Friendships+and+Social+Networking

I thought I'd start a new page to discuss an issue related to Web 2.0 technologies - particularly social networking sites. [Sharon Pittaway]

An archbishop in the UK has claimed that social networking sites jeopardise friendships.

Click to read the [|transcript] of the story featured on ABC's AM program on Monday August 1.

Click to read the [|newspaper] story that sparked the feature on ABC Radio's AM program.

Can you find any evidence, in scholarly articles or by those who have conducted research in this area (apart from the one source listed in the AM piece), that supports Archbishop Nichols' views?

What is your view?

On what is your view based?

16th August 2009 - Alison Jales

These kinds of articles make me very angry. I avoid reading these right-wing Middle England newspapers deliberately because they create paranoia and fuel people’s fear about changes to society, particularly those to do with technology. For the last few years it seems that their target was texting, and the damage that it was causing to students’ literacy abilities. Many people can probably remember hearing stories about a student submitting an essay entirely in texting and contributors to newspapers wrote articles such as John Humphry’s article “I h8 txt msgs: How texting is wrecking our language” in the Daily Mail in 2007. These claims have been disputed by the linguist David Crystal who has done extensive research into the English language and its evolution in The Cambridge Dictionary of the English Language and therefore would probably have a better understanding of the implications of texting than any of the old scaremongering commentators often quoted in the press.

With the growth in popularity of social networking sites, it seems they are now to be the target in the media with articles warning of their dangers. This is in spite of the fact that social networking sites are becoming less popular amongst young people, as the growth in their use is amongst the over 30s. I resent the Telegraph taking this tragic story and using it as an example of the dangers of social networking sites espoused by the Archbishop. Obviously, nobody will ever know all of the facts about this terrible event, but it seems there is no conclusive evidence that she intended to commit suicide and the bullying was taking place face-to-face within her school, as well as on a social networking site.

I hate this one-sided reporting of the phenomena of social-networking sites. There seems to be little reference in some of the media to the positive aspects of these sites. For example, the social-networking site used by Megan Gillan has an RIP page where her friends can post photos, memories, videos etc. and although I know very little about dealing with grief, this seems to me a good way for children to deal with their feelings. There has also been research conducted into the educational benefits of social networking sites which has rarely been reported on. Although the archbishop is “wary” about these sites contributing towards communities, it seems he is unaware of the huge number of different sites available. Has he visited tangle, a Christian social networking site which has links to churches, bands, groups, FAQs about the Bible etc and a crisis hotline? My personal feeling is that the archbishop should have done some research into social-networking sites before forming and expressing his opinion in a national newspaper. He is a respected member of the community and should be aware that his comments may influence a large number of people who are prepared to believe him without investigating his claims further.

[|Social networking sites losing popularity among young people]

[|Bebo RIP site for Megan Gillan]

 [|Girl died after Bebo hate campaign]  [|The linguistics of texting]

[|Educational benefits of social networking sites]