Social Networking: Good or Bad?

    I know I'll either get a lot of comment or a lot of flak for this post. Or both. Okay, so we all know what this thing called Social networking is. Vox uses it. It's the art of connecting to people, either next door to you or thousands of miles away, via the internet. Sites like MySpace, Orkut, Vox, Piczo and Face book are very popular, espeially amoung the 11-15 demographic. However the thing is with social networking...It's marketed in such a way that like "Don't worry, put all your personal information on your profile page, including pictures! You have no chance of getting hurt!". This is completely not true as there have been numerous incidents of predators on places like MySpace. One of the most notable incidents in when a 14 year old girl was assaulted by a 19 year old man she met on MySpace. Another notable incident occurred when  Katherine Lester went onto an un-athorized trip to Israel to meet up with a man whom she meant on MySpace. She was sense graduated and is prohibited from traveling outside the United States until her 18th birthday.
    On the other hand, Social networking allows for people to connect with others around the world. Here are a few tips on using social networking sites properly.

1.  Never ever give away personal information, including name, location (country is ok, not provice/state or town) age, email address or other personal information
   
2. Report any abuse of the site the sys admins or the authorities immediately.
3. If  anyone asks to meet you, and you don't know the person personally, don't grant there request.
   
4. If they ask if you have a webcam have either an adult (if under 17) or a friend present to keep you in check.
   

I have nothing against social networking.It's a great way of meeting new people, expressing opinions and the like.  But it can be misused, as in the cases mentioned above. All I can say to my friends in Vox and around the web: Be Smart and Safe! Don't become a Victim!