Cybersocialisation: Interacting and Communicating via Social Networking Websites

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Social networks and Internet chats
Industry giants
Conclusion
Bibliography

Introduction

With the upsurge of new technologies like the Internet, the interaction and socialisation of people have changed drastically not only to become technologically sophisticated but also fundamentally different than previous generations in their approaches to, use of, and relationship with media. In this case, “cybersocialisation” has evolved to become the biggest attraction for people who wants to meet new friends, search for old acquaintances or even look for possible dates. No doubt, it is a huge phenomenon among young people that if one asks any high school or college student in America, it is most likely possible that he or she might be a member of either one, two or all social networking websites today like Myspace, Friendster, Facebook and Bebo.

Kheine (29 April 2004) had voiced out that these social networking sites (SNS) are innate to the human cultural experience. These applications are popular because they focus on personal relationships and orient on specific social or informational goals. SNS sites attract participants with interests ranging from making business contacts to dating and leisure activities. Likewise, SNS sites facilitate narrowly focused information exchange including recommendations, news, editorial and personal narrative, and so on. Each of the current SNS applications appeals to a basic human desire for connection and inclusiveness within a social group or activity.

Despite the popularity, there are also downsides of these social networking websites. Any person’s privacy could be in jeopardy because visitors in these websites could not only access the person’s profiles but also profiles of their friends. Youths today also have become very reliant on these sites to meet friends on a virtual world, rather than to meet them in real life. More importantly, the parents and police have expressed a deep concern on how these websites could become an easy haven for predators who could pry on vulnerable youths who lurk the websites.

It was in the mid-1990s, with the introduction of third-party Internet chat programs such as ICQ and AOL’s own Instant Messenger that millions of people a day were communicating and socialising through the Internet. In terms of demographics, Internet chatting quickly proved to be most popular with the computer-savvy youth of the 1990s and early 2000s (Huang & Yen, 2003). In response to that trend, Jonathan Abrams, an entrepreneur from California, developed Friendster, which is generally considered to be the first successful social networking website aimed specifically at young people. Since Friendster was founded in 2002 on the principle that “no man or woman is an island,” it figures that the company has attracted its share of companion sites. Launched in 2002, Friendster quickly attracted millions of members; as in 2006 it had approximately 27.5 million web views (TechWeb News, 2006).

Industry giants

At present, Facebook has become the world’s most popular social networking website, overtaking the famous Myspace. Recently, ComScore, a metrics firm, reported that Facebook “pulled in 123.9 million unique visitors in the month of May, beating MySpace’s 114.6, and 50.6 billion page views compared to MySpace’s 45.4 billion” (McCarthy, 2008). The figures are vital because ad placements on these websites are worth millions of dollars. In the UK, Bebo.com has overtaken Myspace.com as the most visited social networking site in the UK. ComScore said UK-based Bebo.com became the most visited social networking site from within the UK in 2007, attracting 10.6 million unique visitors, an increase of 63 percent over the start of that year (Computer Weekly, 2007).

The popularity of Bebo.com in the UK has caused some concern that “some schools and colleges have stopped pupils from using the site and block access to it during the school day”. Debbie Cowley, technology teacher at Kent College, showed her concern “about what pupils were sharing via the site” because “some were posting personal details, pictures and even making disparaging comments about the school and its staff”. Also Ms. Cowley stated that “she was not happy with the level of security on Bebo and wanted more warnings about the potential dangers of sharing too much information” (Ward, 2006).

Conclusion

Although these social networking websites has its advantages, there are threats that come with it. Although the proliferation of social networking websites have demonstrated that there is indeed an enormous interest in social networking applications by virtue of user demand, one must be wary that sharing too much information online might pose a risk on people as others might use these for nefarious purposes. Also, it is important that parents and teachers to educate young people about the dangers of putting relevant information or meeting up with strangers. It is thus up to these social networking sites to see the loophole of their range of services to thwart the various risks that these websites might bring upon young people.

Bibliography

Computer Weekly. 2007. ComScore research reveals that Bebo.com is the most visited social networking site in the United Kingdom, 134. 2008. Web.

Huang, A. and Yen, D. 2003. Usefulness of Instant Messaging Among Young Users: Social vs. Work Perspective. Human Systems Management, 22. 63–72.

Kheine, T.P. (2004). Social Networking Systems: History, Critique, and Knowledge Management Potentials. INF 385Q University of Texas at Austin. 2008. Web.

TechWeb News. (2006). Friendster Tries For A Comeback.

Ward, M. 2006. Teen craze over networking sites. BBC News. Web.

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Introduction

Social networks and Internet chats

Industry giants

Conclusion

Bibliography

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