The Problem with Social Networking

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Why social networking is a problem

In 2009, a slew of news reports warned that social networking sites would ruin our bodies and brains by shortening our attention spans, weakening our immune systems and possibly fostering autism.

The new ICMPA study, "24 Hours: Unplugged," asked 200 students at the College Park campus (Maryland University) to give up all media for 24 hours. After their 24 hours of abstinence, the students were then asked to blog on private class websites about their experiences: to report their successes and admit to any failures.

When asked how they felt during the brief disconnection, students’ descriptions of frantic cravings, anxiety and jitters mirrored those typical of people going through withdrawal from drugs or alcohol.

One of the students said "Texting and IM-ing my friends gives me a constant feeling of comfort." And he added "When I did not have those two luxuries, I felt quite alone and secluded from my life. Although I go to a school with thousands of students, the fact that I was not able to communicate with anyone via technology was almost unbearable."

The Largest Social Networking Study Ever
During "the largest social network studies ever released" conducted by Facebook, found out that you can connect to any user faster than ever. "The average distance in 2008 was 5.28 hops, while now it is 4.74," Facebook says. These hops are different clicks and being connected to other people's friends and you can breeze through different people's lives just by a couple of clicks. "We are close, in a sense, to people who don't necessarily like us, sympathize with us or have anything in common with us," Jon Kleinberg, from Cornell University, told the New York Times. "It's the weak ties that make the world small."


This study can help us come to many conclusions, one being that out computers are awesome to help connect the world and Facebook is shrinking the world in a better way. One Facebook user wrote on the company's post "Ultimate proof that our world is getting smaller and smaller." Another user said: "Awesome study! As a Milgram fan, I have been waiting years to see this analysis and it was worth the wait. Beyond any commercial purpose, Facebook data can help us understand how human society is organized, how ideas spread, and how we are connected to each other. Very cool." Another conclusion may be that this social networking problem is getting out of hand, but this case only shows the problems on the top and not going in depth. Over the next few years we will watch our cyber world grow and people will be delusional to the fact that our growth online may be unhealthy.