Social Media Hurts Relationships

By: Jade Brocklehurst

Social media today can help and hurt relationships. Social media has quickly evolved into something very large. Everyone is connected somehow through Facebook, YouTube, twitter, Instagram and much more. Although all these social media's are very helpful and convenient for us all they have caused many problems in relationships and marriages. In article 'Social media can both help and hurt real-life relationships', Stacy Kaiser outlines the following few issues that have arisen due to social media:

Disclosure: When involved in a relationship it is always wise to be open about it and not hide anything. Posting it on you status is one way of doing so. By not doing so that causes problems and is a huge sign that the future is not promising.

Trust: Trust is the most important when in a long term relationship. Being friends on social media is something that should go without saying because that will show that you partner has nothing to hide from you.

Too much Info: During the heat of the moment it is very hard to have self-control and not vent your personal information on social media. The world could care less of your personal issue therefore rather than airing out your personal problems call a friend or family to help you deal with it.

Adapted from http://www.yourspeakeasy.com

In the future, before having a relationship an individual would most likely be able to get to know a person much better through social media. Getting to know more about the person and their personality before knowing if you want to pursue a relationship. An example of this is Skype and Whatsapp. People use social media to meet and get to know each before physically seeing one another. Many relationships will be established online in the future.

A relationship is something very special and should never be taken for granted. It is up to the individual to take their relationship seriously and treat it with respect. Do not hide anything from you partner, talk about things and invest time in your relationship to make it that happy and healthy relationship. Make everyday a happy and enjoyable not just once and a while.

Resources:
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/story/2012-02-13/Social-media-can-both-help-and-hurt-real-life-relationships/53084556/1

http://www.yourspeakeasy.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Heart.jpg

Social Media and Young Families

By: Marcin Sajda

As children’s exposure to technology begins at an early age, so does there introduction to social media. Some questions parents might be asking themselves are; when should I allow my child to have a Facebook page, how do I restrict what my child watches online, how do I limit my child’s usage. These are just a few examples of questions that parents are asking and should be asking.

Adapted from http://www.news.com.au/

There are both positive and negative aspects of letting children use social media at a young age. Social media allows them to connect within an online community. It allows the children to learn, explore and share. Although there are also many dangers such as, predators, over-sharing of personal information, cyber-bullying, exposure to inappropriate content, and development of mental health issues, regarding self-esteem and identity. With children being so vulnerable, parents need to educate their kids on safe practices, so children learn at a young age how to use this medium responsibility. 

In the article “Letting Children Under 13 on Facebook Could Make Them Safer” author Larry Magid, discusses how many children under 13 are signed up to Facebook, even though the age restriction is 13 and over. Since Facebook only restricts you if you give a date of birth under an age of 13, most children learn to lie about their birthday. The article discuss how a Harvard research study indicated that 68% of parents help their kids lie to make a Facebook account and  95% knew that there kids were using the accounts. The study indicated how parents want their kids to have a public profile, but they were monitoring there use. Magid had an opportunity to meet with Mark Zuckerberg creator of Facebook, and brought up the issue of creating a way Facebook could be safer for those under 13. Zuckerberg discussed how it was something that had been talked about, yet legal restrictions have placed it at the bottom of their list (Magid, 2012). Is this perhaps the future of social media, if Facebook were able to stream a way to make their site available in ‘child friendly’ mode, it is more than likely other outlets would follow suit. Could this be a potential solution to introducing younger children to social media in the future?

Resources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrymagid/2012/06/04/letting-children-under-13-on-facebook-could-make-them-safer/

http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2013/06/14/1226663/531703-computer-and-monitor-and-parents-and-kids.jpg