A considerable amount of work has been done in this field and several articles are

available on the internet and magazines about the social networking sites. So first
we carried out a literature survey of the available data for collection of
secondary information. We followed it by a descriptive research design in order to
understand the problem and carry out the research in a lucid manner.

Social-networking sites have taken the world by a storm leading to nothing less
than a revolution. A lot of concerns have been voiced about social networking sites
taking over in our lives. However, one major issue that has been overlooked is the
changing mind-set of the youth due to the social networking sites.

The adolescence years shape our outlook, our personality and mould us into what we
are. So when we grow up in a world where our popularity is directly proportional to
the number of likes and the haaawt comments we get on our photoshop-enhanced
profile picture and live with people constantly competing for the coveted title of
the king/queen of the virtual world, it is bound to have a profound impact of the
psyche of an entire generation. The focus and time we spend on creating our brand
on these social networking sites is a standing testimony to the awakening of the
narcissist in us.

At any hangout or get-together more time is spent on clicking snaps and updating
the virtual world on whats going on, rather than enjoying the event. The photos
are uploaded within an hour, and then begins the flood of Likes and comments. The
social networking sites and the culture they have created is thus a breeding ground
for a vain, self-obsessed younger generation. We forget that we chose the people we
want to interact with on these sites. So the validity of the opinions on these
sites need to be reconsidered before we get cozy in a shell of false sense of
unwanted self-importance, but this is conveniently forgotten by most of us.

On the other hand the time, energy and clicks you spend on getting that perfect
picture all goes away to the drain when your friends picture gets more
attention. On one hand when vanity is on rise, some tend to lose their self-esteem
owing to the lack of online popularity. Since when have we become so petty that our
virtual world takes over our real life? Are we that silly to let these things
affect us?

Another aspect is the loss of private space. For todays generation, things that
were considered personal a generation before, are all public. Status updates, wall
post and tweets yell about every move we make, every step we take and every
relation we make or break. We are ourselves violating the sanctity of our personal
space in an attempt to keep up with the current fad of publicizing intimate details
of our lives for a few minutes of attention among a few hundred people in the
virtual world. How healthy a trend is this is something to ponder over.

This is not a dreary, condescending, wake up call by some old fashioned, boring
person of the last generation; this is just an account of a teen watching the world
around me possessed by the spirit of social networking. This is just my take on the
renaissance these sites have brought in the culture and outlook of my generation.

Years later, looking back at our teen years, do we want to remember spending time
bothering about an elusive world where we are judged on how we portray ourselves
to be? Do we want see ourselves as a vain, self-absorbed people fussing about the
pettiest of things, totally nonchalant to the bigger and more important issues of
the world? Do we want to be uninformed teens, ignorant about the world and doing
nothing constructive? I am sure deep inside each one of us would rather see
ourselves doing something productive towards our career, the society, and the world
for a better tomorrow. The social networking sites and social media has
revolutionized the world, bringing us closer than ever before, making life easier
than it ever was. We can exploit this and use it for a better life, a better
tomorrow. It should be used to connect, stay in touch easily, share views and not
waste time on.

There was the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age- all turning points in
the history of human civilization. How should the virtual age etch itself in the
history of mankind depends on us- the choice is ours now!

Rapid and deep penetration of Internet in India has impacted every aspect of life
across all ages. Changes are brought in all facets of life and face-to-face social
interactions have been transformed into virtual social networking over Internet.
Children and teens being the prime users of such services, the present article
discusses the psychological impact of these social networking sites on them. The
article talks about the various dilemmas of teenagers regarding this issue and
throws light on some lesser-known facts gathered through researching recent
studies.

Introduction

Internet and teens have become inseparable. For an average school-going child in
the age-range of 12-18, dwelling in the urban, semi-urban and even semi-rural areas
of India, the daily dose of web surfing, gaming and social networking is a
necessity now. With the advent and increased usage of Internet in all the spheres
of life, social interaction has also acquired a new virtual dimension. Various
popular social networking sites have become the all-embracing definition of social
milieu for the present generation. Ironically, the so claimed socially-networked
adolescents spending prime of their time in getting connected to the virtual world
are in reality, isolated and disconnected[Swaminath 2008] from the real world. The
ever-increasing dependence on the social networking sites can alter the way
teenagers mind work[Greenfield 2009] and bring about changes in the basic
psychological structure.

