Ever since our empty world had held life, it has undergone developments and modernization in almost all its aspects, and these have occurred as a result of natural means and man’s intervention. Evolutions and innovations have transformed the world from a composition of regional groupings to one large village. Advancement in technology has made it possible for people from different regions of the world to keep in contact throughout their lifetime. The use of mobile phones and the internet has made communication easier and faster; in addition, further inventions and innovations have led to efficient means of communicating including social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn. Social networks are one of the sites that have been developed at a glimpse and enhanced human communication and relationships.
Social networks have developed from simple news models to highly interactive sites that comprise the exchange of ideas and information. According to the movie The Social Network, male university students exchange information very quickly in the analysis of female students’ attractiveness on a site named Facemash. This situation applies to the normal usage of social network sites where individuals select beautiful and handsome people to make friends with. People post their best photographs on such sites to entice potential partners or friends who are eager to get the best-looking persons of the opposite sex. These photographs are nonfigurative, but they carry a deep message that is comprehended to meaningful information. With a simple click of the button, the conversation starts and soon information is exchanged, and this leads to the individuals meeting and even becoming lifetime companions. The social network sites unite long-lost friends who would never have met again. Through the posting of a person’s profile during registration on these sites, other people can easily find out the location of their long-lost childhood friends. Just like in the movie The Social Network, updates on the individual profiles, like posting photographs or some facts concerning the professional career, give another person information about how his/her friends are going without necessarily meeting each other. People who had close relationships, but had to separate at early ages in search of education or work get a great opportunity to reunite with the help of social sites.
These social sites offer the cheapest means of communication since it requires one to have a computer or electronic machine that has access to the internet. In the movie The Social Network, students just log in via their computers and post updates on sports and other issues on their university website.
Since the invention of modern communication tools, social networks have developed as the fastest means of exchanging information thanks to instant message services. There is a quick response to all communications because all data is processed at high speed and made available to the other person as soon as possible. In the same way, when the other recipient is not online, one can leave a message that will be retrieved later by the recipient when he/she logs in. Some Mobile phones have specialized programs that support applications that download social network sites.
However, despite the many advantages of these social sites, there are various forms of limitations that hinder their effectiveness and usage. Though the world is slowly being transformed from distant blocks to a global village through modern communication technologies, it should be noted that not all individuals are computer literate. Many people in third world countries are illiterate, and so operating a computer becomes a hard task for them. Basic education to them is a real luxury, and only a few individuals are privileged to go to school and get a proper education. There are much more pressing issues like food, clothing, and shelter that are given the upper consideration of leaving education as an afterthought.
As a matter of fact, it should be noted that social networks are too addictive, and individuals spend too much time looking for more social network sites which are entertaining and attractive. Most students usually waste a lot of time allocated for personal studies and assignments hanging in social sites watching video clips and communicating with their mates. The office has not been left out as staff members dedicate their time at work to interact with their friends at the expense of volumes of work pilled on their tables.
These sites are just like busy streets with millions of people with diverse intentions from different backgrounds. Strangers often hide their real identities behind the masks of friends to deceive innocent people to take control of their money or abuse them. Children often become prey to rapists and sexual abusers through social sites that do not have a mechanism to detect genuine and fake users.
As much as these sites try to create relationships between individuals, there are cases when using these sites led to bitter ends in relationships. In the movie The Social Network, Christy and Eduardo’s relationships break out when the first one realizes that the profile of the second one which had not been updated indicates that he is single. Such minor oversights turn out to be costly in the event the partners fail to understand each other.
Social sites have been greatly abused by individuals who think they can exchange or post anything they wish regardless of who views these sites. As shown in the movie The Social Network, university students use the Facemash site to post remarks and photographs of female students aiming at evaluating their level of beauty. Sites that were intended to bring old friends together turn out to be abusive as pornography literature dominates most of them. Children are found to stare at photographs of naked grown-ups and watch pornographic films from a very young age. This gives them a premature introduction to pornography and exposes them to early sexual relationships, as well as the risks like infections transmitted sexually, pregnancy, and rape.
Computers, laptops, wireless devices, and internet installation is costly activity that requires a lot of money and time. Many individuals are confronted with hard economic times that do not give them room for thinking about investing in a computer that will not generate income but instead may become an expense in terms of purchasing data bundles.
I wish to state that social network sites are as healthy as they are harmful to society depending on the way the individuals view and relate with each other on them. With close monitoring and tracking of sites that children visit, parents should ensure their children get access to educative and interactive sites. They may install blockers to prevent access to sites that contain scenes of pornographic nature. Grown-ups should exercise self-discipline in their daily routine in order to ensure they do not get hooked on these social sites at the expense of work, studies, or money.