Social networks have really grown in popularity in the last couple of years. Although Facebook, for instance, began with university students, 10 year-old children as well as 80 year-old grandmas are now using it. With this increase in popularity, various studies are coming out to analyze the impact social networking has on our society.
Many of these studies have found that there are several negative aspects to it, such as the lost of privacy, the false impression of sociability, the usage of it by sexual predators and the incredible amount of valuable time wasted.
Although, all these critics are right to some extent, I also think that there exist many positive aspects to social networking. It all depends on how you decide to use it.
A report, entitled "The Information Dividend: Why IT makes you happier", published by the British Computer Society claims that the use of Internet connectivity has a positive impact on life satisfaction. In fact, according to this report, social networking has a direct impact on happiness.
Professionally, it could become a wonderful tool to publicize whatever you’re working on. My cousin was part of the Youth Delegation for the International Climate Change Conference, held in November in Cancun. Through Facebook, the Youth Delegation was able to share information on the progress of the negotiations. These young people created their own platform to inform the public of what was going on at the Conference.
Social media can also break the solitude of people who don’t have the ability to go out of their house for health or mobility reasons.
Studies show that connecting with people is essential to happiness. Social networking can certainly help you keep in touch with your friends more regularly and re-establish bonds with people you have lost touch with. It could never and should never replace human interaction. But, if used vigilantly and if it doesn’t turn into an addiction, social networking can be a great addition to your life.
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