Social Networking

Thing Twelve




This was a very time-consuming, thought-provoking "Thing" for me. As an educator, I guess it is important to know about social networking, since it has become a raging teen fad, and many of the students probably have a MySpace profile. Even though these networks may help one learn about the interests and social aspects of our students or help one find a friend with similar personality traits, I see no educational value in them. There are too many controversial, privacy and moral issues surrounding these networks. Nearly every day there is an article in the news or the newspaper of some child or adult who has fallen prey to some deranged individual who had access to private information posted in his profile. As Jacquielynn Floyd stated in her editorial in DMN, "I am genuinely surprised that so many people wish to share their photos, likes and dislikes and personal preferences in so public a setting, as if they were renting billboards." If I had to give a reason why I would like these networks, I guess it would be the contact one could have to family and friends, but I am perfectly happy using email or the phone. The useful feature feature might be having contacts with similar social interests, but I still would not want to see these sites as part of a library or educational purpose. I personally would not want to be responsible for any legal issues that might occur. Therefore, I am extremely hesitant and having a difficult time joining one of these social networks, but I guess I must to receive credit for "Thing 12." As Ms. Floyd stated, for a culture that seems to "cherish individual privacy, we certainly seem to be in a hurry to throw it away."

Here is my link to my Facebook Profile.

I was unable to access Ning, the school-related groups on Ning, or the Mesquite Librarians Ning Network due to the override. It was blocked due to pornography, nudity, etc. I have been very hesitant to join these groups, but I guess I am required to receive credit. I tried at home and saw a different link than at school. I am now a reluctant member of the Ning Network and Facebook.