INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE

Extended Essay: Information Technology in Global Society

An investigation into the impact of Social Networking Sites on teenagers

Session: May 2009 Candidate Name: Lay Majmudar Candidate Number: 002272-027 School Name: Indus International School, Bangalore, India Word Count: 3999
Lay Majmudar Page 1

Abstract:
Social networking is one of the biggest form of businesses and a form of entertainment in the world which has grown drastically during the last 8 years. Today many teen agers use these social networking sites to chat and interact with their friends or even random people. The question arising from this is What impact does social networking have on teen agers? One of the causes which led to the continuous growth was the availability of widespread use of the internet. As internet was easily available either through ones own home or the internet cafes, the amount of social networking users increased. Another cause that attracts many users is the availability of many features and application. The most famous social networking sites for teen agers are Facebook, Myspace, Hi5, Tagged, Flickr and Orkut. These sites offer a variety of features which include photo sharing, staying in touch with friends. With these very exiting features, the problem of security, privacy, the problem of cyber bullying and authenticity also arises. This is the main reason for me to choose this topic. Another reason for me choose this topic was to investigate the issues with social networking and also to find out the impact it creates of teen agers. Through my research I found that the major concerns about social networking were privacy and security. The solutions I found were that students should not post very sensitive data on these sites and also not add people who they dont know personally. Other solutions were that the parents should keep a eye on their childrens online profile and even talk to them about the concerns regarding social networking issues.

Word Count: 275

Lay Majmudar

Page 2

Table of contents:

Topic Number Topic

1.0 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0

Page Number Introduction 5 IT Background 6 What is social networking 6 How can it be used 7 Features offered by social networking sites 7 Impact of the Issue 13 Privacy and Security 13 Cyber Bullying 14 Authenticity of information 16 Analysis Based on Primary research 16 Solution 25 Conclusion 28 Bibliography 29 Appendix 32

Lay Majmudar

Page 3

Lay Majmudar

Page 4

1.0 Introduction
My research question is: An investigation into the impact of Social Networking Sites on teenagers My extended essay is in the subject of Information technology in global society (ITGS). The reason I have chosen this topic is because I myself use many of the social networking sites and have noticed the impact it leaves on an individuals life. Through a survey a conducted, many teens in my school use social networking sites and many are very addicted to it. This is the main reason I have decided to conduct my primary research in my school (Indus International School) itself. My essay is going to cover the impacts of social networking on teens and also the social and ethical issues which are raised due to its use. The main social and ethical issues which I am going to cover are Privacy and Security. Social networking which has become extremely popular among the present generation. Children within the age group of 13-21 have been affected in many ways. One of the reasons is that it is a huge source of distraction and can affect a childs education. The other reason and the even bigger problem is that is raises the issues of privacy and security for the individual. The growth of social networking has been phenomenal over the last 8 years. Some of the surveys conducted showed the following results: 1Asia pacific had 35% while the US had 25%. 2By the end of 2007, the revenues from these sites reached $965 million and it is expected to grow to $2.4 billion by 2012

"Social Networkings Explosive Growth to Plateau in Five Years." 10 Dec 2008 <http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/social-networkings-explosive-growth-to-plateau-in-five-years-2102/>. 2 "Social Networkings Explosive Growth to Plateau in Five Years." 10 Dec 2008 <http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/social-networkings-explosive-growth-to-plateau-in-five-years-2102/>.

