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Possible Problems With Social Networks

Posted on Wednesday, 19th August 2009 by Frank

2265214196 bdc9dca606 o Possible Problems With Social Networks

Do you consider yourself an avid user in the many social networks that are out there? If you are, which many are, have you ever thought of the possible problems that can occur with being on these social networks? Granted I always talk positive about joining these communities, but I wanted to play devils advocate and take a different look on things.

If I were to ask you what is the biggest problem with signing up with a social network, what would you say? Well, after talking with some people who refuse to be a part of these communities, they say their reasons are for security purposes. They don’t want their whole life broadcasted for the entire world to see. It’s completely understandable too. People like their privacy and social networks do take away your privacy. Ask yourself this, if you participate everyday on different social networking sites, how much of your personal information are you spreading each day? Quite a bit I would assume. That’s what my life consists of doing each day. It’s how I participate, share ideas, and make new contacts. Then again, social networks and networking is for me. It’s not for everyone.

Looking at the angle of a non-social network user, I can definitely see privacy being a major issue. I mean look how many people experience identity theft over the internet. Why? Well, your information is there for the taking. It is very important to watch what kind of information you put in these social networking sites. As much as I love being members of these communities, I still take note of what I say…do you? In relation to this privacy issue, those that don’t use social networks don’t like the idea of telling people what they are doing every minute like with Twitter updates. I think that’s all well and good because there are some things I have seen people say in updates and I think, why would you tell people that.

You also have the problem of running into perverted people on these sites. Since you don’t know most of the people you are interacting with on social networks, you truly don’t know who you are talking to unless they prove the type of person they are through a YouTube video or some form of media. Those that are perverts on the internet just get a rise out of their sick antics and it’s just important to be aware of them. You should always know what you are getting yourself into when joining a new social network.

Finally, the last major problem I think you can run across when being a member of a social network is spam. Here’s something the entire world can’t stand. You get those people in the community who are always sharing the same comments promoting useless products or unrelated comments to the conversation. Usually these people are bots, but there are those that are just flat out spammers. It’s important to block them from your “friend list” so that you won’t see what they are saying and there comments can’t appear in your update threads. Spammers really can make social networks a problem for new users and people new to the social media scene. It can almost negate them from participating in social networks further if all they receive is spam from other users (or bots in this case.)

These are the three main issues that I think can cause possible problems with social networks. There may some users that think there are no flaws or issues with the social network experience, however it’s important to take note of these issues. Do you consider these three things potential problems to social media? Do you think there are more issues? If so, let us know in the comments section below.