A Wider World

Youth, Privacy, and Social Networking Technologies

Summary:
A thin line runs between the freedom established by the First Amendment and the subsequent laws created to protect youth from the dangers of online social networking. Experts in technological advances are concerned these extremist laws "restrict creativity...and free speech" by limiting a person's use of or contributions to popular social networks. Parents are weary to allow their children use of these sites, due to previous occurrences of fraud and sexually explicit interaction the site provides between strangers. Academic institutions have blocked or restricted use of these sites to preserve their overall image. The author states that with the proper training, social networks can be extremely beneficial to both students and faculty.



Reflections:
I was genuinely impressed with the authors knowledge and experience. As a long time user of Facebook, I was surprised to be so unfamiliar with the legalistic workings behind the network. I was also amazed to see how unstable Facebook truly is and how many academic institutions block/control their students usage abilities. The video I chose was the testimony of a mother whose son was being solicited by car loan company to earn extra points for his Facebook game by applying for multiple car loans. This is a perfect example of the consequences of an uneducated child using online networks. Personally, I will be regulating my personal input into Facebook much closer after reading this article. I fully agree with the author when she states that quashing technological advances hinder the growth of upcoming generations. The only why to prevent misuse is through education.

Question:
What positive aspects of Facebook would you need to gather to present to an academic administrator in order to change their negative outlook on Facebook?