Effect of Social Network - Research Paper Example

..” (Ebesco host, n.d). This has undoubtedly had many effects on the user individually, and it has affected their general ways of thinking because of individuals having access to others opinions. The impacts of social media cannot be simply classified as good or bad, as it is a subject that elicits several different opinions from different groups and each school of thought s based on different circumstances. One of the effects of social network that has had a very widely felt and influential impact is the empowering of its users with information.

In addition, a forum to air their views in circumstances where, the same would not have been previously possible. The revolutions that took place in Egypt and Liberia in the last year can trace a lot of their motivation on social network sites like face book. The people in these countries had been oppressed but could not do anything about it since the governments controlled most of the media and kept it censored. However, the citizens could share all the information they wanted and messages encouraging revolution and resistance as well as records of governments injustices were put on facebook and significantly facilitated the revolutions.

From this, we can see social media being used to bring political revolutions and hence have a picture of what a powerful tool it is. Social networking is also said to be addictive, and teens often get addicted to and cannot spend a few hours without getting online to chat with friends. Bearing in mind that the physiological and psychological effects on these networks can be severe, and addiction to social networks can pose a serious problem. This is because it has been proved that,“… overuse of media and technology has a negative effect on the health of all children, preteens and teenagers by making them more prone to anxiety, depression, and other psychological disorders…”( American Psychological Association, 2011).

Sexual offenders have also used facebook as a platform on which to lure and entice their victims through fake but attractive identities. Many youths who go social networking to make friends or date have been taken advantage of when they form relationships with some of these offenders who should they meet in person, assault or even kill them. Social networks are susceptible to malicious people considering that,”…there are more than 600,000 Registered Sex Offenders in United States and about 150,000 of them have been lost in the system” (Williams & Lebrun, 2009 p.105). These statistics posted on facebook by loud security systems help users to appreciate the immense danger posed by social networks in the hands of the wrong people.

The amount of time spent on social networks can also negatively affect ones school grades. This is because many students are online when they should be studying and often they use their smart phones in class to social network. This often translates into poor concentration in class and the same can be transferred to the workplace when they will be employed. They may end up wasting many hours online when they should be working. On the other hand, social networks play a prominent role in helping people to socialize, especially teenagers, as the assumption that, social networks make people anti social, does not always holds true.

This is because shy children can be able to meet and make new friends online which is extremely beneficial for their