Many people think that social networking sites are good for our society. They say that it’s a great way for them to be able to interact with friends, family, or even strangers online. There is both a negative and a positive side to our society using social networking sites. But I believe that there are more negatives in using social networking sites such as the lack of privacy, than there are positives. Other negative things such as facilitating cyberbullying, causing students to get lower grades, and the fact that some social media postings can have unintended consequences are what influenced my decision in thinking that social networking sites aren’t good for our society.


Both children and adults can be victims of cyberbullying which can eventually lead to suicidal thoughts. In an article on procon.org it states that “Middle school children who were victims of cyberbullying were almost twice as likely to attempt suicide. Adults can also be victims of cyberbullying, from social, familial, or workplace aggression being displayed on social media sites”. This proves that both children and adults are victims of cyberbullying and are likely to attempt suicide. In addition, the Procon article also states that “49.5% of students reported being the victims of bullying online and 33.7% reported committing bullying behavior online. 800,000 minors were harassed or cyberbullied on Facebook according to a June 2012 Consumer Reports survey”. This proves the fact that cyberbullying is a serious matter and is a great reason as to why social networking isn’t good for our society.

Spending too much time on the internet can really effective your GPA negatively. An article on Procon.org ragarding this topic states that, “Students who use social media had an average GPA of 3.06 while non-users had an average GPA of 3.82 and students who used social networking sites while studying scored 20% lower on tests.” This demonstrates the negative impact social media has on students GPA’s. The article published by Jimmy Daly, in July 2, 2012
also states that, “Two-thirds of teachers believe that social media does more to distract students than to help academically.” This article validates my claim concerning students GPA’s to be hurt because of too much social media usage. Nowadays I feel like people are more interested in what’s happening on there Facebook timeline as opposed to doing good in school.

That brings me to my next claim which is the fact that some social media postings can have unintended consequences. For example, in the an article published by Matt Raymond , in Apr. 14, 2010 on the Procon website it states that, “Information about an affair posted on Facebook, for example, can lead to and be used against someone in divorce proceedings because the information, once posted, can never be completely deleted”. This clearly states how the information you post on social media can have unintended consequences even if something you’ve posted has been deleted. “Facebook was named as a source of information in one-third of all divorces filed in 2011.” This shows that nothing you post on social media sites is private and it can be used against you.

Some people argue that social networking sites are good for society. They claim that “social networking sites facilitate face to face interactions”. But, on the other hand, I think they actually cause people to spend less time interacting face to face. For example, on the Forbes website I read an article published in 4/30/2012, about a woman named Sharon Seline who was exchanging messages with her daughter who was in college at the time. It states that “they chatted” back and forth, mom asking how things were going and daughter answering with positive statements followed by emoticons showing b-i-g smiles and hearts. But, later that night, her daughter attempted suicide”. Due to the fact that they weren’t interacting face to face, her mother didn’t “really” know if her daughter was okay or just saying so. Another claim being argued is that “social networking sites help people who are socially isolated or shy connect with other people”. But, research shows that people who use social networking sites are likely to be socially isolated. On the Procon website an article states that “Social networking can exacerbate feelings of disconnect (especially for youth with disabilities), and put children at higher risk for depression, low self-esteem, and eating disorders”. I agree with this statement because I think that people who are socially isolated are just shy and have low self-esteem.

There is both a negative and a positive side to our society using social networking sites. But I believe that there are more negatives in using social networking sites such as the lack of privacy, than there are positives. Other negative things such as facilitating cyberbullying, causing students to get lower grades, and the fact some social media postings can have unintended consequences are what influenced my decision in thinking that social networking sites aren’t good for our society. A personal reason as to why I am against social networking sites for our society is because I feel like people are always trying to be something that they are not and/or trying to impress somebody. For example, Facebook. Facebook is just what i’m assuming to just be a place where you can talk to your friends and family that you might not get to see everyday, share cool things with them, and take silly pictures. But, nowadays people use facebook to try and get facebook famous and to post scandales photos. Not only facebook but other social networking sites are what I feel negatively impact our society.