“De la Formación de Valores a la Excelencia Académica”

Handout for Writing Activity

Inglés “An Easy”
Miss Ana Ma Herrera IV°MEDIOS – 2022
The Giant School Antofagasta

Members of the group:______________________________________

________________________________________________________

Introduction
In recent years, there has been an explosion in the number of
online social networking sites and traffic to these sites. Despite the large
number of adults and children alike embracing these online sites, little
research has been done, to date, to examine the potential adverse
outcomes of such sites. This is likely to be partly due to the relatively
recent uptake of these sites. As such, there will inevitably be a lag in
research output focused on this topic.
In the meantime, it is worth monitoring online social networking activity
closely as some of the longer-term adverse consequences are likely to be
similar to those reported for online-gaming.

Statistics
Teenagers are keen users of the internet; 87% of teens aged between
twelve and seventeen years use the internet, increasing to 94% for Year
11 and Year 12 students. While these data are from a study in the USA,
the numbers are likely to be similar for Australian youth. A recent study
found that 72% ofteenagers and young adults use social networking sites,
compared to 39% of people over 30 years of age.

Types of social networking sites

Instant messaging

Instant messaging is one of the most popular forms of online

communication amongst the youth. It consists of sending real-time
(instant) messages to another internet user. Instant messaging users can
create a list of welcome guests and receive alerts when a message has
arrived. This is basically a form of online texting. The most active users of
instant messaging are older female teens; 82% of 15–17 year old females
use instant messaging.

Social networking sites

These websites allow users to create a personal profile that can contain
personal information, photographs, videos and sound clips. Currently, the
top five most visited social networking sites are Facebook, MySpace,
Twitter, Flixster and LinkedIn. Facebook alone has over 200 million users
worldwide.

Individuals must be at least thirteen years of age to create a MySpace

profile and if a teen is less than sixteen years old, the profile must be set
to private.
According to surveys, 91% of social networking teens say they use these
sites to stay in touch with friends they see regularly, 82% use the sites to
stay in touch with friends they rarely see in person, 72% use these sites
to make plans, 49% use these sites to make new friends and 17% use
social networking sites for flirting.

Blogging
This is an increasingly popular teen activity, with the percentage of online
teens that have created a blog or online journal increasing from 19% in
2004 to 28% in 2006. Females (35%) are much more likely to blog than
males (20%). Teens living in lower income households were more likely
to blog than those from high income households (35% compared with
24%).Online teens from single-parent homes were far more likely to blog
than teens living with married parents (42% for single-parent households
vs. 25% for teens who live with married parents).

Chat rooms
In 2000, 55% of teens reported going to online chat rooms, whereas in
2006 only 18% of teens said they visited chat rooms. Since 2000, there
have been prominent campaigns to raise awareness amongst parents
and teenagers about the possible dangers of chat room spaces which may
have contributed to the drop in popularity of this form of online
networking.
There are gender and age differences in the use of chat rooms. A study
reported that self-described men were slightly older (mean age 15.7
years) than self-described females (mean age 14.8 years), a proportion of
individuals present themselves online as being of the opposite gender.
Participants who described themselves as older chatted about more
sexual themes. Males communicated more openly about sex, whereas
females communicated on a more implicit level about sex. This pattern
reflects the social norms regarding sexual expression for males and
females.

Internet dating sites

According to a survey conducted in 2007, 37% of adult internet users who
identified themselves as “single and actively looking for a romantic
partner” had visited a dating website. There are very few online dating
sites exclusively for teens, two of these are eSpinTheBottle and
MyLOL.net. Users created profiles and then ‘spin the bottle’ (as in the
childhood kissing game) electronically to obtain a random profile of
someone they might be interested in. The site also has conventional
matching options, including a search function. MyLOL.net is marketed as
“Google’s Number One Dating Site for Teens” and has more than 46,000
members worldwide. This website has a search function and is available
for individuals between the ages of fourteen and 29 years.
 Another option is TeenSpot, which offers chat rooms for its members,
including ones titled “singles”, “flirting” and “hottub”.
Most popular online dating sites, such as eHarmony, Match.com.au and
rsvp.com.au, require members to be at least eighteen years of age to join.
Internet dating may become an attractive option for teenagers since it
provides a potentially anonymous forum to develop their sexual identity
and initiate communication without fear of embarrassment that can be a
risk with face-to-face encounters.

