Social Networking in the UK - Essay Example

Running: social net working in the uk 10th July Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 BBC Suffolk: social networking 3 Facebook 3 MySpace 4 Twitter 4 YouTube 4 Top ten online safety tips to consider 5 Watch your back 5 Get a nickname 5 Check your setting 5 Check what is needed 5 Mothers’ maiden name 6 Guard personal information 6 Photos and videos 6 Direct message if you can 6 Delete old accounts 7 Get anti-virus software 7 Teenagers and social networking 7 Conclusion 8 References 9 Introduction Social networking is used by individuals to communicate .It is an interactive media that is currently valued by the youths and adults. Others use social networking as a method to advertise their companies or products which makes it possible to reach many people globally. Though social networking is a good means of communication and a strategy that is used to advertise others use it to cause incitements and spread speeches that may cause violence or insecurity issues in the United Kingdom. The government should keep close monitoring the individuals misusing social networking. This paper seeks to discuss social net working in the UK. BBC Suffolk: social networking Individual in United Kingdom use BBC Suffolk website to interact with other people where they use it alongside a traditional output known as BBC Radio. In most cases, communication among the youth is done through social networking which has made the means of communication cheaper compared with other means. Since the use of social networking websites is a valuable mode of communication globally, groups, feeds and other contents are being used by BBC Suffolk and its programmes. Facebook For one to view BBC Suffolk groups one must be a member of facebook and BBC Suffolk so that he or she can interact with others in different social networking. Facebook has more than 150 million users around the world. The use of social networking like facebook gives an individual a chance to communicate with friends from each corner of the world1. Additionally, peer counseling and sharing of related problems are posted in the site where peers can help one another to solve the problems facing them. Individuals who are members of facebook can as well join groups dedicated to musicians where one can view the recent released albums or campaigns which are being held or to be started. MySpace This is a social networking site that is mainly used by the UK young people since it is associated with music and especially the one that is current in the market. The musicians use the site to post their current album released and this help them to market them and advertise their music globally. BBC Suffolk is a site that is used by those who want to support the musicians around the United Kingdom where any kind of support is given. Twitter Update of what one is doing is posted in the Twitter where the numbers of characters are limited to 140 which are then linked to other sites which make it interesting. Videos can also be linked in the Twitter handle which can be posted and later friends will view them making it possible to communicate and even advertise or market using the Twitter. If one is a member in the Twitter, linking can be done in sites like BBC Suffolk website where one is alerted on the happenings of the twitter and even to those of BBC Suffolk. YouTube YouTube is commonly used by the UK based musicians where they post their songs and later they are played in the media. The songs are globally advertised with their videos which make the musician famous globally. Videos are also posted and other clips which are used by individuals to shape others on how they relate to others. All the past history of UK countries can be viewed and downloaded in the YouTube where one can learn different cultures from the site. Top ten online safety tips to consider Watch your back It is important to consider what one is posting to the social networking sites since currently the sites are monitored by those who are in authority to make sure that all online abuse, bullying and harassment do not occur. Other people who are respected might be using the social networking like relatives and thus they will be reading the post or looking at the photo and thus it wise to consider what one is posting and the people to view it. Get a nickname It is safer to use a nickname rather than real name when one is signing to sites like Twitter and facebook accounts. Work email accounts or the one an individual use to communicate with family members or relatives should be different from those which are used by others to make privacy on what is being posted. Check your setting It is recommended for one to use security settings for privacy purposes so that friends and families will be the only one who will be able to view one’s page. Others may hack one’s page and start posting without the consent of the owner. Check what is needed Since bullying and harassment is common in social networking when one is asked for information concerning her should not be submitted since it may be used to intimidate one. Mothers’ maiden name For security purpose, one mothers name should not be used as a password since individuals can guess the password2. Those who use blank security passwords may also experience problems since it can be hacked. It is recommended to use a name that one will remember and which cannot be guessed easily. Guard personal information Personal information should not be posted in social networking sites, email addresses and mobile number should not be publicly posted. Strangers may find personal information and use it to engage in fraudulent activities. Identity fraud may also be conducted when one displays his or her birthday details. Photos and videos Photos and videos that are personal, like one’s photo should not be posted or used as profile picture since it can be downloaded and thus it will be a public photo. Others that are from the families, relatives should not be posted. Direct message if you can Since social networking is used by millions of people, it is rather good to chat directly or use email instead of posting information which will be viewed by public. Assuming it is a personal issue, the right channel is to use private message platform. Delete old accounts All the accounts that are not used and belong to an individual should be closed or blocked to ensure that unnecessarily information will not be seen again. Get anti-virus software For the sake of one computer safety, it is recommended to have anti-virus which will prevent the computer from virus which are transmitted online. One should be aware of what is being downloaded to avoid virus in the computer. Teenagers and social networking Social networking is mostly used by teenagers for socializing where they do not use face to face chating with their friends. The use of phones which are digitalized has made the youth in UK to freely intermingle with their friends in colleges or even when in the offices. As a result, it makes it hard for firms to meet their targets since many of those who are working keep on texting even for more than 250 times a day. This disrupts the follow of the work making it hard to meet the goals and targets of the day. The generation has transformed a lot since others live only in the thrill of the computers and it is very hard to detach them from those computers. In the school, where the use of social networking is emphasized, a lot of misuse of technology is being portrayed since most students to do not pay attention to the lecturers since they are very busy searching other materials in the social networking or chating with others. One of the major effect of social networking among the youth and some of adults is frightening accounts of pornography which the teenagers stare. Another effect of social networking is low job production since individuals will use their time to text, chat and surfing instead of performing their daily routines3. The causes of all these negative effects are as a result of social networking though the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Though the teenagers use their time to socialize with others in the social networking, it has also proven to be beneficial since they research information concerning their education too. Through the use of social networking, the teenagers are provided with an opportunity to become literate and creative since others do post challenging issues that will make one to be creative and aware of how the world is and how to cope up with other issues in times of problems. Communication skills are also learnt in the social networking since one is able to communicate with other people from different parts of the country. Through interactions with other online strangers, the teenagers are likely to participate in volunteering work since postings of those who need help are available. Social networking is a habit that one can control since it is beneficial to all but it should be used at the right time for example during free time or when one has completed the daily routines to avoid misuse of social networking. Conclusion Social networking has made the world to be digitalized. Through sharing of information in social sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and My Space teenagers and adults are able to share information ranging from academic material to social issues. While using the social networking sites, it is recommended to use online safety tips that will help one to cope up with the sites for personal safety. Additionally, social networking should not be misused rather it should be valued a lot since communication has been made easier across the globe. References Clive Thompson teenagers and social networking –it might be actually be good for them. The guardian, Saturday 5 October 2013 BBC Suffolk: social networking. St Mathew’s street. Ipswich.IPI 3EP. September 2009 Tom IIube top ten online safety tips: online security expert. February 1 2013 Read More