Disadvantages of Social Networking

Drugs and Alcohol Influences


Although Social Networking has many advantages, it also has multiple disadvantages. Time spent on social networking increases the risk of teens smoking, drinking and using drugs, according to a national survey of American attitudes on substance abuse. On a typical day, 70 percent of teens ages 12 to 17 -- 17 million teenagers -- spend from a minute to hours on Facebook, Myspace and other social networking sites, according to The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University. But for this same age bracket, social-network-savvy teens are five times more likely to use tobacco; three times more likely to use alcohol; and twice as likely to use marijuana than teens who do not spend any of their day on social networking sites.

Identity Theft
Even though social networking sites are a good way to communicate with friends, it's also a way to be targeted for identity theft. Teens are increasingly the victims of this because they are more likely to lack awareness, and have a clean credit history.

Here is a video about a man who experienced identity theft and tells his experience about it.

Academics Effected

According to Larry D. Rosen, Ph.D., professor of psychology at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and technology researcher also says "According to studies, middle school, high school and college students looking at Facebook at least one time during a 15 minute study break made lower grades. In addition, many young Facebook users show more tendencies to be narcissistic. The new research suggests that overuse of media and technology can negatively affect health of children and teens, especially with psychological disorders- making users more likely to experience anxiety and depression.

Are your Facebook Friends Really Having More Fun Than You?

While Facebook and other social media aim to make users feel more connected with one another, they can often have the opposite effect, leading us to feel alone and unfulfilled as we scroll through the status updates and the photos of friends. Students from Stanford University speak out with their concerns:

• "The college students in the Stanford studies regularly overestimated how happy their peers were, and wound up feeling more sad and dejected about themselves and their own lives as a result"(Alex Jordan)
• "They were convinced that everyone else was leading a perfect life by showcasing the most witty, joyful, bullet-pointed versions of people's lives, and inviting constant comparisons in which we tend to see ourselves as the losers." (Libby Copeland)
• "Our posts on Facebook may depict the high points of our lives, but we're most likely to look through others' posts during our low points — when we're avoiding a looming deadline, killing a dull evening at home, or stalking an ex after a recent breakup."(Anna North)

According to the Stanford students, women are more likely to be effected by this because not only are women reportedly more unhappy than ever, but more women than men are on Facebook. Women tend to be more active on the site and more likely to engage in personal communications, whereas men tend to use it to share information related to the news or current events. (2)

News Travels Fast

Here is a link of an article talking about a party that went on in Los Angeles and how it spread from one person to multiple within minutes just from social networking. Usually, news getting spread about situations like this is a good thing because people are more aware of what could happen but in this case, there are also disadvantages because rumors could get spread and false information can be put onto Facebook, Twitter etc.(3)

Virtual Meetings

According to a recent study of the Meetings and Events Industry, 96% of companies (mostly larger ones) use web meetings or virtual events at least occasionally. Although they are used often, there are some downfalls to it.  For example, many people may argue that even though it saves money, the workers are glued to their desk and it makes them want to travel.  The meetings tend to be even more boring because you aren't even face to face with anyone. Becoming connected with everyone could be a hassle if it is not working properly. The meetings tend to last long and people become bored because they are hard to pay attention to. (4)




1. Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wiYui0eFug&feature=related

2. Source: http://theweek.com/article/index/211586/are-your-facebook-friends-really-having-more-fun-than-you

3. Source: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/04/02/usc-study-examines-whether-social-networking-exacerbates-risky-behavior-among-teens/

4. Source:http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-44240574/96-of-companies-use-virtual-meetings-so-why-do-most-of-them-suck/