Are we Over-Exposed?

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter allow you to find and connect with just about anyone, from a co-worker in a neighbouring cubicle to the girl who played Ophelia in your high school production of "Hamlet" thirty years ago. Browsing these sites can make you feel connected to a larger community, but, such easy, ............................................ The immediacy provided by social media is available to predators(...) as well as friends. Children in particular are vulnerable(...) to the practice of cyber- bullying in which the perpetrators(...) , anonymously or even posing as people their victims trust, terrorize individuals in front of their peers. The devastation(...) of these online attacks can leave deep mental scars. In several well-publicized cases, victims have even been driven to suicide. The anonymity(...) afforded online can bring out dark impulses(...) that might otherwise be suppressed. While many businesses use social networking sites to find and communicate with clients, the sites can also prove a great distraction to employees who may show more interest in what their friends are posting than in their work tasks. The Wired website posted two studies which demonstrated damage to productivity caused by social networking: Nucleus Research reported that Facebook shaves 1.5% off office productivity, ............................................. . New technology products have become available that allow social networks to be blocked, but their effectiveness remains spotty(...) . Social networking sites encourage people to be more public about their personal lives. Because intimate(...) details of our lives can be posted so easily, users are prone(...) to bypass the filters they might normally employ when talking about their private lives. What's more, the things they post remain available indefinitely. ............................................. , the image may appear less attractive in the context of an employer doing a background check(...) . While most sites allow their users to control who sees the things they've posted, such limitations are often forgotten, ....................................... or don't work as well as advertised. (Reading text adapted from smallbusiness)