The Effects Of Social Networking On Society - 1767 Words

The Effects of Social Networking Social networking websites (further referred to as SNS) are web based platforms in which people connect to other individuals that they already have a real-life connection to, locate individuals they have shared interests with, and they allow users to share information with others such as photographs, life events and thoughts. Being able to keep current with one s personal group quickly and easily is one of the reasons SNS have become so mainstream (McKensie 436). The ability to communicate to a wide audience in real time has its benefits, such as maintaining friendships with people one would have otherwise lost contact with, giving shy people the ability to interact with others without feeling overwhelmed,†¦show more content†¦Typically the low percentage of users that do read through the policy prior to joining either do not read it in its entirety or do not comprehend what they have read due to the legal format of the policy. Users of SNS consider the information they are sharing on these sites as personal in nature which is why it is important for the user to be conscious of the privacy statement prior to providing such information (McGrath 23-24). Regardless of the fact that users should be conscious of the policies in place for their privacy all SNS should be held to a higher standard when it comes to those policies and precisely how they are being maintained. Many SNS users are certain that their information is not being adequately protected. â€Å"[Users] clearly want and value privacy on social networking sites. By extension social networking sites need to address privacy protection in a manner that is satisfactory to users. And as technology advances, social networking sites must be continually vigilant regarding the privacy of users. The bottom line is that social networking web sites need privacy tools and privacy policies to protect users’ privacy and to meet users’ expectations or face the possibility of losing them† (McGrath 28). Individuals not only should but will begin to limit their time on SNS if privacy issues continue to