Finding Paragraph #2

Do these social networking sites cause more harm than good? We use these sites and never think twice about the harm that these sites may cause, but do these sites cause us more harm than good? These sites can actually cause depression for many people. (Associated Press) These sites have caused some people to commit suicide and caused others to become depressed. These social networking sites have also become a target for college recruiting offices and evaluation tools for employers. (Fox Business) Therefore many people have not been admitted to the college of their choice or fired, partially because of their social networking pages. Anybody can view what you post on your profile pages. This means that the use of these sites as an evaluation tool is legal. Even though people use social networking sites to evaluate you, there are ways to avoid these effects and still enjoy these sites. Social networking sites are privileges for responsible people, so when using these sites we have to think consciously about what we share with others.(Fox News) These sites may cause more efficiency and other good benefits, but the use of these sites also should come with the use of personal responsibility to avoid bad effects.

1. The Associated Press, "Docs Warn About Facebook Use And Teen Depression." NPR. NPR, 28 3 2011. Web. 28 Mar 2011.

2. Driscoll, Emily. "Attention College Applicants: Admissions Can See Your Facebook Page - FoxBusiness.com." Home - FoxBusiness.com. 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. .

3. Cuesta, Christina. "Students Love Social-Networking Sites � and So Do Employers Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,208175,00.html#ixzz1Hw1hd9Ti." Fox News. News Corporation, 31 8 2011. Web. 28 Mar 2011. .

Finding Paragraph #1

How has social networking sites affected our society? We may not see the effects of social networking every day, but social networking is on every corner of our society. We use these social networking sites every day and don’t even realize how much more efficient these sites make our society. We often feel obligated to visit these sites daily and if we do not we don’t get assignments completed as efficiently. (Associated Press) Social networking has also changed the way we make plans with other friends. 72% of all social networking teens use the sites to make plans with friends. (Pew Internet Project) Before these social networking sites became so popular we used word of mouth or phones to make plans. Social networking has also effected student engagement in the classroom. (Huffington Post) The use of social networking as a tool in the classroom helps to keep students engaged better than previous techniques, such as lectures and videos. The use of these sites are a tool that we have learned to use to make our society more efficient, but we also cannot allow social media to become an addiction.

1. Press, Associated. "Anti-social Networking? Pa. College Blacks out Twitter, Facebook, Other Media for a Week - FoxNews.com." FoxNews.com - Breaking News | Latest News | Current News. 16 Sept. 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. .

2. Lenhart, Amanda. "Social Networking Websites and Teens | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project." Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. 19 Nov. 2006. Web. 05 Apr. 2011. .

3. "Social Networking In Schools: Educators Debate The Merits Of Technology In Classrooms." Huffington Post 27 March 2011.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/27/social-networking-schools_n_840911.html"

Quote Summary #5

“According to a Kaplan survey of college admissions officers, more than 80% of colleges use Facebook to connect with and recruit potential students. The same study shows an increase of friend requests from applicants and that students are open to the idea of communicating through social media. While schools may not base a decision on social media content, students should maintain profiles that shed a positive light on them.”

This quote mentions a survey that Kaplan did on how many college admission offices use Facebook to evaluate students. More than 80% of college admission offices use Facebook as a means of evaluating incoming students. This means that high school and college students need to use caution when using these sites. Many students use these sites to network with family and friends. This study suggests that using these sites can be dangerous to students applying for colleges. These sites allow anybody including employers and admission officers to view what many think are private sites. These students may not be denied admission because of their social networking profiles, but they still should use caution to make sure that colleges reviewing their pages see a positive outlook on them as students. Many experts say to use social networking to help be recognized by colleges by “friending” different universities. This site also mentions many different ways to avoid falling victim to criticism by college admission officers.

Fox Business is a very credible site because they get information straight from the source or either use other credible sources. This article had many statistics and quotes from reliable sources that Fox has used. Fox is a very biased news broadcaster though and you can tell some of the bias in this article. Even with the bias Fox Business is a very credible site that helped me find great information.

Driscoll, Emily. "Attention College Applicants: Admissions Can See Your Facebook Page - FoxBusiness.com." Home - FoxBusiness.com. 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. .

Quote Summary #4

“Though Facebook has been blocked in some workplaces as a time-waster, it is a crucial tool for college students to coordinate social schedules, organize events, plan study sessions and collaborate on assignments. You really can't disconnect people from it in the long run without creating some real inefficiencies and backlash."

