More Harm than Good?

Our generation is very privileged to have technology so accessible to us with the just the click of a button. There are also many things that can come from the use of modern technology.
Currently, everyday people are using social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, MySpace and Snapchat. These specific sites can be used to keep in touch with old friends and family. However, are they causing more harm than good?
Social networking sites are set up with good intentions in mind. Some of them are for adding pictures, others are for only words and some are a little bit of both.
Many people choose to use Facebook to keep in touch with family and friends that they do not see as often.
You can see pictures and watch for what they are up to in their lives. It is much more efficient than email or snail mail.
With social networking sites you have the ability to set up and invite people to an event instead of finding addresses to mail them to.
Those are some good ways that these sites can come in handy but there are also quite a few downfalls to them. With the Coach Kramer vs. Derek Graves incident happening last semester, these types of websites were buzzing with updates.
The “Idaho State Journal” wrote a whole article about this specific topic. In a good way, it kept us all informed on the topic and we could get the latest on what was happening.
On the other hand, many people would write all over Graves’ Facebook wall and tweet about him on Twitter.
Many of the comments were very vulgar and they could have gone unsaid. The newspaper listed some of the comments from random people, and I am sure that Graves did not know half of them that left the horrifying comments.
One thing I find with social networking is that people say things they would never say in person. People find it as a way to speak their mind and do not think of the consequences that could follow or the feelings they are hurting.
Do not say it if you are not willing to go face-to-face with the person you are degrading and say it. Keep it to yourself because it is not worth taking someone down because of it.
In conclusion, social networking is a wonderful thing and I do not know what I would do without it.
But we all need to take more seriously what we say on them. Keep in mind how you could make someone else feel, and remember that practically anyone can see what you have written.
Many things are better left unsaid. Have fun and use them like they are meant to be used. Also, be smart with all the social networking sites that are out there and available to anyone.
Regie Rawlings is a sophomore majoring in Secondary Education at Idaho State University.