SOCIAL NETWORKING PLATFORMS

Is social media an important tool for quickand convenient communication, or is it just asophisticated means for stalking people?
Name : Aastha VijayClass : 12th ESchool : SNBP International School, MorewadiDate : 17/03/2023

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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INDEX

Objectives of this project :

1. Application of linguistic concepts in day to day life. 2. To develop reasoning ability.3. To develop interest in and appreciation of Literature.4. To develop
and integrate the use of the four languageskills – Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing.
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Introduction
Today I am going to justify statement “Are social networkings i t e s e f f e c t i v e , o r a r e t h e y j u s t a n o t h e r w a y t o l o o k i n g i n o t h e r s l i f e ? ” I
think that in this modern world, there is a case for
thee f f i c i e n c y o f s o c i a l m e d i a . I t i s n ' t o n l y u s e f u l f o r s o c i a l networki
ng. It played an interesting role in the last two elections. M a n y t r a d i t i o n a l m e d i a c e n t e r s w e r e m a d e t o r e t h i n k t h e i r
n e w s dissemination systems mainly because social media was makingn e w s t r a v e l f a s t e r . ( O n e m i g h t s a y t h i s i s n o t
n e c e s s a r i l y a g o o d thing since the validity of the news is questioned). With the wayeveryone around the world has become
interconnected, it makessense to want to know what is going on in their lives even throughsocial media. Ideas are traveling faster and people living
countriesa p a r t a r e a f f e c t i n g e a c h o t h e r s ’ w o r l d v i e w . T h e s e a r e a l l g o o d things.S o c i a l n e t w o r k i n g t e c h n o l o g y i s a v e r y
i n t e r a c t i v e platform but now it has become a platform for stalking. If wesomeone want to get information about a person first thing they dois stalk on social media.
This has grown toxic in recent times. Its significance has become ‘the’ debate of the decade. Isit good for us or not? Is it benefiting or harming us?
Several suchq u e s t i o n s c o m e t o o n e ' s m i n d . H o w e v e r , c o n s i d e r i n g i t t o b e
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simply a means of stalking people would imply that we are castinga blind eye altogether on its advantages
.
Let's discuss about the adverse effects of social media first.
Cyber stalking
 The term ‘Social-Networking’ is now almost synonymousto ‘Cyber stalking’. The harassment through online becomes worsewhen it includes obsession, unhealthy
flirting, and revenge. Cyber s t a l k i n g c a n i n c l u d e h a r a s s i n g , t h r e a t e n i n g , i n t i m i d a t i n g , a n d impersonating profiles.
Stalking has been often glorified even byc e l e b r i t i e s . C h e c k i n g s o m e b o d y e l s e ’ s p r o f i l e g o e s o u t o f h a n d with hate or
obsession Cyber stalking victims encounter psychological and behavioraleffects such as depression, isolation, anxiety, and being extremelycareful of their
surroundings. We cannot live without social media but we can take steps to prevent such things from happening andreport them rather than being afraid of them.

Let me take an example of Facebook. Most people findt h e i r f r i e n d s , a d d t h e m t o t h e i r f r i e n d - l i s t a n d l a t e r ,

i n s t e a d o f t a l k i n g , t h e y j u s t g e t u p d a t e s o n w h a t t h e y a r e d o i n g ( Y e s , t h e news feed). I don't think that is any part of
being social. And that is
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n o t e x a c t l y s t a l k i n g , b u t n o w l e t s g e t o n s t a l k i n g , o k a y ? S o , y o u have a crush. The first thing anyone would do will be to

find outm o r e a b o u t t h e p e r s o n . W h a t b e t t e r w a y i s t h e r e t o v i s i t a p l a c e where she has put up all information on what he/she eats, listens
to,watches, where he/she goes to and also if he/she is attached or not.B i n g o ! a l l y o u w a n t e d , i n o n e p l a c e , n o e f f o r t p u t
a n d a t t h e comfort of your bed. You stalk. You all stalk. ‘We’ all stalk. Its notv e r y u n u s u a l . W e e v e n d o i t u n c o n s c i o u s l y . J u s t
c h e c k i n g t h e profile of a friend's friend. Is it stalking? Yes, it is. Did you think its stalking?
No. E v e r y o n e d o e s i t a n d e v e r y o n e a l l o w s t o d o i t . S o c i a l networking sites always provide an option to make the data
viewa b l e t o j u s t f r i e n d s o r n o t e v e n t h e m . I a m s u r e m o s t p e o p l e wouldn't even know this. Why?
’Cause you never tried to find out.You upload pictures, and you're okay with people seeing them. Butw h a t i f i t s n o t y o u p o s t i n g i t ? W h a t i f t h e r e
i s a p i c t u r e y o u a r e uncomfortable with to be shared with anyone, but someone gets ahold of it and shares it? Not everyone are well
wishers, right? Wealways know of these things. Consciously or unconsciously. Butwe never really consider these. It only gets attention if it happens.

Adverse effects of Social Media

Apart from just being a sophisticated mode of stalking thesedays, it has more adverse effects in our day to day lives as well.•Social media use can also negatively affect
teens, distractingthem, disrupting their sleep, and exposing them to bullying, rumorspreading, unrealistic views of other people's lives and peer pressure.•Wastage of
time, anxiety , depression, isolation are other sideeffects of social media.
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Positive side of social networking sites
When we look at the positive aspect of social media bychanging our perspective and try looking at the actual reasons forthe creation of social media platforms and their
popularity among people of all generations nowadays, we'll certainly come across anumerous if benefits of social media too. I shall highlight a few
ofthem. One of the most important and revolutionary change socialmedia has brought, is by making online distance education possible. All the information that one
might require is just a clickaway. Students can educate themselves on various topics usingsocial media. Moreover, live lectures are now possible because ofsocial
media. You can attend a lecture happening in America whilesitting in India. It is all because of social media platforms thatdespite the lock down we didn't miss out on
our golden years offoundation education.
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 Adding on, social networking sites are one of the easiestmodes of mass communication. Social media is widely used tocreate awareness for important causes in
society. It can also helpmany noble causes run by NGOs and other social welfare societies.Social media can also aid the government in other agencies tospread
awareness and fight crime. It is a strong tool for business promotion and marketing for many businesses. Many communitiesare built through social media platforms
essential for our society'sgrowth.
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Conclusion
To sum up, cyber stalking and criminal stalking has become a problem, owing to the Internet being available to any andevery one. It is a social issue which needs to be
dealt with strictly,and Section 72 – under IT Act of 2008 provides for aid and punishment to the victim and the convicted. Studies show thatmost of the stalkers, of the
criminal sort, are psychopaths or have personality disorders. However, we cannot blame the whole worldfor the fault of a selected few.Social media is not simply and
only a means of stalking people. It is a lot more than that. The Internet and social mediawere created for the convenience of the public and for the efficientworking of
the world. They provide advantages on a global scaleand their judicious and venerated use will lead us to places wecan't even imagine. The onus falls on us. We need to
have goodintentions and be extremely careful while using social media. So practice the same and spread the message around.
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