Digitalisation of our world

Digital media and online communication have become a pervasive part of our everyday
lives.[Ito et al. 2010] Internet has penetrated deep into our social and cultural
set up and is bringing about a sea change in the way we think, feel and perceive.
Touching all facets of our life, the web is not only exposing us to new-age
information but has made our life easy-going too. Now, just a click leads us to a
whole world of knowledge, information, entertainment, shopping, etc. Youth tend to
be earlier adopters than adults of digital communications and authoring
capabilities, and their exposure to new media is growing in volume, complexity and
interactivity.[Lenhart et al. 2007, Lenhart et al. 2008, Roberts and Foehr 2008,
Roberts et al. 2005] It is hard to believe that just a decade ago these
technologies were barely present in the lives of our children and teens.[Ito et al.
2010] Young minds are getting highly influenced by the rapid spread of world-wide-
web. World is a very small place for these net-savvy children and their life seems
incomplete without its support and presence. Rightly so, in the present complex,
fast-moving, media-centric world, media literacy is an increasingly important
skill. If children and teens are not versed in critical analysis skills,
particularly in relation to the Internet, they run the risk of falling behind, both
socially and academically.[Ofcom 2008] But the unchecked and rampant usage of
social media by the upcoming generation is leading to some serious ponderable
issues.

Digitalisation statistics

According to Internet in India (I-Cube) 2011 report, generation Y dominates the

Internet using pattern of our country with more than three quarters of our Internet
population driven by young men (27%), school (21%) and college (27%) going kids.
[Dholakia 2011] The same report suggests that the number of claimed Internet
users in India has crossed the landmark 100 million mark in September 2011.
[Dholakia 2011] Studies indicate that youth in India is using Internet for various
purposes, social networking being the most important of all.[Greenfield 2009]
Social networking through Internet is now the mainstream[Ofcom 2008] and preferred
mode of communication for teenagers. The Social Media survey by Indiabiz News and
Research Services (INRS) found that tech-savvy Indian youths in major cities are
spending at least two hours a day to connect themselves with others through social
networking websites like Facebook, Twitter and Orkut.[The Hindu 2010] The Indian
statistics compiled by Ethinos Digital Marketing (United States of America) shows
that Facebook has crossed 50 million users, while Twitter grows to 13 million and
LinkedIn has over 15 million users in India. Further, it is predicted that India
will see the fastest growth in social networking this year (51.7%), followed
closely by Indonesia (51.6%), and China lagging further back (19.9%).

Trapped teens

The various social networking sites have captured the young minds completely by
giving them opportunities not only to interact with other people but play online
games, buy products and follow their media and sports ideals too. These sites are
not leaving any stone unturned in roping in the adolescent mind and making them
their loyal customers. According to neuroscientists, social networking is amongst
the three areas of computing having the most marked effect, imagined online
societies and gaming being the other two.[Greenfield 2009] According to Park et
al.,[2009] teenagers are engaging themselves in the social media, like Facebook,
because of four primary needs of socialising, entertainment, self-status seeking
and information. It is a medium where social awkwardness can be easily avoided and
instant feedback on your personal information is available round the clock.
Specifically, Indian teens are getting highly attracted to this digitalisation of
social networking as it gives them an opportunity to exercise freedom of
expression, which otherwise is largely inhibited in our society.[Ethinos Digital
Marketing 2012]

Oblivious of the deep psychological impact of the excessive usage of this unique
culture, youngsters are totally indulged and trapped. The amount of time spent on
these sites by our teenagers clearly indicates that these web interactions have
crossed the boundaries of being meaningful and fulfilling. What happens round the
clock on social networking sites now, is a banal, aimless and meaningless exchange
of personal information leading to laziness and social voyeurism.

Narcissistic or depressed?

Quite strikingly, a recent study shows that teens, who use Facebook more often show
narcissistic tendencies.[Rosen 2011] Youngsters are channelising all of their
energy in self-promotion through these portals by sharing attractive pictures,
profile picture being the most attractive one,[Buffardi and Campbell 2008,
Mehdizadeh 2010] and videos, leading them to be self-obsessed. The virtual social
networking is putting a distorted rosy cover on the self-worth of these youngsters
and the already present teenage grandiosity is being given new fake heights.

