ARE SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES GOOD FOR OUR SOCIETY?

Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our Society?
47% of American adults used social networking sites like
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and
Classmates.com in 2011, up from 26% in 2008. [26] On
social media sites like these, users may develop
biographical profiles, communicate with friends and
strangers, do research, and share thoughts, photos,
music, links, and more.
Proponents of social networking sites say that the
online communities promote increased interaction with
friends and family; offer teachers, librarians, and
students valuable access to educational support and
materials; facilitate social and political change; and
disseminate useful information rapidly.
Opponents of social networking say that the sites
prevent face-to-face communication; waste time on
frivolous activity; alter children’s brains and behavior
making them more prone to ADHD; expose users to
predators like pedophiles and burglars; and spread false
and potentially dangerous information. Read more...
Did You Know?
Pro & Con Arguments
Top Pro & Con Quotes
Background
Video Gallery
Comments
Social Networking ProCon.org is a nonpartisan,
nonprofit website that presents facts, studies, and pro
and con statements on questions related to social
networking and its impact on society.
Did You Know?
1. Social networking sites are a top news source for 27.8%
of Americans, ranking below newspapers (28.8%) and
above radio (18.8%) and print publications (6%). [1]
2. Students who used social networking sites while
studying scored 20% lower on tests and students who
used social media had an average GPA of 3.06 versus
non-users who had an average GPA of 3.82. [ 84]
3. 35 global heads of state, every US Cabinet agency, 84%
of US state governors, every major candidate for US
President, and more than 40% of top global religious
leaders are on Twitter. [157 ]
4. 10% of people younger than 25 years old respond to
social media and text messages during sex. [100 ] [173 ]
5. In July 2012 Americans spent 74.0 billion minutes on
social media via a home computer, 40.8 billion minutes
via apps, and 5.7 billion minutes via mobile web
browsers, a total of 121.1 billion minutes on social
networking sites. [ 147]
Background: "Are Social Networking Sites Good for Our
Society?"
47% of American adults used social networking sites like
Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, and
Classmates.com in 2011, up from 26% in 2008. [26 ] On
social media sites like these, users may develop
biographical profiles, communicate with friends and
strangers, do research, and share thoughts, photos,
music, links, and more.
Proponents of social networking sites say that the
online communities promote increased interaction with
friends and family; offer teachers, librarians, and
students valuable access to educational support and
materials; facilitate social and political change; and
disseminate useful information rapidly.
Opponents of social networking say that the sites
prevent face-to-face communication; waste time on
frivolous activity; alter children’s brains and behavior
making them more prone to ADHD; expose users to
predators like pedophiles and burglars; and spread false
and potentially dangerous information.
SixDegrees.com, which existed from 1997-2001, is
considered the first social networking site because it
allowed users to create personal spaces and connect to
friends online. Friendster, created in 2002, popularized
social networking in the United States but was quickly
outpaced by other social networking sites like: MySpace
(2003), Facebook (2004), Twitter (2006), Pinterest
(2009), and Google+ (2012). Facebook reported one
billion monthly users worldwide on October 4, 2012,
making it the most popular social networking site with
one in seven people on the planet using the site. [142 ]
Every day, Facebook manages 2.7 billion "Likes,” 300
million photo uploads, and 2.5 billion status updates
and check-ins. [143 ] Twitter, the second largest social
networking site, had an estimated 107.7 million users in
the United States (as of Jan. 31, 2012) [ 144] and 500
million worldwide users (as of Sep. 28, 2012). [ 172]
Pinterest is the third largest social network with 23
million unique visitors in July 2012, followed by
LinkedIn, Tagged, Google+, and MySpace [145 ] [146 ]
59% of all Internet users use at least one social
networking site and 56% of social networking users are
female. [ 26]