This Is My Space

As I said in my last post, MySpace is a worldwide social networking site that was created in 2003. It was supposed to be a place for friends but who are your friends? Who are you accepting as friends on these sites? If a stranger approached you on the street, you would never give them the personal information you present online. People are portraying themselves differently from reality. The characteristics that make up their identity are being transformed into social norms. This transformation can either be their visual appearance or personalities traits to become another person. People are loosing their own identity which is a huge problem. It also is impacting the daily lives of so many people around world which gives the social networks its significance.

Social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook have so much popularity because people are using these sites as a tool for communication. Communication is no longer just an interpersonal conversation but a mediated one. Instead of saying that you met someone at school or your local mall, you are saying that you met someone on MySpace or Facebook.

From the required reading, “Social Networking Websites: Are MySpace and Facebook the Fingerprints of the Twenty-first Century?” by Edward M. Marsico Jr., I learned that social networks can be used for many things which can be good and bad. Of course we know that it is used for communication for those of all ages but it is also used to perform devious acts by criminals.  Criminals are taking advantage of the social networking popularity for their own deviant acts against children especially for child pornography. Since criminals are using these sites at such a large degree, law enforcements have no choice but to use it for legal matters. Police men and investigators are going undercover as other people to hunt down these criminals and bring them to justice. Although there are several crimes being committed everyday on these sites, they’re also used to prevent crimes. Members on these sites must be careful of what information they present to the public because once its public it will never be private again. Yes, it is you MySpace profile page but how much is exactly your space?

For the optional reading, I choose to read the article by Jennifer Bond-Raacke and John Raacke called “MySpace and Facebook: Identifying Dimensions of Uses and Gratifications for Friend Networking Sites”. After reading the article, I learned that as the internet continues to evolve, it has facilitated relationship building and communication between individuals. Based on investigation of the social networking sites, it may provide greater benefits for users with low self- esteem and low life satisfaction. Age and sex dictates the amount of material provided online. Therefore, females post more statuses and pictures than men and young users reveal more personal information than older users.

Whether you are a MySpace member or a Facebook user, you are all apart of the virtual revolution.