Social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were created as different mediums to foster relationships. In July of 2012, researchers found that Americans spend 121.1 billion minutes on social networking sites. Statistics show that Americans check their Facebook accounts on average 14 times a day!!

Some of these social networking sites can help us. Being able to ask other students for help is very useful in understanding homework assignments or understanding concepts. Other students even create Facebook pages for certain classes to have a forum where classmates are able to ask and answer questions.

While it can be helpful for some, other students can find it very distracting. Junior Heather Galgano believes, that “social networking is distracting because I would rather be checking my twitter feed than doing my homework.”  Researchers who study social networking are now finding that some people have an “addiction” to these websites. These sites interfere with our daily lives because of the overwhelming urge to check for the newest update.

Although this is a great way to help others with homework questions, some might feel as though these websites are promoting copying and cheating. Social Studies teacher Mr. Fulham believes that “if people wanted to cheat, then they will find a way to cheat. Social networking doesn’t help nor hurt the cheating life.” Depending on the type of work, yes, social networking might make cheating easier.

Social media can also get people in trouble. Nothing that goes on the Internet is gone forever. If it is posted once it can be found again. Nowadays colleges and places of work are checking up on their students and employees to make sure that they are doing the right thing. Last May, Maryland passed a law prohibiting employer’s asking current or prospective employees for their usernames or passwords for social networking sites. Other states, such as a California, are also trying to pass laws such as these. Even though employers cannot have access to your personal account, they have the ability to search your name into an Internet Browser, which can bring up anything with your name attached to it. Try it with your own name; I’m sure you wouldn’t expect the sorts of things that come up.

Although these website are meant to foster relationships and increase interactions between friends and family, they definitely have their down sides. Schoolwork and group projects have had a greater productivity with websites such as Google Drive, which allow many people to access one document at any time. But they do distract others from doing their work.

My guess is that most of you who are reading this article you have stopped once (maybe twice) to check a text message, Twitter, Facebook, etc. We are still posed with the question, is social networking affecting you more than you think?