Facebook and the Real World

In the article "Taking Risks When Communicating on the Internet: The Role of Offline Social-Psychological Factors in Young People's Vulnerability to Online Risks," authors Sonia Livingstone
and Ellen J. Helsper contrast the real world and online relationships of teens. The article may be viewed by using the following link, http://bit.ly/WBs5N2. Through Livingstone and Helsper's research, it is made apparent that teens can display drastically different personalities while interacting online. I find the article fascinating as it affirms many of my personal  ideas regarding teens and their use of social networks, primarily Facebook. I know of young people who are shy and withdrawn in their daily lives but become outgoing, and sometimes abrasive, when hiding behind what they perceive to be an anonymous online persona. Furthermore, I also know of friendships between teens that have been irreparably damaged as a result of unrestrained online personal attacks. It is the responsibility of parents to let their children know that their actions in the virtual world can have very real, very profound, effects on real world relationships. This understanding is essential as children grow in a world where an ever increasing reliance is being placed on social networks as vital modes of communication.      

My Understanding of the Field of “Social Informatics”

Social Informatics is the study of online communications tools and how their use impacts us as a society. One only needs to consider the millions of users that rely heavily on social networking tools such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for both personal and corporate communications to see how the tools have become essential parts of the digital landscape. The tools' potential to reach millions of users around the globe is nothing short of phenomenal. For example, in an article posted on the Forbes website, columnist Lim Yung-Hui stated that, as of September 3, 2012, social networking giant Facebook had a total of 943 million users around the world (http://onforb.es/R6DjnC). Anything that has this far reaching societal impact deserves to be studied. Not only do Facebook and other online communications tools deserve their own field of study, but there is an obligation for the academic community to scrutinize their use. It is through the realization among academics that online networking is a worthy field of study that Social Informatics has grown.