blog to be very interesting. I liked the fact that you mentioned how Social Networking such as facebook, myspace, youtube can be very disruptive to school work and other important matters. I have the same experience as others do in this blog with Facebook and Youtube and it's a problem because I keep procrastinating, delaying on school work. I sometimes get so distracted that next thing I know, it hits midnight and I haven't done homework. I am pretty sure I am not the only one with this type of problem, but there needs to be a solution to end the this distraction from school work.
ReplyDeleteHey Jamie, I think you may have brought up the most common problem people have while doing school work today. I myself have the problem of being on the computer while doing homework or papers and getting totally side tracked into something else. I mean I'll be honest, I am here commenting on this blog after spending more time than I had to on a paper because I was listening to music and going on other websites. I don't think I would call it "addicting" because with a little self control we can all easily X out of the Facebook or I-tunes window and get to work. I think I am so use to working that way now that it actually is not a huge deal to me, but some people can call it an addiction, and it can be a big problem for them!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. Social networking has become such a huge part of our lives that I too find it difficult to engage in learning without it. Though it can be a dangerous place for some, I think the benefits far outweigh the consequences.
ReplyDeletei agree with you that 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. this is because i have the same experences as you.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your view that social networking is here and we can't do anything about it but from your blog and a few of the follow-up comments posted, it is fascinating that some people are so addicted to social networking that they become bored in class. Coming to class is supposed to be a place to learn without distractions, however, today some students are constantly texting and not paying full attention to what is being taught in class. Why pay tuition for college if you are not going to pay attention in class! I also agree that Barrack Obama did a fantastic job using social networking to get the young voters, however, I hope these young voters elected him because they agreed with his policies and not because his campaign reached out to them online.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with your option Jamie. You correctly described the essence of the problem.
ReplyDeleteThe Internet is the greatest achievement of man, but also the most harmful. Sitting at the computer, people ruining their health, losing time, forgetting about their relatives and even stopping to eat and sleep. This is already mentally healthy people, but without the Internet is now impossible to live. He is needed in any area and the police and social security men, and in factories. And most importantly in College. Just need to correctly use it.
Thank you that you were sanctified this problem.
I have to agree that social networking tools have both positive and negative effects. I also believe that too much time can be wasted online when time could be better spent doing more productive activities. However social networking has many features that prove to be useful to society such as an easier means of contactability. Like all things online social networking services should be used in moderation. Social networking is revolutionary but should not be abused.
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