Social networks have become the fastest growing Internet crazes of the new millennium. With a growth in participants rising rapidly every year in such websites as Twitter, Facebook, Bebo, Myspace and now even YouTube, its no surprise that most people in this modern day society are far easier to track, browse and find online.
There are more than 800 million active users on the social network ‘facebook’, more than 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day and the average user has 130 friends. On twitter there are 145 million registered users, and counting. But the number of users on these social networks is not the only growth to take notice of. There also seems to be a big increase on the different types of social networks. Since 2005 to 2011 there has been a major increase in popular social network (over 15 social netoworks that have over 100 million users have been introduced since 2005, these includes such social netowork sites as facebook, twitter, tumblr, bebo and youtube).
The advantages to such social networking sites like Facebook is the fact that it allows you the power to stay in contact and communication with a lot of people at once and people that it would be genreally impossible to do with a phone, other social networking sites such as tumblr and twitter are mostly for promotion and showing-off and their ranking in the big numbers latley, proving especially popular with the teenagers and companies, businesses and indaviduals trying to reach out to them. These social consist of such features as
· Profiles
- Security Features
- Networking Features
- Search Features
- Help/Support
- Demographics
- Advertisement Frequency
- Photos
- Blog/Journal
- Privacy Settings
- Chartrooms
- Instant Messaging & tags
- Groups and communities
- Mail alerts and features
- Grab/Copy/Share Photos
- Mobile usage
- Music and add-on features
- Personal Videos
- Games and applications
- Classifieds and Events
The focus of my project is not just based on social networking sites. As it is based on all kinds of similar forms of communication (that mostly involve being able to communicate with someone without being able to physically touch of see them face to face) these types of communication are becoming more popular. The prove is in the rising genres, not just social networking sites like Facebook, but it goes further beyond that as the world is introduced to others such a Blackberry Messenger (commonly known as BBM), Skype, Mix It (a new international one). As I mentioned before that these social networking sites do bring advantages, they are also bringing one the biggest disadvantages, exposure.
According to a recent polls and surveys, on social networks such as Facebook and twitter....
- Up to 39% of people use them to look up old flames.
- Among 18 to 24-year-olds the proportion putting themselves at risk of identity fraud rises to 34%.
- The poll of 2,000 adults conducted by ICM found 29% admitted searching for former boyfriends or girlfriends, with the 25 to 34 age group most likely to hunt out their exes, at 39%.
- Nearly one in three people has also used the sites to find out about their boss, colleagues or a job candidate.
- The survey showed 13% of social net workers had posted information or photos about other people without their consent, rising to 27%
These are all the kind of hazards that can lead to serious crimes, and in some tragic cases, these hazards can lead to death. 1 in 5 juvenile’s ages 10 to 17 years has received a sexual solicitation over the Internet, 1 in 33 has experienced an aggressive approach, and 1 in 4 has received unwanted explicit pictures. This is an issue that doesn't just effect the youth, adults (particularly from ages 21-30) can fall victim to cyber sex offenders and various other online sexual crime and abuse.
It’s important to note that it’s not only social networks that these shocking cyber-crime statistics appear. Perhaps they’re greater when being sedated with dating websites and Chat rooms.
There is a dating site called ‘OK Cupid’, which is a fast growing dating site graze (coming in second to ‘Match.com’ in most popular dating sites in the UK). Ok cupid has a newly introduced feature that allows its users to broadcast information on their whereabouts, from the city and exact location to what their wearing. This feature can be a fun and romantic feature to locate your love interest and allow them to locate you, but it’s also like an advertisement to online sexual offenders and predators, such information shouldn’t be broadcast out to strangers. Even if you think your safe and trust the person, you can never be 100% who’s really behind the screen.
This next artical is taken from a debate, that was done online, they show the opinions and facts taken from Leon Benjamin who works at a Law Firm Group, Stuart Brocklehurst from Carbon Leadership LLP and Sally Broom YourSafePlanet.
The benefits of social networking
Social networking can help companies, individuals, governments and society in general to raise social consciousness. It can help participants, particularly young people, to socialise.
Social networking is now ubiquitous and is here to stay. People can use social networks within organisations to help those same organisations to succeed; can help individuals within an organisation to make decisions and do well for themselves.
Elements of social networking provide opportunities for people to try out new ideas in a lower risk environment.
For governments social networking can be an agent for global change and help break down divides between nations and states and help assist globalisation.
Some delegates felt that we tend to assume things on the web are correct even when they’re not. However, the web could theoretically be more accurate than the printed word because potentially millions of eyes are scrutinising the information.
The risks of social networking
Social networking is frequently used for nefarious purposes including child pornography and pirate downloads. There are also major issues within social networking regarding privacy and the misuse of people's data. Twitter can spread good and bad information very quickly and ruin reputations overnight. Like most tools social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook should be viewed as double-edged swords, having equal capacity for both good and bad
Individuals have to remain accountable for their profiles and realise that there must be a separation between their social and private lives. There is the risk of unwittingly making mistakes public which remain permanently on the record.
One delegate mentioned that organisations in unelected positions (e.g. Google, Yahoo) can make global decisions, which can lead to frightening developments, for example, their attitude to social networking and data sharing.
There are also unintended consequences of government behaviour including routine wholesale spying on citizens (e.g. Echelon, RIP) and the use of the Terrorism Act by local government.
The way in which people treat different genders is exaggerated online too. Females, for example, are treated very differently to men. Is it unethical to pretend to be something we're not online or is it just like a senior manager getting his/her PA to respond on their behalf? The issue of gender and ethnicity can't apply in the same way online because users don't have to prove their identity. The big question perhaps is therefore when we should intervene on perceived misuse of online personas?
these are pictures of convicted online sex offenders, i found out that majority of them are
men causcasian aged 30 and over.
No comments:
Post a Comment