The Scary World of Social Networking

       During this week we had a project, which was to create a made up AIM account and talk to a classmate. The point of this project was to be somebody opposite of what we truly are. I pretended to be a girl named Hannah Weinstein from UCLA. I enjoyed doing the project because this was an accurate picture of what occurs on social networking sites. But at the same time, while I was doing this project I was creeped out thinking people do all of this for a living. Knowing that the person I am developing a relationship with is somebody making up a fake identity. My argument is that all of this social networking where people are pretended to be somebody else is a bad thing for society. People get too caught up in these fantasy worlds and forget that they have a real life to live. In Sherry Turkle's "Aspect of the Self" she expressed opposite views when it comes to people making up identities. She said, "In its virutal reality, we self-fashion and self-create, What kind of personae do we make?"(Turkle) She values people using their imaginations and living in these fantasy worlds. There are more negatives than positives when people get addicted to living a different life. People who pretend to be somebody they are not on social networking sites need to get a life. This world is a very scary one with a lot of people who are messed up psychologically.
          Sherry Turkle stated in "Aspects of the Self" "MUDs provide worlds for anonymous social interaction in which you can play a role as close to or as far away from your real self as you choose." (Turkle) My question is are people's lives really that miserable that they want to be somebody they are not? I am very big on social networking. I am an active Facebook and Twitter user, but at the same time I would never fake an account on one of these sites. Sherry Turkle discusses all the positives of being somebody your not such as getting away from society for a little and being able to use our imaginations. But what about the creepy adults who use it to talk to little children? Like this for example.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/52383/cybersex-victims-to-get-counseling
Children as young as 11 years old are now damaged for the rest of their lives because of creepy adults pretending to be somebody their not. But if you asked Sherry Turkle about this article she would probably say, "Creating screen personae is thus an oppurtunity for self-expression, leading to her feeling more like her true self when decked out in an array of virtual masks."(Turkle) Well these adults are sure expressing their true feelings and now they have ruined two innocent girls lives forever. This world is too scary now to be talking to somebody that you do not know because we have no evidence that the person we are talking too really is who they say they are. Social networking is a great thing because we are able to receive information before television news reports it and it is a great thing being able to connect with friends who we cannot see on a regular basis. But the problem with social networking that it is so easy to join and make an account that there is no proof that the individual is truly who they appear to be, especially on Facebook and AIM. We were taught at a young age to not talk to
 strangers, well we are never to old to take this advice when it comes to social networking.
      This AIM experience really taught me that it is so easy to pretend that you are somebody else. It is mind boggling to me hearing about people who have fallen in love through social networking. The other negative of computer chatting is people's social skills decrease because there is not enough interaction through human contact and too much through a computer. People are so comfortable talking online because they do not have to see a person's reaction in person. It disgusts me when people pretend to be somebody they are not online. There have been too many incidents of adults ruining childrens' lives. When somebody tries to be somebody they are not it shows they are not happy with their own lives and would rather be somebody else. With all the evil out there in this world it is not worth talking to somebody that you have not met personally. Social networking is an amazing tool if people use it in the right way, but it is those few individuals who make social networking a scary world.
Thanks for reading and I love to hear some feedback on my Blog. Hope you enjoyed and everybody is always welcomed to return to Max's World.