Social_Networking_Sites_Are_Antiethical

While some users believe the sites are good for our society, there are others who disapprove of the sites. The fraudulent act of attempting to acquire personal information for identity theft, called phishing, increased 240% on social networking sites from 2008 to 2009. Two-thirds of businesses fear that social networking sites endanger corporate security, and one in four users of social networking sites unwittingly leave themselves open to crime by revealing personal details. The debate on social networking sites centers on whether the benefits outweigh the dangers. Proponents argue that social networking sites promote increased communication with friends and family, familiarize more people with valuable computer skills, and allow contact with people from around the world. Opponents argue that these sites expose children to predators, increase vulnerability to computer viruses, lower worker productivity, and promote narcissism and short attention spans. CON Social Networking Sites 1. Social networking sites entice people to spend more time online and less time interacting face-to-face. The sites offer many time wasting activities that supplant more productive activities. Teens spend an average of more than nine hours per week on social networking sites. 2. Teens growing up with these sites may not be aware that the information they post is public and that photos and text can be retrieved even after deletion. Consequences from over-sharing personal information include vulnerability to sexual or financial predators and lost job opportunities from employers finding embarrassing photos or comments. 3. Social networking sites have no way to verify that people are who they claim to be, leaving people vulnerable to solicitations from online predators who are able to mask their true identities. In Feb. 2009, MySpace identified 90,000 registered sex offenders with profiles on the site, while Facebook declined to reveal how many were present on its site. Even if the sites agree to remove sex offenders, they cannot identify all of them or stop them from creating new accounts. 4. Social networking sites make cyberbullying, a type of bullying that occurs online, easier and more public than bullying through other online activities such as email and instant messaging. A 2009 study found that 17.3% of middle school students have been victims of cyberbullying. Victims often experience a drop in grades, decreased self-esteem, and other symptoms of depression. 5. The US Marine Corps banned the use of all social media sites on its networks because the sites are "a proven haven for malicious actors and content and are particularly high risk due to information exposure, user generated content and targeting by adversaries." The entire Department of Defense is considering a ban on social networking sites because of concerns over security threats and potential computer viruses. 6. The use of social networking sites can cause personality and brain disorders in children, such as the inability to have real conversations, limited attention spans, a need for instant gratification, Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and self-centered personalities. The fast pace of the sites may rewire the brain with repeated exposure because parts of the brain used for traditional, offline activities become underused. 7. The hours per day of face-to-face socializing have declined as the use of social media has increased. People who use these sites frequently are prone to social isolation. Parents spend less time with their children and couples spend less time together even when they live in the same house, because they are using the Internet instead of interacting with each other. 8. A 2007 study found that workers using Facebook in the office were costing Australian businesses up to $4.5 billion (US) per year. A Feb. 2009 report stated that social networking sites were costing UK businesses an estimated $12.5 billion (US) annually. Numbers for lost revenue from lower worker productivity when employees use social networking sites in the US are not available, but one study found that two-thirds of US workers with Facebook accounts access that site during work hours. 9. A false sense of security may leave social networking site users vulnerable to security attacks such as hacking, leaking sensitive information, and sending viruses. People trust messages sent through social networking sites and consider them more legitimate than emails. However, social networks do not scan messages for viruses or phishing scams, while most email accounts do scan the messages for spam and viruses through antivirus software. 10. The public nature of online profiles creates security risks about which most users are unaware. Cybercriminals can gather information to be used for identity theft from social networking profiles, such as birthdays, pet names, mothers' maiden names, names of children, and other details often used in passwords and security questions. Offline crime may result from posting personal information, like home robberies committed after a person announces vacation plans and alerts criminals when the home will be left unattended. 11. Social networking sites were created to make money, not to improve peoples' lives. These websites use networks of online friends to accumulate data about people for the purpose of selling advertising. The sites place cookies on the users' computers, gather information, and track interests to show personalized ads. These advertising practices may constitute an invasion of privacy. Did You Know' 1. 43% of online sexual solicitors were identified as being adolescents (under 18), 30% were adults between the ages of 18 and 21, and 9% were adults over the age of 21 (as of Dec. 31, 2008). 2. Social networking and blogging sites accounted for 17% (about one in every six minutes) of all the time spent on the internet in Aug. 2009, nearly three times as much as in 2008. 3. Twitter was so important to the Iranian protests after the Iranian presidential election in June 2009 that the US State Department asked Twitter to delay a scheduled network upgrade that would have taken the website offline at a busy time of day in Iran. Twitter complied and rescheduled the downtime to 1:30 am Tehran time. 4. On Nov. 3, 2008, the day before the US presidential election, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama had 2,379,102 Facebook supporters while Republican candidate John McCain had 620,359. Obama had 833,161 MySpace friends and McCain had 217,811. Obama had 384% more Facebook supporters and 383% more MySpace friends than McCain. 5. Russians spend more time on social networking sites than people in any other country, an average of 6.6 hours per month compared to the worldwide average of 3.7 hours per month.