Another side of the narcissism story suggests that some teens could be affected by
depression because for them, facing the constant barrage of updates from friends
who present a false reality of themselves, results in them beginning to suffer
from low self-esteem. Its common knowledge that we all try to present the best of
ourselves on social networking sites, and this can make some people feel
inadequate.[Online Social Media 2011] The problem, researchers found, was that the
popular websites constant feed of status, picture and message updates gives users
a skewed view of reality, which could make vulnerable kids feel like they arent
good enough.[Mandell 2011] Adolescents feel upset and sad over seeing others fun
pictures, confident and happy status messages, increasing friends list, triggering
feelings of worthlessness in them and eventually leading them towards depression
and anxiety.

The dilemma of real vs. virtual

Few past studies highlighting the positive impact of social networking over web
indicated that the heightened self-worth proved like a boon for the introverts, shy
and teenagers with low self-confidence as they could achieve social acceptance in
the virtual world, that they desired in real-life.[Wolfradt and Doll 2001] Studies
indicate that social media interactions make one less conscious of the individuals
involved (including yourself), less inhibited, less embarrassed and less concerned
about how you will be evaluated.[Greenfield 2009] Though it sounds perfect but this
attempt to alter ones basic traits and falsely fulfill ones desire of social
connections may not to be long lasting, and may leave the naive minds confused and
distressed when they encounter the real-life situations.[Ito et al. 2010] Real-life
situations and human interactions are much more harder and unique and it is
difficult to deal with it. As per Greenfield,[2009] real-life interaction is far
more perilous than in the cyber world as it occurs in real time, with no
opportunity to think up clever responses, and it requires a sensitivity to voice
tone, body language and even to physical chemicals such as pheromones.

At this juncture, the teenagers who judged themselves to be socially successful by

counting the number of friends on their friend list and who thought that web social
networks are the way this human society works, get shocked and find themselves
unable to deal with the disparity.[Jesse 2009] This repeated pattern might make
preteens and teenagers more prone to anxiety, depression, and other psychological
disorders, and make them more susceptible to future health problems.[Rosen 2011]

Inadequate social skills

Though media social networking is fulfilling the same affiliation needs[Chamorro-

Premuzic 2010] of human beings as the face-to-face social connectedness but it
undermines the importance of body and its usage in such interactions. Boyd[2007]
concluded in his study that youngsters who have started to prefer the virtual
society are unable to understand and experience the role body serves in conveying
who we are to other people and in projecting information about ourselves. While
text, images, audio and video all provide valuable means for developing a virtual
presence, the act of articulation differs from how we convey meaningful information
through our bodies. We learn appropriate behaviour by interacting with others and
by collecting cues from the society.[Boyd 2007] The missing link is the adequate
development of the critical social skill of impression management, which,
according to Goffman[1959] is the process of performance, interpretation of social
cues and adjustment based on the interpretation. While the process itself begins at
home for young children, it is critical for young people to engage in broader
social settings to develop these skills but youngsters are losing the opportunity
to do so due to the reduced face-to-face social interactions. So, youngsters in
todays world may be very popular and the smartest amongst their virtual friends
but are increasingly lacking the critical skills of face-to-face interactions.

Virtual empathy

Adolescents are living in a make-believe world of social networking, where anyone

and everyone is a friend, whether known or unknown. Studies indicate that
youngsters keep saying yes to the friendship requests from friends of friends of
friends (reference) and sometimes strangers, thinking it will increase their friend
list leading them become popular and likable.[Alivenow 2011] As youngsters have
started to visualise the social world through the network of collected profiles,
[Boyd 2007] they do not say no to any friend request. Few studies suggest that such
friendship over web is somewhat useful for children. While discussing the
positive influence of the virtual social connectivity amongst young generation,
Rosen,[2011] in his plenary session at the 119th Annual Convention of the American
Psychological Association, said that young adults who spend more time on Facebook
are better at showing virtual empathy to their online friends. Rosen suggested
that this virtual empathy can be shown to connections on Facebook and felt by those
on the receiving end in much the same way as a more physical empathy and could make
teens more empathetic in the real world too. But, there are many speculations on
this point. Amidst this mad race to have maximum friends, the real meaning of
friend is lost somewhere and the present generation is drifting away from the
emotional bond between friends, good friends, fast friends and best friends.
Researchers argue against the perceived positive impact of social media networking
and indicate that children learn to relate only through artificial ways and form
superficial bond with their friends over the web.[Swaminath 2008] The empathy is
also superficial and is not reaching to the right depths and at the time of real-
life crisis, may not prove to be a helpful asset or skill.

