Social Media Costing Lives?

Over the last month social media sites, specifically Facebook has had significant press coverage surrounding the implications that this popular social network site is having on society.

In late August the Manchester local press reported that girls as young as 12 were being recruited by gangsters who lured them in through social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace. They are put under pressure to perform sex acts to be initiated into gangs, child protection.

On the 2nd of September a jury heard about Hayley Jones, 26, was found stabbed and strangled just days after altering her relationship status on Facebook from "married" to ''single''. Brian Lewis, 31, allegedly killed her after telling pals he could not bear losing her to another man.

More recently two Australian girls who were trapped in a storm drain decided to update their status on Facebook instead of calling the emergency services. Luckily one of their friends was on Facebook and saw the update and decided to call the emergency services.

A fire service spokesman in Adelaide said he was concerned about "relying on someone being online and replying to them and eventually having to call us via 000 anyway".

Today seven NHS workers both doctors and nurses face the sack after being caught spending time on Facebook in the busy A&E department.

Is Facebook Worth It?

This question has to be asked, with over 250 million active users is Facebook healthy?

Already we have heard of those Japanese teenagers who are sent to Internet addiction camps where they are subjected to beating and extremely harsh treatment to try to rid them of their addiction to social networks and the Internet in general.

The youth of today are growing up in a Web 2.0 society, its probably that one in every 4 people you know in the UK will be on Facebook if you are under 25. The majority of British youths are spending more and more time online interacting with each other through social networks like Facebook.

Anthropologists have already suggested that this interaction could effect how young people make friends and socialise in the 'real world'.

Try to imagine how teenagers in 2080 will interact with each other, will they even talk to each other or will it all be done over the Internet or some other technological reality!