1. Boon or Bane?

2.  Social networking has transformed our lives, culture and how society conducts itself; and changed the way we:  Communicate  Making of friends and enemies  Depth of Relationships  Structure of our lives  Fundamentals of society

3.  No formalities  Add friend request  Easy to find friends via friend search function  Easy to unfriend  No complications

4.  Ease of Communication  MSN, Yahoo Messenger  Convenient to discuss with many persons at one time  Keep in touch with friends  Expansion of social circle  Decimate important information very quickly

5.  Social capital (refers to the resources accumulated through the relationships among people)  positive relationship between SNS use and the maintenance and creation of social capital  SC linked to a variety of positive social outcomes, such as better public health, lower crime rates, and more efficient financial markets  this important resource has been declining in the U.S. for the past several years, yet increased due to the advent of SNS

6.  SC is seen as a positive effect of interaction among participants in a social network  SC allows the SNS uuser to draw on resources from other members of the networks to which he or she belongs  access useful information, personal relationships, or the capacity to organize groups  employment connections  SNS and SC heightens psychological well- being, such as self esteem and satisfaction with life

7.  Relatively cheap avenue for advertising  Companies have a larger consumer base  Increase your number of contacts  Business opportunities  Find old friends

8.  Privacy compromised  Hackers may steal personal information  Identity violated  Poor social skills in real life  Social problems will arise  Unable to express feelings or ideas  Poor social cohesion

9.  Anonymous Users  Pedophiles will take advantage of the naivety of youth  Addiction  Cannot focus on daily life or priorities  Time Consuming

10.  Social capital are merely weak ties  loose connections between individuals who may provide useful information or new perspectives for one  No emotional support  Dawn of utilitarian and transactional relationships