Christina trinh Section 006 11/15/2010

1. Topic: AGAINST the use of social networking sites because of the resulting crime/online predators/addiction Thinkbeforeloggingon:THE SCARY SIDE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING Christina trinh Section 00611/15/2010

2. Background on Social Networking • Michelle Andres, a US News and World Report correspondent observes, “Social networking sites… may not seem to qualify as social gathering spots, [but] for teens, they function very much like the malls and burger joints of earlier eras. They’re where young people go to hang out, gossip, posture, and generally figure out how the world works.” • TIME magazine states that users from both Myspace and Facebook visit their sites 3-4 times a day on average and spend an average 3.5 hours a month on each site. Those users who are members of both Myspace and Facebook tend to spend more time on each site than those who are just members of one network site (Hamilton). • Administrators of Facebook report that its members spend on average 18 minutes on the site daily (Duffy and August 1). • The New York Times determines, “In its short history, Twitter has become an important marketing tool for celebrities, politicians and businesses, promising a level of intimacy never before approached online, as well as giving the public the ability to speak directly to people and institutions once comfortably on a pedestal.” • Top 3 most popular sites • 1. (Facebook) • Launched in February 2004 • As of July 2010, has 500+ million active users • Founded by Mark Zuckerberg • 2. (Myspace) • Launched in August 2003 • Owned by News Corp, Tom Anderson (President) • As of July 2010, ranked 25th in Internet traffic • 3. (Twitter) • Launched in July 2006 • Founded by Jack Dorsey • Currently, 175+ million users Christina Trinh 006

3. Use of Social Networking Sites Christina Trinh 006

4. Social Networking: Addictive Behavior • (+) improves social skills (-) hinders users from important goals that do not require social interaction • According to Katherine Chak and Louis Leung, “In school, a third of college students studied who demonstrated addictive behavior, reported problems in managing social, academic and work responsibilities; and attributed it to the overuse of the Internet” (560). • According to Ph. D Larry Rosen, “More time spent on Myspace is related to slightly more depression, more Internet addiction, less family support, slightly lower self-esteem and more online friends” (3). This finding includes another issue related to social networking sites which is the notion of “online friends.” The term “friend”, in Net terminology, refers to members of a social network who are listed on another user’s profile page. Typically a friend is someone whom one knows, likes and trusts; however, the definition is floatier in terms of social networking. • For the Net generation, friendship is synonymous with the number of times one visits or comments another’s page (Rosenblum 41). • In a New York Times article, a frequent Myspace user reveals her strategy for appealing new friends, “Pictures are extremely necessary for enticing new friends- the more pictures the better… Every profile is a carefully planned media campaign” (qtd. in Rosenblum 42). Christina Trinh 006

5. Social Networking: Access to Personal Information • Sites provide unsafe disclosure of personal information • Social networking sites such as Myspace or Facebook do not have age verification technologies in place, so younger users can easily become members, even if it is against the terms and conditions of joining. • Users can easily type false, misleading information about themselves. • A younger user can post identifiable personal information to his or her profile (i.e. their name, age, sex, location, screen name and phone number) thus putting them at risk of identity theft or even worse, online predators. Christina Trinh 006

6. Social Networking: Cases of Murder and Sexual Abuse • CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughs refers to 38-year-old Robert Wise, an online predator who browsed Myspace looking to have sex with younger users, now in custody charged with multiple accounts of sexual assault (“Myspace: Your Kids’ Danger?”) • Murder of 14-year-old Judy Cajuste, from New Jersey, who reportedly met a man in his 20’s through Myspace and the murder of 15-year-old Kayla Reed, from Northern California, whose case was also linked to Myspace • Serial sex offender sentenced to life in prison after he admitted kidnapping, raping and murdering 17-year-old Ashleigh Hall whom he ensnared using a fake profile on Facebook (Carter) • London teenager was sentenced to 14 years in prison after murdering Salum Kombo, over a dispute on Facebook (Smith) Christina Trinh 006