Lay Majmudar

Page 5

2.0 IT background

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Social-network.svg Figure 1 A Social network

2.1 What is Social Networking?

3

A Social network is a web based social structure which groups individuals and organisations into specific groups like age or even like a neighbourhood division. A social network is mainly used by students either to develop new friendship or is also used by businesses to develop business relations. Some of these sites are developed to attract users who share common interests. It also gives a chance to diversify and meet up with people all across the world with different cultures and religions.

http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/

Lay Majmudar

Page 6

Figure 2 Screenshot showing the log in and the sign up page for facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/

2.2 How can it be used?

A Social networking site can be accessed through any computer with an internet connection. A user has to log on to the social networking site by providing their user Id and password to their account. If you are not a registered member, then you will need to sign up. Signing up for any of these sites is very easy. For Facebook, which is one of the most commonly user social networking site, the user needs to log on to its home page which is http://www.facebook.com/. For a new user who wants to register, the user needs to visit the registration page and as shown in figure 2, provide full name, email address, a wanted password and full birthday. Then the user just needs to click on the sign up button to log in to their personal profile.

2.3 Features offered by Social Networking Sites

Social networking sites offer many features like chatting online with friends while using your profile and also send messages to friends while they are offline. Many people use these sites to stay in touch with friends and also find long lost friends. Facebook also offers the feature to save all conversations occurred between the user and his/her friends. The inbox page shows the users all the recent conversations. The figure below shows the inbox page of my own Facebook account. The most recent conversations are displayed first.

Lay Majmudar

Page 7

Figure 3 Screenshot Facebook inbox page

http://www.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb

Another feature which most of the social networking sites offer is sharing of photos and videos. Users can upload pictures either from their computers or even their mobile phone. Facebook also offers these features and it also allows users to comment on the pictures in case they want to express their feeling about it. Figure 4, shows a picture album which one of my friends uploaded for his friends to see. Users can click on one of the photos to enlarge it even comment on that picture. This enhances interaction between the users and it is another reasons why teens are attracted to facebook.

Lay Majmudar

Page 8

Figure 4 Screenshot This shows the picture sharing page.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1410240367&v=photos

Another feature of Facebook is that it allows users to interact through features like the Wall, which allows users to post messages on the other persons profile page and this is visible for everyone. This can be done either by text, photo or even a video. To do this, users need to open the persons profile of who they want to send a wall post to. After opening their profile, the user needs to then go to the wall post box which is clearly visible as shown on the figure below. Then the user can type the desired message and click on the post button. This message will be visible to the persons profile and is open for everyone to see.

http://antiques-collectibles-auction-news.com/2007/12/23/special-features-of-facebook/

Lay Majmudar

Page 9

Figure 5 Screenshot Profile page

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1074060892&ref=ts

Many of the social networking sites have the search feature where users can search for people on the sites database. Users are required to type the persons name in the search box. After the name is entered, database is searched for any matching member names. Many users especially teens search for random people and try to make new friends. This attracts many teens, majority of boys as they get the opportunity to flirt with different people.

Lay Majmudar

Page 10

Figure 6 Screenshot Search page

http://www.facebook.com/s.php?ref=search&init=q&q=rohit+vinayak&sid=a00065df873c4e6fb7915c0ea3819604

Figure 7 Screenshot Gifts Application

http://www.facebook.com/giftshop.php?ref=sb

Lay Majmudar

Page 11

One of the most interesting features which attract many teens is that it offers the use of many cool applications. These applications allow users to express their feeling with friends in many different ways. An example of these applications is Gifts. This application allows users to buy gifts and send to their friends. To send gifts users need to firstly go to the gifts application which is assessable through the application box which is visible on the bottom left corner of the figure below. After opening the gifts application users can choose from over 1000 gifts and for better interface these gifts are divided into different categories like occasions, emotions, feelings etc. After the user selects the gift and mentions the name of the friend the gift is to be sent, the payment is either done by a PayPal account or by credit card and the costs of these gifts varies between $1 and $5.

Figure 8 Screenshot The groups

http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?ref=sb

Another feature which most of the social networking sites offer is the discussion forum. Through these discussion forums users and interact to other users about any topic of their preference. In Facebook these discussion forums are called groups. Users can create groups of their choice and can also invite other users to join it. Through these users can discuss about their problems or even concerns about the society. As a Facebook user, I have also created a group named Fight Terrorism Let us all unite. I had created this group recently due to the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Through this group, I want to create awareness within the people of India that we all should unite to help our government fight terrorism. Many

Lay Majmudar

Page 12

people even outside India have joined my group and have actually taken up measures to fight terrorists.

