Taking Sides

After having completed a good deal of research on my topic, I have come to find a plethora of information in support of both sides of the issue: whether social networking sites, such as Facebook and Myspace, are beneficial or harmful to today's teenagers.

The pro side of the issue, which advocates teenage use of the sites, believes these online communities to be places where young people can not only interact with one another but also develop important social and technical skills online. Managing elaborate friendship networks and organizing and maintaining a public profile contributes to the growth of these skills. An unexpected argument from this side is that social networking sites boost self-esteem. Further research into this argument revealed that many of these sites' supporters believe that by being able to express oneself, either through pictures, graphics, or posting of personal information (such as background, interests, hobbies, preferences, etc.), teenagers are able to feel more comfortable with themselves and are able to find and connect with others that share the same interests and goals. The pro side mainly focuses on the fact that social networking sites connect people, creating a level of interconnectivity that most never deemed possible before the creation of the sites. Maintaining and strengthening relationships is easier than ever before, because teenagers are able to keep in touch and seek social contact with friends, relatives, and acquaintances on the Internet. This side does not believe that the Internet could ever replace face-to-face communication, as the con side would like to argue, but rather that it would only strengthen it, as social networking sites increase social investment in and commitment to our everyday relationships.

The con side of the issue, which deems teenage use of the sites harmful, has several valid arguments. For one thing, opponents of the sites consider them an additional forum for existing negative peer relationships. Malicious gossip and “cyberbulling” have found a niche in these sites, and teenage responses to such abuse have often been mentally and emotionally unfavorable and even suicidal. It would be difficult in today’s world to be unaware of the amount of sex offenders running rampant on these sites, attempting to abuse the services they provide in order to connect with and harm young people. Most importantly, the con side argues, these sites have made it increasingly difficult to become disconnected from others. Isolation has become a thing of the past, and teenagers have become too dependent on the connective power of the Internet to interact with each other. The world of person-to-person contact among teenagers has shrunk rapidly, and social skills have suffered as a result.

The side that I will be arguing is that social networking sites are harmful to teenagers. It will be an interesting and challenging undertaking for me to argue this side of the issue, because I am a frequent user of one of these sites. I have always believed that sites like Facebook and Myspace are beneficial in the sense that they connect us all in a convenient and useful manner, yet the risks of using these sites and the harm they have the potential to cause have led me to truly believe that they create more damage to today’s teenagers than they do benefits.