Social Networking

     Social Networking is changing the way society interacts. Through sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter, people can communicate with both friends and strangers easier than ever before. Companies have begun to use social networking to recruit people for jobs. In fact, Maureen Crawford-Hentz, from the company Osram Sylvania, said, “Social networking technology is absolutely the best thing to happen to recruiting ever.” Through business networking sites like LinkedIn, recruiters can explore thousands of people and find thousands more who could be potential employees for their companies.

     Although social networking is great for businesses seeking new employees, it also has a dark side. For example, Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg, privately posted a family picture for the holidays. A non-friend of Zuckerberg’s ended up getting access to the photo when it came up on her newsfeed. Zuckerberg was very upset with this, and it shows how even what people think is private on their social networking profiles is not really private.

     For different people, social networking is perceived as either the best thing to happen in the world, or the worst. Although it is nice for people who want to reach all of their friends with one status update, it is not so nice for those who prefer to keep their private life private, only sharing with a few select people. In regard to whether the present and future development of social networking has made humankind better or worse off, Stephen J. Dubner describes it, “social networking technologies are doubtless changing society. But like anything — apart from motherhood and apple pie — whether this is good or bad depends upon what kind of society you value.”

Works Cited

Dubner, Stephen J.. "Is MySpace Good for Society? A Freakonomics Quorum." Freakonomics RSS. N.p., 15 Feb. 2008. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. <http://freakonomics.com//2008/02/15/is-myspace-good-for-society-a-freakonomics-quorum/>.

Greenfield, Rebecca. "Facebook Privacy Is So Confusing Even the Zuckerberg Family Photo Isn't Private." The Wire. The Wire, 26 Dec. 2012. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. <http://www.thewire.com/technology/2012/12/facebook-privacy-so-confusing-even-zuckerberg-family-photo-isnt-private/60313/>.

Langfitt, Frank. "Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recruiting." NPR. NPR, 22 Nov. 2006. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. <http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6522523&sc=emaf>.