3.0 Impact of the Issue

3.1 Privacy and Security

With the increasing popularity more and more teens are joining social networking sites. Surveys conducted in 2007 showed the following results: 591% of the social networking teens say they use these sites to stay in touch with friends they see frequently while 82% use them to interact with friends they rarely meet. 672% of the teens use these sites to make plans with their friends, while 49% use them to make new friends 7The ratio of boys to girls aged between 15-17 who say they use social networking sites to make new friends is higher in boys 60%:46% 817% use these sites to flirt with random people. Within which boys are more with the ratio of boys to girls is 29%:13%
9

Another survey conducted in Canada showed that the usage of these sites was about 5.4 hours in a week. All of these surveys show that many of the teens, out of which majority of boys use these sites to either flirt or make new friends who they dont even know or have ever met in their lives. With many teens interacting with unknown people on these sites the issues of security and privacy is raised. 10Till date there have been many high security

5 6

Lenhart, Amanda , and Amanda Lenhart. "PEW INTERNET PROJECT DATA MEMO." 10. Lenhart, Amanda , and Amanda Lenhart. "PEW INTERNET PROJECT DATA MEMO." 10. 7 Lenhart, Amanda , and Amanda Lenhart. "PEW INTERNET PROJECT DATA MEMO." 10. 8 Lenhart, Amanda , and Amanda Lenhart. "PEW INTERNET PROJECT DATA MEMO." 10. 9 "Nearly Four-In-Ten Canadian Adults (37%) Have Visited Online Social Networks And Three-In-Ten (29%) Have A
Personal Profile On One." 22 Jan 2009 <http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=3664>.

Lay Majmudar

Page 13

breaches on huge sites like MySpace and Facebook. 11 The sites most likely to suffer from issues are the most popular ones," Graham Cluley, Chief Technology Officer at UK tech security firm Sophos says. He also says that security and privacy issues are two different things. A security breach is when someone hacks in an unauthorised way to gain control over the sites protected coding or language. A Privacy issue is when someone accesses your private information with the users permission. Privacy issues are more likely to occur in a social network as many teens today add unknown people over the site. As strangers, the user might not know who the person actually is and if the user adds a stranger as a friend, then he can access a users private information and this can lead to further problems. A person who uses Facebook very frequently and has over 900 friends and is a member of more than 50-60 groups is more likely to suffer from a breach then a person who hardly uses Facebook. In Facebook by adding a person as a friend, the user opens the gate for that person to see any personal information the user has mentioned in his/her profile. Security breaches on a social network dont always mean the leak of private information of a user. 12The Samy virus on MySpace shut down the site in October 2005. The virus was harmless but it affectively added Samy is my hero on the top of every affected MySpace user profile. This virus did affect MySpace but did not steak anyones private information.

3. 2 Cyber bullying
Cyber bullying is when a person repeatedly picks on another person or makes fun of that person through any means which require the internet. This often happens with teen agers as they cover the majority of internet users using blogs and social networking sites. 13A survey which was conducted interviewing 2800 high school students. It resulted to show that students as young as 12 years old were held victims of cyber bullying by different means of communication. The growing rate of cyber bullying has been affecting many teens around the world. Megan Taylor Meire, a 13 years old teen ager committed suicide due to cyber bullying through a social networking site, MySpace. Cyber bullies, to their victims generally portray themselves as big and strong people but its often not true. The following are some examples of cyber bullying.

