Social-networking sites can threaten more than grades

We’ve all seen the way social-networking sites such as Facebook connect us to friends and family.

The site, started by computer science students, has more than 400 million users and is quickly changing the way we communicate with each other.

Although it’s a great distraction during lulls in lecture and homework, users are beginning to notice some negative consequences of Facebook use.

Last April, an Ohio State University study found that college students who use Facebook spend less time studying and have lower GPAs than students who don’t use it.

“We can’t say that use of Facebook leads to lower grades and less studying—but we did find a relationship there,” said Aryn Karpinski, co-author of the study. “There’s a disconnect between students’ claim that Facebook use doesn’t impact their studies and our finding showing they had lower grades and spent less time studying.”

Connecting with others on the web causes users to experience a range of emotions, particularly in romantic relationships.

A study, published in the CyberPsychology & Behavior Journal concluded that there is a “significant association between time spent on Facebook and jealousy-related feelings and behaviors experienced on Facebook by college students.”

Some observers are even noticing that Facebook is exposing them to health risks. Because profile updates often include only a brief sentence, users aren’t given time to assess the value of the statement and its true meaning, says Jim Schumacher, a suite101.com contributor.

“In the long run, such a habit forms insensitive and numb personalities, as they are reading the most intimate and sometimes most horrible details of others’ lives without the need of reacting to them as they would have to in a real conversation,” he said.

Although there still hasn’t been a complete and credible study proving the negative effects of social-networking sites, the field of questions is green for behavioral scientists.

“We have to ask the questions, ‘What happens to young people when they spend hours and hours with the computer? Are they getting outdoors? Are they exercising? Are they learning to talk to each other face to face?’ ” said Gary Small, professor of psychiatry at UCLA.

One of the big questions is whether social networking is actually bringing people closer together. Users often connect without the deep interaction or one-on-one physical contact that allows people to gauge each other’s sincerity and veracity needed to achieve a close relationship.

Maybe it’s just good enough to use social networking as a way to stay in touch, kill time and quickly access information, such as someone’s phone number or address.

The very fact that we engage on these sites means we care and want to connect with each other. In terms of the depth of that connection, it’s up to the individual user to decide what that means.

http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/opinion/social-networking-sites-can-threaten-more-than-grades-1.2159483