Social media network - Essay Example

Social Media Networking The present age is the age of information. The technological boom has immensely facilitated the flow of information. Today, three people sitting in different continents in different time zones can not only speak to one another live, but can also see one another. The social media networking has grown manifolds in the last decade or two. The social media networking has both promoted and demoted the familial relationships in a number of ways. The social media networking has provided people with the opportunity to interact with their family members 24/7 irrespective of how distant they are from them.

In the past, when there were no cell phones, e-mails or chatting, people had no other means of communication but to post letters to their loved ones abroad. Those letters took days and often weeks to reach the destination, and an equal amount of time would be consumed by the reply to reach the original sender. Thus, a single question asked by the original sender might take weeks to be answered. Today, people can have their question answered within a fraction of a second. This has promoted understanding among the family members.

While the social media networking has generally increased the frequency of chat among the family members, it has also played a very important role in disrupting the familial relationships by developing controversies and confusions among the family members. “While the network does offer opportunities for meaningful social interactions and self-esteem boosts, it also opens a Pandora’s box of options for spying, stalking and other insecurity- and jealousy-driven actions between lovers” (O’Dell, 2011).

Since the introduction of such social media websites like Facebook and Twitter, people have been able to spy on their spouses’ activities, links and interactions. A lot of husbands have found out that their wives have been cheating upon them by having extra-marital affairs and so have many wives. People that are too sensitive about relationships cannot see their spouses making friends with other people. Children happen to be the biggest, if any, victims of the social media networking. A lot of children have used the social media websites in the negative way.

Numerous cases of child pornography have surfaced in the recent years in which a child has either posted his/her own nude photo or the nude photos of some of the class fellows on the internet. While this may seem an exciting idea at such an immature age, many people have to bear the consequences of such actions for the rest of their life. Particularly, it becomes too embarrassing for the parents whose children have been found guilty of such acts. Even when these children age up to becoming the grandparents, they can never escape the fear and guilt that their grandchildren can see them nude on the internet anytime.

Concluding, the social media networking has increased the frequency of communication among the members of a family, though this has generated negative as well as positive results. Social media networking has immense potential to create confusions and disrupt the relations, yet it promotes awareness in all cases. References:O’Dell, J 2011, The Facebook Effect on Relationships [Infographic], viewed, 21 November 2011, .