Catfish: Helpful or Hurtful?

http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/844243/catfish-the-tv-show-trailer.jhtml

 As stated by Wikipedia, "Catfish: The TV Show is an American reality-based docudrama television series airing on MTV about the truths and lies of online dating. The show is based on the 2010 film Catfish and is hosted by Nev Schulman.
A "catfish" is a person who creates fake profiles online and pretends to be someone they are not by using someone else's pictures and information. These "catfish" use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, usually with the intention of getting other people or a person to fall in love with them."

When i first heard of the movie/ current television show Catfish it blew my mind. I found it crazy how people were totally content with partaking in online relationships for years without meeting the person on the other end and in some cases without even hearing their voices. This show is so interesting to me because it tends to show both ends of the spectrum when it comes to Social Media. In some (good) cases, the two lovers end up meeting, either discovering that they have both been completely honest, or discovering the truth about one another and still coming out with their very own 'happily ever after'. In other instances, some are not as lucky. The lies they have been telling one another for years are exposed and what started out as an innocent friendship turned love connection, changes into barely anything. People come out shocked, hurt, and embarrassed from these experiences which can teach audiences that you never really know who is on the other end of the computer screen and that you should be cautious as to what information you relay, and who you pour your heart and soul into.

Bullies on Social Networks

http://jezebel.com/5967905/yet-another-teenage-girl-killed-herself-thanks-to-social-media-slut+shaming

Well, i think the title of this article says it all. 'Yet Another Teenage Girl Killed Herself Thanks to Social Media Bullying'. while some would consider sites such as Facebook and Twitter harmless ways of communicating with family and friends, others see them as channels of abuse. Time and time again, people no matter what age, race, or sex are being bullied to the point where they take their own lives. This is an epidemic that must be ended. Those who are considered the 'bullies' in the cases are using social network sites to hurt and torment others until they feel diminished down to their cores. They choose to hide behind their monitors, and think that a few words exchanged won't have any real effect on someone else's life but they are dead wrong. Sadly, in many cases people who are having the hate inflicted onto them take their own lives because they feel that suicide is the only way to escape the pain. Below is a picture of yet another poor girl who chose to take her own life recently because of the hurtful names and words people inflicted onto her via Facebook.

Pros and Cons of Facebook

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=412755

This article discusses the Pros and Cons of Social Networking sites such as Facebook. I found this article very intriguing because it talks about how easily people relay private personal information and the click of a button, regardless of who is able to see it. Although it allows shy people the opportunity to be friendly and make friends online, it also allows hackers to spam your accounts and potentially ruin your life. Although it allows businesses to grow and prosper by connecting through other forms than email, it also can lead to infidelities in marriages. To me, the Cons most definitely trump the Pros and makes me think twice of what i post and how private i make my accounts.