Is online social networking good or bad?

What is Social Network?

A Social Network is a website, or network of websites, specifically established to allow end users to communicate directly with each other on topics of mutual interest

In 2009, a slew of news reports warned that social networking sites would ruin our bodies and brains byshortening our attention spans, weakening our immune systems and possibly fostering autism.

Those headlines were largely generated by statements from Susan Greenfield, neuroscientist and former director of the Royal Institution of Great Britain, and British psychologist Aric Sigman.

Greenfield voiced concern that fast-paced social networking habits could change the shape of young people’s developing brains, while Sigman speculated that online social networking, in lieu of face-to-face contact, could lead to poor health.

But genuine, published scientific studies haven't yet validated those claims.

In fact, current research indicates that tweeting, status updating and other social networking activities might actually be good for our psychological well-being, physical health and in-person relationships.

“We’ve found that the more people are engaged with Facebook by any measure, including number of friends, hours on the site or volume of sharing, the better they feel,” said Moira Burke, a researcher at the Human-Computer Institute at Carnegie Mellon University.

Those positive feelings are direct products of social capital, or the informational and emotional support family, friends and acquaintances provide. Extensive research has established that the more social capital people believe they have, the greater sense of well-being they enjoy.

“Our brains haven’t changed, our real world social networks haven’t changed for the most part,” Fowler said. “So the question is how we’ll fit these new technologies in to our real world social networks.”

PROS	CONS
Build Meaningful Relationship The best advantage of social networking sites is that these sites allow you to keep in touch with your friends, classmates and relatives. Here, geographical locations are no barrier to stay in touch.	Scams and Harassment There is a potential for failure of security in both personal and business context. While many sites apply certain measure to keep any of these cases of harassment, cyber-stalking, online scams and identity theft to an absolute minimum you still may never know.
Bring business and opportunities The more people you meet and interact with, the more business opportunities you are likely to come across. You understand one another, and in no time, opportunities arise when one person takes the first step and proposes something.	Security One of the topmost concerns of social networking as it allows you to display your personal information such as name, location and email address. There are some people who always in search in fake identity. If they get all the information about you on the internet, they may use it for bad purposes.
Enables mind sharing and insight While interacting with people online, you get a unique perspective into their lives and their problems. You can help and advise them and in turn , you will receive, feedback and trust. Resulting in mind-sharing.	Bad effect for health Social network can be harmful for health. As it can destroy the young brain. It may increase the cases of deficit-hyperactivity disorder in children. Not only being bad for brains, the long-time social networking is able to have bad effects for the user’s eyes.

I'm back..!

Ni hao! Bonjour! or Hi!
It's been ages I didn't update my blog. I even forgot the password to log in. AGAIN! hahaha.. So, I guess I have to start all over again.Can I? To be frankly, it's actually a task given by my lecturer=) But I enjoy doing this kind of task. As I love to write.^_^ Language has always been my niche area. I enjoy playing with words. Scribble here and there. ^_^

Okay, this is a story of me~Nor Atikah bt Zainol~ Or also known as Tikah by most of my friends. Some call me Tika, Ati and a few call me ika ( which I kind of like it. As it's short and sweet.Don't you think so?hee..=p) Born on January 4, 1988. Proud to be the 'citizen' of Pahang.^_^

My learning institutions.

~Tadika KEMAS Cheroh.

~Methodist Girls School Raub

~SMK Tengku Kudin, Raub

~UiTM Negeri Sembilan

~UiTM Shah Alam

* I went to National Service at Setiu, Terengganu in 2006*

*Ex-Maybankers in 2010*

Let's start off by saying that I'm actually a very humorous person. Almost everyone thinks that way about themselves, don't they?=p My mind appears to be unstoppable robotic engine that runs all the time, even when I'm sleeping.Insomnia, much?Naah~

One might say I'm vibrant, passionate,spontaneous, happy -go-lucky and maybe a little crazy too! I am someone who likes to add a little fun to all the things that I do-work or play-but of course, I know when to be serious.

I've so many things that I want to share with you. Some of it is, the sweetest moment that I'll

never erase it from my mind. I've been awarded the 'Outstanding Student Award'

of Methodist Girls School in 2000. I was also the Head Prefect of my high school.

I won the Public Speaking Competition in 2006. Representing UiTM Negeri Sembilan.

All of these, don't make me feel superior. It taught me to be more confident and

believe in myself. I realise, I can do almost anything if I really put my mind into something.

Everyone is special in their own way.=)

As I mature,I learn about the imperfections of life. I realise life can be harsh, that growing up can means taking on responsibilities and accepting the consequences of life.I think about a lot of things. Something that's affected me, something that's touches the world or even something mundane. I believe by making all the people around us happy, we'll be happy and enjoying ourselves as well. But then again, we can't really fully satisfy other people.We are just human.We make mistakes. But we learn from it to a better person.=)

I'm a very opinionated person. Having said that,I'm not against anyone who holds an opposing view, because everyone is entitled to his own opinion.

Never judge a book by its cover. Judging people by the first look is plain absurd. People who don't know me think I'm a quiet and naive person. I can't really blame them. Can I?As I have this angelic looking face (according to my best friend~Wan Iliana) Hahaha.. Enough with the self- complementation Atikah..=p Despite being 23, to most onlookers, I often get mistaken for 16-year-old. I don't really know how to react when they ask. Which school are you studying young lady? I just crack a smile.=)

I have so many goals in my life. One of it is I want to travel to other countries before I turn 30
(Well,it's not that after 30 I won't travel anymore. It's just the target that I've made.
Traveling abroad using my own money would be awesome!) So far, I've visited two countries.
Indonesia and Singapore. I love traveling as I'm curious about how people in other parts of the
world live. I would like to experience for myself the cultures of different peoples.

Top places that I want to visit are Australia, New Zealand and Egypt.=)

How I wish I have the career quite similar like Anthony Bourdain's-

A combination of wild gastronomic journeys, travel and writing.

Or, in other words-A combination of everything that I love.

I'm a simple person.Kind of person that you'll love to be friend with. I guess so. Just kidding..Hehehe..I'm the eldest among my siblings.They call me Ayong.My mum is from Perak and my dad is from Kedah. Surprise?But we'd live in Pahang since I was born. I'm a talkative person. But might get real silence sometimes. (But you'll rarely meet me when I'm in this kind of mood) I like giving smiles. As I believe with just a smile I can lit up my spirit and brighten up my day. Maybe others as well.=)

According to Dato' Dr Fadzilah Kamsah~People who are born in January:

• Ambitious and serious.Like to educate and be educated
• Hardworking
• Fond to beauty, neatness and order
• Easy self-discipline
• Love kids
• Loyal
• Sensitive
• A thinker

This is just a research. Some of it might be true or vice versa.=)