Facebook
makes me feel popular. Not only can cynical people now see proof that I actually have friends, but they can count them, too.
I get kinky messages from odd looking middle aged men. Their knowledge of both anatomy and colloquial adjectives is quite enlightening.
However, I take great joy in clicking on the "report message" link and feel a huge amount of satisfaction at knowing that I did my bit to conquer evil in this world.
Social networking sites give the shy an opportunity to socialize without having to make eye contact, and the bold the opportunity to post incriminating photos of their roommate after too many cocktails. Are these good or bad tools for social growth?
The applications that people choose on these sites tell a lot about them. Yet I'm still confused about my thirteen-year-old cousin's choice of “What stripper name are you?” because really, she's far too intelligent to aspire to a career in which she wraps herself around a pole for a living.
In fact, many aspects of social networking sites just aren't suitable for minors. For starters, the sheer addictiveness of these sites is a concern.
Alcohol and cigarettes are addictive. For teenagers they provide a brief high and an elevated social status. These substances carry the weight of side effects and withdrawal symptoms.
Social networking sites provide the same brief high and social status. But what are the withdrawal symptoms?
I know personally that some of the side-effects of using these sites aren't all that good. I don't get much exercise any more, because instead of going for a walk-and-talk with a friend, I lounge on the couch with my laptop and chat with them online.
My grammar has degraded. Chat language can be viewed from two angles. My grandmother's “My word! Is it in secret code? What is happening to the English language?” opinion, or the “i wuv chattin wiv u” opinion of my barely teenage cousin.
It seems, as with all the good things such as booze, nicotine and gambling, a certain limitation of time spent and content viewed on online networking sites is necessary for minors. Physical exercise and human contact is in fact important, as is learning to read and react to body language in social situations.
Most important for teenagers, though, is learning to deal maturely with difficult social situations. Online, dealing with harassment or insults is easy. You report the person and block them. But in real life, you can't just click a button and make the person disappear. People need to learn social boundaries and etiquette, and how to deal with awkward situations face to face.
I could ramble on about parent responsibility and vigilance, but I won't. I'm not a parent, but I know if I had a moody adolescent on my hands, I'd be more than happy to let them sit quietly in front of a computer for a few hours every evening and fool myself into believing that they are learning valuable social and computer literacy skills.
I wouldn't ask questions about what they're doing, because I'd rather not know that they are enjoying the latest “What's your sexual personality?” quiz and chatting with odd looking middle aged men. “HI!? my stripper names bambi!!! wats urs?!”
Because social interaction comes in many forms, and if I had children; I'd rather have my blossoming daughter right where I can see her, instead of out there somewhere doing healthy teenage stuff like kissing boys, sneaking into x-rated horror films, smoking cigarettes and breaking her curfew.
So how sociable are social networking sites like Facebook?
It depends on whether you are susceptible to developing addictive behavior or not, and mature enough to realize that excessive online social networking can lead to antisocial behavior in the physical world.
Choose your friends wisely - they will make or break you. ~ J. Willard Marriott
Choose your Facebook applications wisely -your stripper name may be used against you. ~ Catherine South