7. VIDEO:The Dark Side of Social Networking over 2 years Christina Trinh 006

8. Twitter: the safest of social networking sites? • This past year, some groups of teenagers in Harlem used Twitter, via their mobile phones, to organize street fights and other shady activities (Weichselbaum). • According to Simone Weichselbaum, a New York Times journalist, “A boy shot in the leg weeks earlier [in November of this year] on Lenox Ave. [Manhattan] may have been targeted because of a battle the Original Young Gangsters crew started on Twitter” (“Gangs in New York talk Twitter: Use tweets to trash-talk rivals, plan fights”). • Investigators are monitoring the traffic in hopes of sweeping up gang members before any violence ensues and are searching Twitter after attacks for clues. Christina Trinh 006

9. Facebook: Partying? Posting pics? Police? • According to an article entitled “The Fourth Amendment and Privacy Issues on the New Internet: Facebook.com and Myspace.com” published by the Southern Illinois University Law Journal, authority obtained information via Facebook pictures, groups, and comments have contributed to the large number of university students around the nation who have dealt with some form of disciplinary action or investigation (Hodge). • A specific case involves a celebration of Penn State University fans and students after winning their football game against Ohio State University in October 2005. The following week the campus police “identified and referred around fifty alleged offenders to the university’s office of judicial affairs” (Hodge) after these students had posted pictures online of themselves and their friends rioting after the game. • Another case involves a slew of online party pictures and announcements which resulted in police charged of underage drinking and noise violations at George Washington University, Northern Kentucky University, and the University of Kentucky (Hodge). Christina Trinh 006

10. Christina Trinh 006

11. SCARY SIDE OF SOCIAL NETWORKING Does this look like YOU? Christina Trinh 006

12. Works Cited Carter, Helen. “Facebook murderer who posed as teenager to lure victim jailed for life.” Guardian Co. 8 March 2010. 12 November 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/08/peter-chapman-facebook-ashleigh-hall Cassell, Justine and Meg Cramer. “High Tech or High Risk: Moral Panics about Girls Online.” Center for Technology and Social Behavior. 18. Chak, Katherine and Louis Leung. “Shyness and Locus of Control as Predators of Internet Addiction and Internet Use.” Cyber Psychology & Behavior. 2004: 560. Duffy, Michael and Lissa August. “A Dad’s Encounter with the Vortex of Facebook.” TIME. 2006:1 Hamilton, Anita. “Is Facebook Overrated?” TIME. 12 November 2010.http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1686825-2,00.html Hiemstra, Roger. “How the Internet is Changing Self-Directed Learning.” 2009 April 20. 12 November 2010. http://www-distance.syr.edu/Internet-SDL.pdf Hodge, Matthew. “The Fourth Amendment and Privacy Issues on the New Internet:Facebook.com and Myspace.com.” Southern Illinois University Law Journal. Fall 2006: 95-121. Christina Trinh 006

13. Friedman, Emily. “Man Kills Ex After She Announced Engagement to Another Man on Facebook. ” ABC NEWS. 01 September 2010. 12 November 2010. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/engagement-announcement-facebook-murder-suicide/story?id=11533581 “Myspace: Your Kids’ Danger?” CBS News. 2006 February 6. 10 November 2010. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/02/06/eveningnews/main1286130.shtml Rosen Ph.D., Larry. “Adolescents in Myspace: Identity Formation, Friendship and Sexual Predators.” California State University. June 2006: 3. Rosenblum, David. “What Anyone Can Know: The Privacy Risks of Social Networking Sites.”IEEE Computer Society. May/June 2006: 41-42. Smith, Catharine. “London Teen Jailed For Murdering Friend Over Facebook Insult.” The Huffington Post. 22 June 2010 . 12 November 2010.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/22/salum-kombo-killer-jailed_n_620665.html “Twitter News.” 24 September 2009. 11 November 2010.http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/twitter/index.html Weichselbaum, Simone. “Gangs in New York talk Twitter: Use tweets to trash-talk rivals,plan fights.” NY Times. 12 November 2010. 4 December 2009.http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/11/29/2009-11-29_tweet_gangs_of_new_york_thugs_use_twitter_to_trashtalk_plan_fights.html Christina Trinh 006