Benefits of social-networking sites

Although, often over shadowed by potential negative consequences of
online interaction, the potential positive effects of online socialising have
been documented.

Allows development of thought processes (cognition)

Online interactions provide the teen with a venue to:
 learn and refine self control;
 to relate to others and respect their viewpoints and opinions;
 to express sentiments;
  to engage in critical thinking and decision making.

Provides an avenue for an improved sense of self and identity

Peer acceptance and interpersonal feedback on the self, which are two
important features of online social networking sites, are important
predictors of self-esteem and wellbeing in the teenager.

Maintain contact with peers when changing schools or moving

Social networking sites not only provide a route for improved self-esteem
and identity through positive reinforcement from friends, but are also an
important way in which teens can maintain contact with peers when
moving towns and/or schools. Social networking sites can give some
stability during these difficult times.

Drawbacks and harmful consequences of

social networking sites
The hazards of online social networking activities include attracting
unwanted attention in the form of cyber-bullies or sexual predators. These
types of harassments are more common amongst teens who
communicate about sex online and among users of social networking
sites.In addition, the public-display of risk-taking behaviour on social
networking sites can result in potentially damaging social and
professional consequences.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is the use of electronic media, including email, text
messages or social networking sites, to bully or harass an individual.
Bullying can involve sending threatening messages, spreading vicious
rumours, personal attacks and posting embarrassing material, i.e.
photographs and videos.
Cyberbullying has some features that make it more appealing compared
to normal bullying, the main one is the bully’s anonymity provides the
opportunity to communicate things they might not say to someone in
person. Another issue with cyberbullying is that the bully is unable to
judge the victim’s response, as is possible with face-to-face
contact. cyberbullying can occur any time, anywhere, day or night and
this can leave the victim feeling trapped. Many cyberbullies think bullying
is entertaining and funny, not realising the negative impact on the victim.

Online risk-taking behaviour

Many causes of death and illness in teens are associated with risk-taking
activities, such as violence, sexual behaviour and substance abuse. The
internet has the potential to provide teens with another avenue of risky
behaviour. A review of MySpace profiles revealed that many users aged
between fourteen and seventeen years of age showed familiarity with
what is considered to be adult-orientated behaviour. Of the profiles, 20%
included swear words, 18% referred to alcohol use, 2%
reported marijuana use, 8% mentioned smoking and 5% included
revealing photographs.
Social networking sites are a venue in which teenagers publicly display
references to risky behaviours. Displaying risk behaviour information
online has been associated with an increased chance of unwanted online
attention from cyber-bullies and sexual predators.
Displaying risky behaviour publicly may also negatively impact on future
opportunities for employment and university admissions. Social learning
theory suggests that these displays may also promote modelling of risk
behaviours among other adolescents who are exposed to these
behaviours.

Sexual predators
According to the USA’s Center for Crimes Against Children Research
Center, in 2006 an estimated 615 arrests were made for crimes in which
youth victims were solicited for sex by someone they had met online. This
is probably a gross underestimate of the problem since many sex crimes
against minors never get reported.
Visiting chat rooms is an interactive behaviour related to receiving
aggressive sexual solicitations. Chat rooms allow for immediate direct
communication between participants and many of these geared to
adolescents are known for explicit sexual talk, innuendo and obscene
language. There is some evidence that adolescents who visit chat rooms
are more likely to suffer depression, have histories of sexual abuse and to
engage in risky behaviours than those that do not visit chat
rooms. Females, as well as males who are gay or questioning their
sexuality, are most at risk from sexual predators.
Child pornography production is another negative aspect of internet-based
sex crimes. A study of online-child molesters found that one in five took
sexually suggestive or explicit photographs of their victims or convinced
victims to take photographs of themselves or friends, and 18% of child
molesters sent their victims photographs of themselves in sexual poses.
Of the youth surveyed, 15% reported an unwanted sexual solicitation
online in the previous year.These solicitations occurred via instant
messaging, chat rooms and social networking sites.