This quote talks about the social networking ban that a Pennsylvania college put in place for a week. The editor and chief of Mashable.com said that if people were disconnected from these sites for a long period of time, then people would become less efficient. This quote shows how people are dependent on these social networking sites and how they make everyday life more efficient. Therefore if students were banned from these sites they would be less efficient and more likely to fail their classes. This quote shows how social networking has become more of a resource than a recreational site. This quote suggests that these social networking sites are a necessity for successful people and students in today’s society. The ban at this college allowed students to focus more on their school work without interruptions, but still caused less efficiency than the campus with social networking sites. This proves that our communication is dependent upon social networking sites.

Fox news is a very credible source that supplies information to all parts of the world. The writers that publish on this site are very trustworthy yet biased as well. This site helped me get information for my topic and had other articles i was able to use as well. This was the most helpful site on my blog research.

Press, Associated. "Anti-social Networking? Pa. College Blacks out Twitter, Facebook, Other Media for a Week - FoxNews.com." FoxNews.com - Breaking News | Latest News | Current News. 16 Sept. 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. .

Map

This map shows that Facebook is the size of the third largest country. If Facebook were a country it would be bigger than the United States. This relates to how big social networking has really become. Facebook has nearly 400 million users worldwide and seven other countries have less people included in their population. Social networking is a huge community of people, is this a bad thing?

Quote Summary #3

Add "Facebook depression" to potential harms linked with social media, an influential doctors' group warns, referring to a condition it says may affect troubled teens who obsess over the online site. The guidelines urge pediatricians to encourage parents to talk with their kids about online use and to be aware of Facebook depression, cyber bullying, and other online risks. They were published online Monday in Pediatrics. The academy guidelines note that online harassment "can cause profound psychosocial outcomes," including suicide. The widely publicized suicide of a 15-year-old Massachusetts girl last year occurred after she'd been bullied and harassed, in person and on Facebook. But there are unique aspects of Facebook that can make it a particularly tough social landscape to navigate for kids already dealing with poor self-esteem, said Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, a Boston-area pediatrician and lead author of new American Academy of Pediatrics social media guidelines.

This article from NPR mentions studies that show that depression is associated with social networking sites. The study suggests that troubled teens may obsess over these sites because they cannot read facial emotions. This article also mentions the effects of cyber bullying which is a common occurrence with these sites. Teens are more apt to bully peers with the use of these sites because they are not face to face with their victim. These many different factors have caused doctors to be wonder if these sites cause depression. The article also mentions the use of these sites and how they can positively affect teen’s communication problems. These sites allow troubled teens to express their emotion but not without ridicule. This article warns teens as well as parents to be aware of these possible hazards these sites may cause. The article mentions the recent suicide of a 15 year old teen after being bullied on Facebook and in person. These experts compare social networking sites to a big popularity contest.

The Associated Press is very trustworthy. They are one of the biggest sources of news in the world. They supply other news broadcasters with news reports and articles. They are not biased on this article and had really good information. I really liked using the Associated Press to find some information that was trustworthy and credible.

The Associated Press, . "Docs Warn About Facebook Use And Teen Depression." NPR. NPR, 28 3 2011. Web. 28 Mar 2011. .

Quote Summary #2

It's not surprising that social-networking Web sites such as Facebook.com and MySpace.com are all the rage among today's college students — but those same hard-partying young people might want to watch what they post about themselves if they want to become tomorrow's buttoned-down corporate employees.
She feels that social-networking sites may show a side of a person that may or may not reflect his ability to perform well on the job, and that employers should "keep in mind that personal Web profiles are best considered in context."

This article tells about the use of social networking sites by college students. This article also tells about the use of these sites to evaluate future employees. These students post personal information about their private lives. The article mentions some college student’s opinions of these sites and the evaluations by some companies. These college students feel that their personal privacy is being invaded by these companies. They also feel that these profiles do not exhibit their ability to perform in certain careers. This article mentions briefly the popularity of these social networking sites between college students. Some of the sites mentioned allow students to rate their professors. These sites cause interaction issues between professor and student relationships. These companies can view pictures that are inappropriate and postings that “buttoned down corporate employees” would not want their employers viewing. The main point of this article is the irresponsibility of the use that college students exhibit with these social networking sites.

I have found many articles for my blog that were credible from Fox news. This article is one of the many credible and biased articles I have found from their website. Fox news was very helpful on my articles for this blog and I will continue to use the articles I find from Fox.

Cuesta, Christina. "Students Love Social-Networking Sites � and So Do Employers Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,208175,00.html#ixzz1Hw1hd9Ti." Fox News. News Corporation, 31 8 2011. Web. 28 Mar 2011. .