11

Collins, Brendan. "Privacy and Security Issues in Social Networking." oct 2008 17 Dec 2008 <http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/10/social-networking-security.html>.
12 13

http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/10/social-networking-security.html

"Cyber-bullying an International Problem, says Adaptive." 21 Jan 2009 <http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.co.uk/2008/05/cyber-bullying.html>. Lay Majmudar Page 14

An incident of a 16 year old girl, whose boyfriend after breaking up with her posted her personal details like phone number, street address, and email ID on sex oriented sites. She was continuously harassed even after her ex- boyfriend was taken in custody. 15 A 13 year old boy, Ryan was harassed and made fun of saying that he was gay. One of the mails sent by the cyber bully asked him to end his life. This was eventually found when after a few days of the mail, he actually committed suicide. Cyber bullying has been increasing at a very steep rate over the years as technology is advancing. A survey conducted in 2000 showed that only 6% of the teenagers had been cyber bullied. Later, a survey in 2006 showed that, that 6% rose to nearly 1/3 of the countries students. Many of the students today know what cyber bullying. 16 Myyearbook, Americas 3rd largest social networking site, tried to reach out to hundreds of students to stop cyber bullying. More than 200,000 teens had been already added in July 2008. These teens are taught how to respond if they are ever targeted by a cyber bully.

14

A survey conducted showed: 80% of 54 students said that they are aware of cyber bullying. This included 100% of the girls and 65% of the Male Female Total boys Cyberbully Victim 20.8 34.3 28.8 18It also showed that students felt extremely Engaged in Cyberbulling 29.2 20.0 23.7 comfortable while talking to their friends.
17

14

www.edtechpolicy.org/C32008/Presentations/Cyberbullying.doc www.edtechpolicy.org/C32008/Presentations/Cyberbullying.doc
http://ypwr.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/29/catherine-cook/

15

16 17 18

www.edtechpolicy.org/C32008/Presentations/Cyberbullying.doc www.edtechpolicy.org/C32008/Presentations/Cyberbullying.doc

Lay Majmudar

Page 15

Aware of Cyberbullying

58.3

82.8

79.6

www.edtechpolicy.org/C32008/Presentations/Cyberbullying.doc

The above table shows the figures of males and female who are engaged, are aware of and the victims of cyber bullying. The effects of cyber bullying even though its not physical, but it can harm a person physiologically. The very common effects to cyber bullying include Drop in grades Students stop studying and get distracted as the harassment continues to harass them in different ways. They are not able to pay attention during classes and thus this result in their grades dropping. Depression A students who are victims of social networking sites, often suffer from deep depression and humiliation. They keep thinking that they are always being bullied and this often results in then committing suicide. Loss of friends Students who get bullied, often stop contact with the person who is bullying them, even if he is a friend. If a student is bullied, his friends will loose respect for him and may even stop talking to him/her.

3.3 Authenticity of information

Many social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace offer user to create their own profiles. On these profiles users can give out their personal information like their name, city, street address and their phone numbers. As this information is freely accessible to anyone using these sites many people do not post their authentic information on these site. They often pretend to be someone who they are not on the internet. They give fake information about themselves and communicate to other people with their fake identity.

3.4 Analysis based on primary research

Illustration: Summary of findings from primary research - Students
Lay Majmudar Page 16

 Do you use social networking sites? If yes, please specify which ones and why?
Yes 18 Facebook, Orkut

How often do you visit SNS? Does it conflict with your study timings?
Once or twice a day Average Yes 6 No 11 Sometimes - 1

Do you often find yourself distracted by using these sites? Does it affect your grades?
Yes -10/3 No 8/14 Sometimes 1

Do u prefer to use social networking sites instead of instant messaging programs? Why?
Yes 10 No 7 Both 1 Features 8 Faster/Direct communication 3 No Answer 5 Different purposes of both -2

What are the main features of these sites which attract you the most?
Keep in touch with friends 8 Applications - 10

Do you give out any personal information? Have you been a victim of information misuse?
Yes -4/1 No 14/17

Do you post pictures on these sites?

Yes- 14 No 2 Sometimes - 2

Do you use social networking to keep in touch with friends and family? If not, then for what reason?
Yes -18

Lay Majmudar

Page 17

 How much time do you spend on these sites?

