Hello everybody,
We’re going to talk about Social Networks.

Everybody knows what is a social network!
Social Networking Services, or often called SNS are websites where people can interact with other people through the Internet, discuss with each other, they can add friends, post statuses, etc. They can be good, but sometimes, they lead to bad things, so we’re going to tell you bad, or good things about them. The first Social Network website created is Geocities, in 1994, but we are today mainly focusing on Facebook, which is today the world most used social network. Today, there are more than 1 billion users on Facebook, which represents 1 person out of 7 who does own a Facebook account.

In the first place, an advantage, social networks are an excellent way to keep in touch with distant people, or even with close friends so one can talk to his or her friends whenever he or she wants, keep informations about them, know what’s going on in their lives, etc. For example, a person whose best friend recently had to move in another country because of his father’s job, the person can stay in touch with his best friend, know how he’s going, and so on. Another example, a person wants to prepare a party, he can simply create an event on Facebook, and invite all his friends to it from there, and also post news about it in the event’s timeline.

Secondly, many people become addicted to those. Some even spend more than 5 hours per day on them, and this often leads to bad consequences, like failing at school, and a funny fact: Being less social in real life, or even not social at all anymore. An example, a teenager goes directly after school on Facebook, instead of doing his homework before. This person will not stop until 10pm, he’s tired, and won’t do them seriously or won’t do them at all, he will have a little time to study and it will cause him to fail tests, which could lead to repeat his year.

Finally, the last argument, a second con about social networks, which is surely the biggest: Cyber Harassment. Many people, especially teenagers get harassed, often by other students, on social networks. It’s easier for people to harass through social networks because they are just behind their screen, they can write what they want. Some people even sometimes commit suicide, because they are frail and they think they can’t do anything against that. For example, Madison, a fourteen-year-old girl, was being harassed on Facebook by other students, she commited suicide at her home.

To conclude, social networks can be good in some ways, but before using them, one has to be really careful. It should really not been used by young people, or frail people, it could lead to bad things, as just said above, and also one should not abuse of them, to avoid things like failing at school.