Social networking is utilized in many ways. For example, it is used by recruiters to hunt for job candidates and post job listings. An example of a professional (social) networking website is LinkedIn. According to Frank Langfitt's NPR article "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting", users can setup a profile, list work history, and specific skills on LinkedIn. In addition, users may reconnect with friends and family as well as current and former co-workers. Recruiters hunt for job candidates and post job listings on LinkedIn, which users may apply to. Social networking is also used for individuals to reconnect with old friends and distant family as well as meeting new people who share similar interests. Social networking is also used to "follow" people such as celebrities, athletes, politicians, etc. Social networking websites are also used by businesses to advertise and market themselves to consumers.
A benefit of social networking to society is that it has been used to search for missing victims in the recent earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand on February 22, 2011. Google apps and Twitter were being used to track and find victim of the earthquake. Another benefit of social networking to society is that it is being used by traffic police in New Delhi, India to track down aggressive drivers in the city according to the New York Times article "Delhi Police Use Facebook to Track Scofflaw Drivers" written by Heather Timmons.
However, there is also a "dark side" to social networking. It can become a "drug" when individuals are addicted to social networking sites such as Facebook. In addition, if individuals do not read the privacy policies of social networking websites, they may not know if their personal information is being sold to third-parties. Furthermore, if an individual posts too much information about their whereabouts on Facebook, Twitter, or Foursquare, they may become vulnerable to being stalked or having someone break into and rob their homes.
Although there are pros and cons of social networking, users should always be cautious of what information they are posting on social networks and they should read the privacy policies. In the future, I think social networking technology may evolve by being utilized as a medium to search for clues to resolve crimes.
Susing, I liked what you wrote about the dark side of social networking sites. I realized that more people are putting their location on Facbook. For example people will let others know that they have just checked into "BestBuy" to buy an ipod or to "Subways" to eat a sandwhich. People do not think what can potentially happen to them. As you said it is easy for one to gain a stalker or to get their homes robbed because they are telling people where they are. Users of Facbook are themselves minimizing their privacy and letting their entire lives be known. I think that it is getting out of hand. People should think these things through.
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