1-2 hours 13 3-4 hours 0 Less than 1 hour 5 Dont know - 1

Do these sites help you in your day to day life? If yes, How?
Help keep in touch with people 7 No-11

Have these sites ever caused conflict in your personal life?

Yes 3 No 14 Sometimes -1

Do these sites help benefit your academic knowledge?

Yes 2 No 12 Sometimes - 4

Do you think these sites are addictive and do they distract you in any other ways apart from your studies?
Yes 8 No 8 Sometimes - 2

Are you aware of cyber bullying? Have you ever been a victim of it?
Yes No 15/0 3/18

What security measures do you take to overcome these threats?

Adding people who I know personally 6 Giving out limited personal information 7 None 5

Above are the surveys I conducted in my school to know more about the usage of social networking and the issues which it can lead to. Majority of the students I surveyed were among the age groups 16-18. All of these students used social networking sites mostly Facebook. Out of all the 18 students I interviewed, only one metioned Orkut among the social networking sites used.
Lay Majmudar Page 18

Accordning to my secondary research I found, 91% of the users use social networking sites to stay in touch with friends. And hardly any used these sites to flirt. I compared this to the surveys I conducted in my school. The results were that all the students used these to keep in thouch with family and friend. Not even one student used them to flirt with unknown users on these sites. All the 18 students said that they only used these sites to chat and keep in touch with old friends and family. The answers to the questions which were asked about the usage of these sites were shocking. Students were asked how much time they spent using these sites in one day. The results of this are as follows

5.56%

27.78% Less than 1 hour 1-2 hours Dont know

72.22%

Chart 1 Hours of daily usage of social networking sites according to students.

According to the results of the survey, most of the students 72.22% of them use these sites to the max one to two hours. This survey compared to the secondary research which showed that the usage was about 5.4 hours a week, shows a more frequent use of these sites.19 In Canada, the usage was about 5.4 hours a week, but here in my school majority of the students use it one to two hours a day. The reason for a higher rate of use in India is

19

"Nearly Four-In-Ten Canadian Adults (37%) Have Visited Online Social Networks And Three-In-Ten (29%) Have A Personal Profile On One." 22 Jan 2009 <http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=3664>.

Lay Majmudar

Page 19

mainly because of the new obsession. This obsession has risen due to the vast increase in the number of social networking sites created in India. One of the questions which was asked was if students were distracted by these sites and does it affect their academic grades. The results of these are as follows:
5.56% 16.67% 44.44% 55.56% Yes No 77.78% Yes No

Chart 2 Does it distract?

Chart 3 Does it affect grades?

Most of the students agreed that these sites do distract them, but the amusing part was when questioned about if it affects their grades. Majority of students disagreed. When students were asked about the main features which attracted them, the most common answers were the applications and also to keep in touch with friends. 10 out the 18 were mostly attracted to the applications like bumper sticker, photo sharing and birthday calendar. Another question asked to the students was if they were aware of cyber bully and if they had been a victim of it. The results were as follows:

Awareness of cyber bullying

16.67% Yes No 83.33%

Victim of cyber bullying

0% Yes No 100%

Chart 4 Awareness of cyber bullying

Chart 5 Victims of cyber bullying

Most of the students were awake of cyber bullying but none of them had been victims of it. Compared to my secondary research, this result was amusing, as according to a survey most of the secondary education students had been victims if cyber bullying. To find out
Lay Majmudar Page 20

the reason for this, I asked them what security measures they take to be on the safe side. The results to this question were as follows:

45.00% 40.00% 35.00% 30.00% Adding people who I know 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% Adding people who I Giving out limited know personal information None Giving out limited personal information None

Chart 6 Precautions taken to prevent cyber bullying

Many students only added users who they personally know, but the most responses were that they they out limited personal information on their profiles. Around 25% of the students didnt use any security measures against cyber bullying. Illustration: Summary of findings from primary research Teachers Do you think that students often use social networking sites?
Yes - 9

Do you think that the use of SNS affects their study timings?
Yes 7 No 0 Sometimes - 2

How often do you think students use these sites?

