Social Networking: Economics and Business

06Dec09

Without social networking in the twenty-first century, things would be very different. Communication is everything, connections are what make and break people. The more people you know, the better off you are especially in the business world. With the rise of social networking sites, it has given us the opportunity to get out in the world and connect. With the click of a button, communication is possible throughout the world. Social networking has a lot to offer, good and bad. People become famous through these sites but then again people can also go to jail.

Networking sites such as  MySpace and Facebook are visited daily by millions of people. About half of social networker visit social-networks sites on a daily basis and half of them say they log on several times a day. “Among household members, those age 12-17 are more likely than their siblings to be daily users, with 57% saying they frequently visit social networking sites at least once a day. Most users more than three-quarters log onto social networking sites from home, but users also log on at work, school, and public places throughout the day. Women are more likely to visit social networking sites than men; in general, women use the internet more than men for personal communication.” (One 1) Youth today are spending an ideal amount of time on these sites, it has become part of their daily route. One wakes up, brushes their teeth, checks their Facebook, moves on with their daily activities, come home and check their Facebook again. What is so important about these sites that people are constantly connected. Years ago, before having any technology to interact, communication was physical. One actually had to bring themselves to whom ever they needed to speak to. Today, physical interaction is minimal. Our lives have become virtual.

Virtual social lives are organized onto these social networking sites. The site allows users to add friends and/or drop who ever they want. This “list” of friends that people have are most likely a large majority of their close friends and distant friends. With all the applications on these sites such as updates, posts, adding pictures and so on gives people, whom have permission, to view whatever they want about these users lives. This site is like a soap opera, its addicting. We constantly want to know what everyone is doing at every point in time. With the rise of technology, it is no surprise that our society acts in such a way. We are the age of the internet and technology is part of our daily lives. The fact that we have our own virtual worlds at our fingertips makes it so easy for us to engage in social interactions whenever we please.

The fact the our lives now evolve around the internet makes us less active in the real world. There are less and less children playing ball outside because they are inside playing virtual baseball on the computer. The same thing goes for our social lives, instead of walking down the street to great a neighbor, we sing onto Facebook and buddy chat them. We have become lazy! I can’t imagine how our social skills are going to be in 10 years. Hours a day are spent online communicating online, soon that is going to be the base of communication. Communicating online, especially though the internet creates an”invisible audience”. No matter what one does on the internet whether they are communicating or playing a game, there is always an audience.

“I’m in the 7th grade. I’m 13. I’m not a cheerleader. I’m not the president of the student body. Or captain of the debate team. I’m not the prettiest girl in my class. I’m not the most popular girl in my class. I’m just a kid. I’m a little shy. And it’s really hard in this school to impress people enough to be your friend if you’re not any of those things. But I go on these really great vacations with my parents between Christmas and New Year’s every year. And I take pictures of places we go. And I write about those places. And I post this on my Xanga. Because I think if kids in school read what I have to say and how I say it, they’ll want to be my friend.”  (Boyd 1)- Social networking sites are a good and bad outlet for people who have trouble expressing themselves physically. Many people are intimidated by others in the real word and inside they feel as if they are a “smaller” person. Feeling so small inside creates an anxiety for some and socially they can not communicate. With a world based on communication, people who fear communicating physically rely on the virtual world. Social networking becomes their main tool to communicate. Registering for a site such as Facebook allows people to show off who they really are, they are not holding anything back. Social networking sites allows one to control what is going on on their page. It is comforting for one to be able to “delete” something. If some one says something offensive they have the option to delete it. With a variety of applications and options it creates a comfort zone. As these sites make people feel more open and comfortable, some people get out of hand.

Cyber stalking is something very common in the virtual world. The scary thing about cyber stalking is that it is hard to detect. Because people like to have the “popular” status on these sites they ass who ever they want, they do not care who they are they just want their social capital to increase. Quite clearly this can be a problem. Parents always teach their children to never under any circumstance talk to stranger. While maybe they have done a good job of that out in the real world, they never thought it would apply through the internet. Adding or accepting a “stranger” on a social networking site is pretty close to inviting a stranger into your house. No one in their right mind would accept a stranger in their home so why is it ok to do online? Since these sites are so new, many lines have yet too been crossed. People do not know better than adding whoever they want, it seems harmless. Little do they know that predators such as sexual molesters  are creating accounts trying to lure in their prey. The fact that people are posting information such as their home towns and phone numbers online makes it really easy for such people to attack. As scary as it sounds, people do get attacked through this site, not virtually but physically. People need to become more aware of what they are posting. Even if it is a harmless picture, there can be information in the picture that my help connect a predator to one.

What one posts on the internet sticks around. Recently social networking sites have become the most valuable use of information for lawyers. It is making cases so much easier to trace people to a certain event. “Duane Brady lost his job and faces criminal charges after posting allegedly defamatory messages on Facebook. In Canada, a woman off work for depression had her sick benefits suspended after she posted pictures showing her out, about and happy.”(Legal 1) Lawyers are digging through these site to find valuable information. From the time one registers a site all the way to the present-day, one can find any form of information that was ever posted even if the user deleted it. Now with businesses, companies are browsing through employees sites and future perspectives to see what is going on in their social lives. If they find any information on their site that they feel is unethical they will fire one or not hire someone, it’s as simple as that. “One should really review the Regulation of Communications Act: he say, which allows employers to intercept and monitor communications, this includes what you post on your blog, emails, telephone calls, internet activity and faxes.” (Legal 1) “Copyright laws also apply. Employees should not disclose company information it can be subject to the Copyright Act. And disclosing other company information could be a breach of an employee’s fiduciary duties.“ (Legal 1)If you post: ‘my boss is an idiot’ or write something criticising the policies of the company you work for, you are bringing them into disrepute and that is unlawful.” The fact that some one is talking about a business in an unethical manner is considered slander. One who commits slander may en up facing jail time.( Legal 1)

The internet is a scary world. We do not exactly know how to act on it yet since there are not as many rules. More and more laws are starting to rise from the internet. Slowly taking it step by step we are realising how the internet is a good opportunity but can end up with bad results. Social Networking sites are a great new invention with boundaries. As we progress in the internet age we will eventually find our medium to socially communicate, but until then users need to walk on eggshells. It is a dangerous virtual world, but with time we can change that.

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