Added: 913 days ago by Sherlock69 | Posted in: Internetz | 13 Comments

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<div align='center'><a href='http://www.kontraband.com/blog/19036/Social-Networking-At-What-Cost/'>Social Networking - At What Cost?</a><br><div align='center'></div><br><a href='http://www.kontraband.com/blog'>See more like this on kontraband.com</a></div>

MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Tagged, and many more...Wherever you look you can find a social network being used by someone in your vicinity; unless you're Amish, of course. These sites claim to "help locate old school friends" or to "increase your social networking skills" and other such mumbo jumbo, which sounds good, but what is the price people pay for signing up to these sites? At first you may enter into it thinking "I wonder if Jim Bob really did move interstate?", or something similar, but you can soon find yourself entangled in lies, false profiles, and even some criminal activities.

Everybody lies. It's a well known fact of human nature, and anyone who says they don't lie is lying. The age of computers and the internet makes this ability to lie so much easier, because you're hidden by a screen and, at times, thousands of miles of open ocean or open highway. Sometimes people do it deliberately, to gain the favour of their online peers, and at times, people don't realise they're doing it. Either way, judging a person by the face value of what they've put on their profile, or what they tell you, without the benefits of having their facial and body language to read, can often be a tricky way to "do business".

How easy is it to make up a false profile? I mean, all you have to do is search for some images on the internet, make up some random information to fit what you've got, and voila! You have your very own fake profile. Often times there are fake profiles of celebrities, no matter how minor, or of the kid next door, just because it could be fun to play a joke. But how much of a joke is it really? We've already seen what can happen when someone uses a social networking profile to torment and degrade a young soul, and these aren't isolated incidences. All over the world people are either pretending to be someone younger, better looking, or just completely different. The addition of Twitter to this bevy of networks only fuels the fire; it's a stalker's new best friend. If you tweet every little detail of where you're going, if someone wants to stalk you, all they need is an internet ready phone, or a laptop connected via wi-fi. Yes it's your choice to post, but sometimes people don't think before they tweet.

I admit that at times there are the odd pre-teen or new teen who seem to be mature beyond their years, and are actually great to talk to, but, at the same time, there are the immature brats like the "OMG TWILIGHT!" kids, and to a lesser extent the "OMG HARRY POTTER!" kids or, even worse, the "OMG NO-ONE UNDERSTANDS ME AND I HAVE NO FRIENDS KIDS!". Who just annoy the hell out of people constantly, and don't get the hint when you tell them to choof off (for those who don't know what choof off means, it's a euphemism). It surprises me, and makes me a little sick in the stomach, to see kids who post their age on here as, for example, 14 and then seem to want to talk about everything adult under the sun, and instead of discouraging it, there are people of an adult age and demeanour who just want it to keep going.

On the other side, the flip side of the coin, there are the arguably idiotic, and seemingly incomprehensible members who think that because of their age, they are mature, or adult and can do what they like in those regards. As adults, it is our obligation to nurture and teach those younger than us, in a truly mature and professional way. Talking about how good your sex life is, or how good it is to score drugs, or any other subject that a child of 14 really has no business delving in to, is morally and legally irresponsible.

Now, I'm not completely against these social networks. They are a great way to keep in touch with old friends from school who may have dropped off the face of the earth. I have a MySpace and a Facebook, so I'm not completely inept at what they're about. The only problem I have is when there are kids of a less than desirable age posting pics of themselves in compromising positions or clothes which would only seem to make potential sex offenders hungry for more, and then those vile people might feel the urge to become a kid of that target's age. Social networks are awash with traps and snares and other dangerous things, and we need to be mindful about what we post on them, and also about what we read from others.

Added: 913 days ago by Sherlock69 | Posted in: Internetz | 13 Comments

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