1-2 hours 3
Lay Majmudar Page 21

2-3 hours 5 5-6 hours 1

Do you think they get distracted by these? Does it affect their grades?
Definitely 4 For some 5

Do you think many students give out their personal information on these sites?
Yes 4 No 1 To some extent - 4

To what extend do you think that the usage of these sites affects their privacy and security?
10 21 32 46 5-0

Do you think the usage of these sites can benefit their academic knowledge?
12 23 32 41 5-1

What are the main issues concerning social networking sites?

Distraction 1 Security and Privacy 5 Access of information 2 Cyber bullying 1

The questions above are the questions which were asked to the teachers of Indus International School. All the teachers thought students used social networking sites many hours a day. The results to this were:
Lay Majmudar Page 22

Hours of daily usage

11.11%

33.33% 1-2 Hours 2-3 Hours 5-6 Hours 55.56%

Chart 7 Hours of daily usage if social networking sites according to teachers.

These results compared to that of students were different. Teachers assumption on the usage of social networking sites per day for a student is much more than the actual timing given by the students. Most of the students spend maximum 2 hours on these sites, 55.56% of the teachers thought they used it more than that. About the students getting distracted, 4 of 9 teachers think that students definitely get distracted by these sites and also it affects their grades. The remaining think that it only distracts students who are not completely focused on their academics and get distracted easily. Their answer to the question about to what extend does the usage of these sites affect their privacy and security, in a scale of 1-5 with 5 the higher value, 6 of the teachers marked 4 as their answer. The reason to this is mainly because of the increased amount of cases of identity theft and cases of loss of private information. Teachers were also asked some of the same questions that were asked to the students. The results to these were:

Lay Majmudar

Page 23

44.44% 55.56%

Definitely For some

Chart 8 Does it distract and does it affect students grades.

Majority of the teachers answered to this saying that some students do get distracted by them but the majority of them said that only some students get distracted. The teachers said that the students who get distracted are the ones who dont focus on their academics and get low grades.

Another important question asked to the teachers was about what they think is the major issue with social networking. The results were as follows:

60.00% 50.00% 40.00% Distraction 30.00% 20.00% 10.00% 0.00% Distraction Security and Privacy Access of Information Cyber bullying Security and Privacy Access of Information Cyber bullying

Chart 8 The major issues arising from social networking sites according to teachers.

Lay Majmudar

Page 24

Most of the teachers choose security and privacy as the major concern regarding social networking. The reasons for this were that teachers thought that if a persons private information is leaked then it can lead to many problems. For e.g. if a persons street address and phone numbers are provided on the social network, then that person can be continuously harassed and also his/her physical security can also be at a risk.

5.0 Solution
The main issues arising with social networking are security and privacy of an individual. Most of the networking sites have many security and privacy settings like as follows: Facebook of an e.g. has a security feature which prevents users to search for a particular user. If I would want to search for a person but if that person has blocked me then I wouldnt be able to find that person.

Figure 9 Screenshot Shows the privacy settings page for facebook http://www.facebook.com/privacy/?ref=mb

The above snapshot shows the privacy settings page for facebook. Through this page users can edit their search settings, change the way a user can see the profile page, and also how applications alert the user for a new notification.
Lay Majmudar Page 25

Figure 10 Screenshot Showing the search privacy feature. http://www.facebook.com/privacy/?view=search

The figure above shows how a user can block another user by blocking the user by changing the privacy settings. It also allows a user to change the search result content. This is basically the page a user sees after searching for a particular user. This feature allows a user to change the content another user sees after searching for that person. For e.g. normally if I search for a user I would b able to add the user as a friend, or sometimes even view that persons details. After changing the content the user can stop another user from viewing these details.

