What is a social network?
Social networks are communities of people who share interests and activities, or who are interested in exploring the interests and activities of others on the internet. Most social networking websites provide multiple ways for users to interact using chat, messaging, email, video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, discussion groups and so on. Such sites typify web 2.0, as much of the content is user-generated. They have become very popular very quickly. Bebo attracted 25 million members in little more than a year of operation and generated over 3 billion monthly page views worldwide.

Social networking (SN) sites develop from an initial set of members who send out messages inviting their friends to join the site. New members repeat the process, rapidly increasing the total number of members and links in the network. SN sites offer features such as viewable profiles where users create personal web pages containing personal blogs, photos and other applications that help them to connect with other network members. They also allow users to embed media such as music files and video clips into their profiles and to share their original content with others by uploading it to the site.

These networks tend to be organized around shared common interests. MySpace, for example, builds on independent music scenes. Facebook was originally used exclusively by US Ivy League college students while Bebo and Hi5 make it easy for school and college students to stay in touch with their friends. The value of the network for its members is linked to the number of people in the network.

There are a number of specifically mobile SNs springing up, such as Dodgeball and Enpresence, which arguably pose more risks for youngsters than internet based SNs as they notify users when they are in physical proximity to their contacts. Meanwhile the existing web-based SNs are adding mobile services to their offering. Facebook, for instance, offers mobile browsing, photo uploads and the facility to exchange personal messages with other users via SMS (currently US-only) and MySpace is deploying similar services.

What are the benefits?
Social Networking sites provide new opportunities for users to express their own opinions, find others with similar interests and experiences, and share and learn in a virtual environment.

• Artists can debut albums, film-makers showcase their creations, anybody can sell whatever they wish, advertise local events, things to do and places to go, share viral videos…
• Young people want to express themselves, are socially highly interactive and mobilise around issues very quickly e.g. environmental issues such as the Tsunami.

What are the risks of using Social Networking websites?
As with any form of online communication, there are risks. Primarily, because these are public spaces used by anyone, young people and adults alike, and published content can be seen by a worldwide audience. There are risks of bullying, online predators, identity theft and the promotion of violent and inappropriate content. It is important to underline that children and young people may not only fall victim to such harmful behaviour but may also be involved in initiating, maintaining or perpetrating it against others.

Young people talk about how online environments make them feel invincible and say that they lose all their inhibitions. This can, in turn, lead to them engaging in risky behaviour when online that can make them very vulnerable to online predators. Unfortunately many social network providers set public user profiles by default. Unless young people actively seek to change this, any information they publish can be seen by anyone.

What can we do to keep young people safe on social networking sites?
As with all online technologies, banning young people from their use is not the answer. They need to be empowered to behave safely and discriminately when online, and be encouraged to respect age restrictions, keep their personal information private and be responsible publishers. All of these things will be done naturally in the offline world – so why not in the online world too? As with all other internet safety issues, the single biggest positive impact on children’s online behaviour results from an active engagement by parents in their online life. Remember the chances of your child sharing their online experiences with you will be greatly reduced if they think that telling you about a problem will result in them being banned from using the internet.

What advice should we give to young people using social networking sites?
Make sure they realise the dangers of allowing anyone to access their personal information – the rule of thumb is to assume that everything is public unless you make sure that it isn’t. Opting for private doesn’t always mean that only friends can see a profile. In some cases it means that everything put on a profile can still be seen by everyone, but only ‘friends’ can post comments or IM.

Teach them to trust their instincts - If it doesn’t look or “feel right”, it probably isn’t! If they find something online that they don't like or that makes them feel uncomfortable, they should turn off the computer and tell an adult.

Be careful with personal information - The problem is that as soon as a person posts personal information to the internet, he/she has lost control over who will see it and how it will be used. Pictures can easily be copied and shared with thousands of others at the press of a button. Because of the digital nature of the photos, they can even be altered or distorted. Young people should learn not to post any pictures they wouldn’t want everyone to see, including their parents and teachers.

Not everyone online is who they appear to be - The fact that certain websites claim to connect students from the same school means nothing. The information provided by users when they are registering is not checked. Anyone can create a user profile pretending to be someone else. Moreover anyone, regardless of their real or pretended age, can join as many school communities as they want.

See FAQs on Blogs, File-sharing, Chat, Bullying and Privacy for further information.

Now go to your national node’s website to find useful links and further information.