SOCIAL NETWORKINGIMPACT ON SOCIETY & CULTURE

MEHRAB.A.ISLAM062-11-1172

INTRODUCTION Online social networking services are among the most popular Internet services and have become a key feature in many Internet services. Users interact through various features of online social networking services: making friend relationships, sharing their photos, and writing comments. These friend relationships are expected to become a key to many other features in web services, such as recommendation engines, security measures, online search, and personalization issues. However, we have very limited knowledge on how much interaction actually takes place over friend relationships declared online. A friend relationship only marks the beginning of online interaction.

A B S T R A C T

Application domains: Government applications Business applications() Dating applications() Educational applications() Medical applications()

This report examines social relationships online to see how they differ from traditional offline relationships, focusing on how people create an online identity and how that identity affects the formation and maintenance of "friendships" in the digital world. The report also considers how the social networking sites impact society and culture.

S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G

S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G

Early social networking websites started in the form of generalized online communities such as The WELL (1985), Theglobe.com (1994), Geocities (1994) and Tripod (1995). These early communities focused on bringing people together to interact with each other through chat rooms, and share personal information and ideas around any topics via personal homepage publishing tools which were a precursor to the blogging phenomenon. Some communities took a different approach by simply having people link to each other via email addresses. These sites included Classmates.com (1995), focusing on ties with former school mates, and SixDegrees.com (1997), focusing on indirect ties

H I S T O R YS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G

S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G

50%

12%

10%

8%6%

5%4% 3% 2%

Professional dis-tribution of In-ternet users

StudentsComputer professionalsEngineers

83%

12% 5%

Usage Social naetworking & e-mailsWeb browsingNewsgroup reading

C O U N T R Y C O N T E X T

I N T E R N E T P E N E T R AT I O N & A C C E SS

S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GThe internet service was started in Bangladesh through a small private initiative sometime in late 1993.

Another private organization came with a bulletin board service (BBS) with Internet e-mails and newsgroups in late 1994 that attracted many subscribers because of its good price package. There was demand from all quarters for BTTB to start VSAT or X.25 lines for Internet and data entry services. But BTTB was not willing. Bangladesh was fortunate that it got three dynamic leaders in the cabinet of the three months' neutral caretaker government formed to conduct the National Assembly election from April to June 1996.

• Social networks will become people’s new communications hub. They already provides a diverse set of options for connecting with more people than ever, in chat rooms, with IM and in real time broadcasts.

• Information obtained via social networks is more trusted than non vetted information. Just like in the real world where I would probably ask my lawyer friend for legal advice, we will begin our online searches first within our social networks.

• Social networks are becoming our filter into the big and sometimes overwhelming world of Google. Our networks will help us sort good from bad information.

• Social networking sites actually appears to reduce loneliness and improve well-being,

• users mostly use it to maintain relationships with people they meet offline

P E A K S & P I T FA L L S

P E A K SS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G

• the young brains exposed from the outset to a world of fast action and reaction, of instant new screen images flashing up with the press of a key, such rapid interchange might accustom the brain to operate over such timescales. Perhaps when in the real world such responses are not immediately forthcoming, we will see such behaviors and call them attention-deficit disorder.

• Social networking sites can provide a constant reassurance that you are listened to, recognized, and also important. Instead the face-to-face, real life conversation, which is far more unpredictable and stressful than the computer mediated one happens in real time, with no opportunity to think up clever or witty responses, exposes your voice tone, body language, and probably even your emitted pheromones (which are molecules that transmit mainly sexual and social messages that others perceive unconsciously).

• Real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these sanitized and easier screen dialogues, in much the same way as killing, skinning and butchering an animal to eat has been replaced by the convenience of packages of meat on the supermarket shelf. Perhaps future generations will recoil with similar horror at the messiness, unpredictability and immediate personal involvement of a three-dimensional, real-time interaction.

• The sheer compulsion of reliable and almost immediate reward is being linked to similar chemical systems in the brain that may also play a part in drug addiction. So we should not underestimate the 'pleasure' of interacting with a screen when we puzzle over why it seems so appealing to young people.

P I T FA L L S

P E A K S & P I T FA L L S

S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N GS O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G

It has not taken long for social networking sites to become prevalent amongst the youth. The reason for this might be, contemporary youth has consistently been presented restrictions that prohibit what they can and cannot do. There has been a rapid increase in curfew legislation along with loitering laws. All of which have been dedicated to the prevention of teen violence and to reduce their involvement in drugs. In addition to government rules and regulations teenagers face another authority, parental figures. Parents and/or guardians tend to place rules on where they can be and when they can be there. This combination of laws and household restrictions hinders and limits the area of social interaction to school and maybe with nearby neighbors. As a result the youth turns to online networks that allow them to communicate with not only their friend circle but others with similar interests. Social networks have ultimately become the best frontier for teenagers to interact and socialize.

2-11 yrs 12-17 yrs 18-24 yrs 25-34 yrs 35-49 yrs 50-64 yrs 65+ yrs0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

All member communitiesMySpaceBeboFacebook

• leaving privacy settings as default ‘open’

• posting content (especially photos) that could be reputational damaging

• contacting people they didn’t know (and/or didn’t know well) online/accepting people they didn’t know as ‘friends’

• Less family interaction• Making users more

introverted• Bonding are loosened• Health factorsS O C I A L

I M P A C T

Age Audience

Non-users also appear to fall into distinct groups; these groups are based on their reasons for not using social networking sites:Concerned about safety – people concerned about safety online, in particular making personal details available online.Technically inexperienced – people who lack confidence in using the internet and computers.Intellectual rejecters – people who have no interest in social networking sites and see them as a waste of time.

• Social networkers differ in their attitudes to social networking sites and in their behavior while using them; qualitative research indicates that site users tend to fall into five distinct groups based on their behaviors and attitudes. These are as follows:

topic Style of use Gender Age Typical sites Number ofpeople

Alpha socialisers Flirting, meeting new people

Mostly male <25yrs Bebo, Myspace, Hi5

Minority

Attention seekers

Posting photos to get comments

from others

Mostly female Tenns to 35+ (esp. mothers)

Bebo, Myspace,ICQ

Some

Followers Keeping up with friends

Male and female All Bebo, Myspace, Facebook, Hi5,

ICQ

Many

Faithfuls Finding old friends

Male and female Older 20+ Facebook Many

Functionals Pursuing interests &

hobbies

Mostly male Older 20+ Facebook, Bebo, Myspace

Minority

S O C I A L I M P A C T

BEHAVIORS & ATTITUDES

Some simple ideas and guidelines should make it possible for the family to enjoy both social networking and intimate family time. Truly, the ability to keep things in perspective exists with the parents. Adults should set aside some rules that govern online social networking.

• Ensure that the social networking sites are age appropriate. • Set time limits on cyber activities. Having a strict set of rules on when

the computer can be used, and what surfing options are appropriate will help the adults to monitor the interaction of their children

• More for intimate family interaction

C O N C L U S I O N

T H A N K Y O U