The figure 11 shows how a user can see another users profile. A user can also block some users from viewing some features like photos. A user can edit the way certain friends can view their profile and also restrict some friends to view wall posts, personal information.

Lay Majmudar

Page 26

http://www.facebook.com/privacy/?view=profile Figure 11 Screenshot Profile viewing settings

These were the many features which prevents security and privacy of a user. Teenagers should take measures like

20

Editing photos for e.g. a user can blur the photos a bit to prevent being accused by cyber bullies. 21 Never add people you dont know as you might not know the exact personality behind that person.

Parents should take measurements like: Asking their children to show them their online profile regularly to make sure they dont post any sensitive data. 23Talk to their children regularly about the security and privacy issues related to social networking
22

20

Aftab, Parry. "Parry Aftab's Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe Online." 1. 28 Jan 2009 <http://www.wiredsafety.org/resources/pdf/socialnetworktips.pdf>. 21 Aftab, Parry. "Parry Aftab's Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe Online." 1. 28 Jan 2009 <http://www.wiredsafety.org/resources/pdf/socialnetworktips.pdf>. 22 Aftab, Parry. "Parry Aftab's Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe Online." 1. 28 Jan 2009 <http://www.wiredsafety.org/resources/pdf/socialnetworktips.pdf>. Lay Majmudar Page 27

6.0 Conclusion
Social networking among teen agers raised many issues like privacy and security, authenticity, cyber bullying and also to an extent distraction. But according to the primary research I conducted in my school, I found that most of the teachers find security and privacy the major concern. The reason was this was because teen agers post very sensitive data like phone numbers, street address and also their email IDs on these sites and this can lead to many problems for them. Many of these problems I mentioned earlier were harassment, physical security etc. According to my primary research, I found the solution to this was that students should not post sensitive data on these sites and also not add people who they dont know on their friend list. My secondary research also showed these solutions, but apart from this it also said that parents should also take measures to ensure their child stays safe. Core issue that still remains unresolved, Is the responsibility of the teenagers regarding what and how much of information is shared on social networking sites and in what context.

23

Aftab, Parry. "Parry Aftab's Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe Online." 1. 28 Jan 2009 <http://www.wiredsafety.org/resources/pdf/socialnetworktips.pdf>. Lay Majmudar Page 28

Bibliography
Pragides, Bernard. "Identity Theft Issues and Social Networking Sites." 25 Jan 2009 <http://ezinearticles.com/?Identity-Theft-Issues-and-Social-NetworkingSites&id=691967>. Collins, Brendan. "Privacy and Security Issues in Social Networking ." 25 Jan 2009 <http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/10/social-networking-security.html>. Fayle, Kevin. "Understanding the Legal Issues for Social Networking Sites and Their Users." 25 Jan 2009 <http://technology.findlaw.com/articles/00006/010966.html>. Collins, Brendan. "Privacy and Security Issues in Social Networking." oct 2008 17 Dec 2008 <http://www.fastcompany.com/articles/2008/10/social-networkingsecurity.html>. Hinduja, Sameer. "Cyberbullying Fact Sheet." 2. Hinduja, Sameer. "Cyberbullying Scenarios." 3

"What Is Cyber Bullying?." 25 Jan 2009 <http://www.cyberbully411.org/what-iscyberbullying.php>. "Online Bullying." 22 Jan 2009 <http://guidetotheinternet.org/onlinebullying.html>. "Chidren and Their Online Safety." 25 Jan 2009 <http://guidetotheinternet.org/childrenandtheironlinesafety.html>. "Cyber-bullying an International Problem, says Adaptive." 21 Jan 2009 <http://www.mobilemarketingmagazine.co.uk/2008/05/cyber-bullying.html>.