Social media and learning

Studies found that middle school, high school children accessing these sites
several times a day and feeling the need to stay online throughout the day.[Rosen
2011] The fear and anxiety of missing something compels the youngsters to log in
again and again and they end up aimlessly looking through others profiles, playing
online games and losing on the quality time with family and significant others.
Study by Online Social Media[2011] suggests that daily overuse of media and
technology has a negative effect on the health of all children; Facebook can be
distracting and can negatively impact learning. In teens that use technology
excessively every day, including Facebook and video gaming, it was noted that there
was more school absence and also that those teens were more likely to suffer from
stomach problems, sleep disorders and anxiety. In those students who checked
Facebook at least once in a 15-minute study period, lower grades were evident and
the teens that had Facebook open more in those study periods also had lower reading
retention rates.[Online Social Media 2011] Young adults who have a strong Facebook
presence show more signs of other psychological disorders, including antisocial
behaviours, mania and aggressive tendencies.[Rosen 2011]

Risks of social networking

Adolescents are more vulnerable and less inhibited in their communication than
adults and therefore may become exposed to risks[Australian Psychological
Association 2010] such as cyber bullying, online romantic relationship, sexting,
active and passive gossip etc.[Jesse 2009] Harping on the risk-taking attitude of
adolescents, the prime drawback of web based social connectivity is being able to
secretly look into the personal life of others. Somewhere reinforcing the social
voyeurism, the peeping adolescents become more concerned about others life and
comparing their life with others. This unhealthy attitude may prove to be
detrimental for their overall development.

A number of researches show that most of the
safety and privacy concern in the context of
are not educated regarding the importance of
their personal information is public and can
the web.
pre-teens and teens are unaware of the
these social networking sites. They
cyber-safety and as a result, all of
be seen or manipulated by anyone on
The other side

This dynamic area of social networking is being researched everyday and attempts
are being made to study the issue from every perspective. In that regard,
studies[Beer 2008] have indicated that Internet communications may supplement
traditional social behaviour rather than increase or decrease it. This is
consistent with a social network theory, which implies that the more a person
socialises in a traditional sense, the more they will socialise online.

Increasingly, studies are indicating that social networking has a positive impact
on social connectedness and well-being.[Valkenburg and Peter 2009] Teenagers are
getting a sense of belongingness and feel socially accepted and important.
[Greenfield 2009] These social media websites can also function as a forum, where
teens can openly have discussion with their friends on a variety of topics. They
can learn of new information on current events occurring all over the world through
these websites too.[Alivenow 2011]

Conclusion

This discussion of the positive and negative influence of social networking leads
us to find the missing links of media education and parental support and guidance.
The efforts towards media education strive not only to guide children to be better,
more responsible, more responsive recipient of media content, but also at times to
influence the media managers and governmental bodies responsible for overseeing
them.[Yadav 2009] It is of utmost importance that there is a constant guidance and
support from parents in these issues. Keeping in view the importance and no-
boundary nature of Internet, it is critical for parents and teachers to understand
and enforce safe, responsible use of technology among kids making them responsible
digital citizens in turn. Open communication between parents and teenager may lead
to frank discussions regarding the teenagers life and its various aspects.
Adolescents need someone to listen to them and if given an ear, they come up with
discussions regarding their deep-most feelings and attitude. Such healthy
discussions between the parent-child duos may lead them to understand the nuances
of society and social interactions.

Social networking in India is not a very old concept. Like any other new fad, it is
reaching its peak and various speculations are being made regarding its future
course. Will it reach its plateau soon or do we expect a steady rise in its
popularity? Facebook craze in teenagers is going to be permanent or is it going to
die its own death just like Orkut? More and more primary researches should be
carried on in this area so that data is collected and the future trend may be
predicted accordingly. Whatever is the future of social networking in India, the
fact remains that it has changed the outlook of our present generation, may be for
better or for worse.