Lay Majmudar

Page 29

 Dakss, Brian. "Cyber-Bullying Growing." 21 mar 2005 21 Jan 2009 <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/21/earlyshow/living/caught/main68186 7.shtml>. Zetter, Kim. "Cyberbullying Suicide Stokes the Internet Fury Machine." 21 Jan 2009 <http://www.wired.com/politics/onlinerights/news/2007/11/vigilante_justice>. Winter, Ryan. "Cyberbullying." 25 Jan 2009 <www.edtechpolicy.org/C32008/Presentations/Cyberbullying.doc> Cook, Catherin. "Young people who rock." 25 Jan 2009 <http://ypwr.blogs.cnn.com/2008/06/29/catherine-cook/>. "Cyberbullying." 22 Jan 2009 <http://www.ncpc.org/topics/byaudience/parents/bullying/cyberbullying>. Braun, Bastian. "Authenticity: The missing link in the social semantic web." 22 Jan 2009 <http://www.fim.unipassau.de/fileadmin/files/lehrstuhl/posegga/publications/2008-BraunPoehls_MissingLink-GIInformatikWS.pdf>. Hudson, "Special features of Facebook." 25 Jan 2009 <http://antiques-collectiblesauction-news.com/2007/12/23/special-features-of-facebook/>. Java, Akshay. "Rise of Social Networking in India." 25 Jan 2009 <http://ebiquity.umbc.edu/blogger/2007/09/03/rise-of-social-networking-in-india/>. Stephen. "Social Networkinng Sites and Teens." 07 Jan 2007 25 Jan 2009 <http://stephenslighthouse.sirsidynix.com/archives/2007/01/social_networki_3.html >. "Are Social Networks Harmful to Society." 25 Jan 2009 <http://socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/Are_Social_Networks_Harmful_to_Societ y>. Sundblad, Donna. "Security Issues with Social Networking Websites." 25 Jan 2009 <http://socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com/Security_Issues_with_Social_Networking_ Websites>.
Lay Majmudar Page 30

 "Social Networkings Explosive Growth to Plateau in Five Years." 25 Jan 2009 <http://www.marketingcharts.com/interactive/social-networkings-explosive-growthto-plateau-in-five-years-2102/>. Braun, Bastian. "Authenticity: The missing link in the social semantic web." 25 Jan 2009 <http://www.fim.unipassau.de/fileadmin/files/lehrstuhl/posegga/publications/2008-BraunPoehls_MissingLink-GIInformatikWS.pdf>. Aftab, Parry. "Parry Aftab's Guide to Keeping Your Kids Safe Online." 1. 28 Jan 2009 <http://www.wiredsafety.org/resources/pdf/socialnetworktips.pdf>.

Lay Majmudar

Page 31

Appendix
Interviews Number of students interviewed: 18 Number of teachers interviewed: 8; including the Principal, Head of School, IGCSE Coordinator, IB Co-ordinator, MYP Co-ordinator, ICT- Director, Head of TOK.

Questions asked to students: Do you use social networking sites? If yes, please specify which ones and why? How often do you visit SNS? Does it conflict with your study timings? Do you often find yourself distracted by using these sites? Does it affect your grades? Do u prefer to use social networking sites instead of instant messaging programs? Why? What are the main features of these sites which attract you the most? Do you give out any personal information? Have you been a victim of information misuse? Do you post pictures on these sites? Do you use social networking to keep in touch with friends and family? If not, then for what reason? How much time do you spend on these sites? Do these sites help you in your day to day life? If yes, How? Have these sites ever caused conflict in your personal life? Do these sites help benefit your academic knowledge? Do you think these sites are addictive and do they distract you in any other ways apart from your studies? Are you aware of cyber bullying? Have you ever been a victim of it? What security measures do you take to overcome these threats?
Lay Majmudar Page 32

Questions asked to teachers: Do you think that students often use social networking sites? Do you think that the use of SNS affects their study timings? How often do you think students use these sites? Do you think they get distracted by these? Does it affect their grades? Do you think many students give out their personal information on these sites? To what extend do you think that the usage of these sites affects their privacy and security? Do you think the usage of these sites can benefit their academic knowledge?

Lay Majmudar

Page 33