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Students’ concentration adversely affected by social networking sites

August 11, 2011 by  
Filed under Lingerie Events

Social networking websites like Facebook have negative effects on children, and those who frequently use such websites are more likely to get lower marks in school, says a new American study.

Such students are also likely to have behavioural problems and “narcissistic tendencies” from spending too much time logged on to such sites, according to the research by the California State University.

Psychology professor Larry Rosen said researchers watched as students spent 15 minutes studying something that was important to them.

The research team was left dumbfounded as the students’ concentration lapsed because of the need to check their Facebook page.

“What we found was mind-boggling. About every three minutes they are off-task. You’d think under these constraints, knowing that someone is observing you, that someone would be more on task,” Rosen was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

“The more media they consumed per day, the worse students they were. If they checked Facebook just once during 15 minutes, they were worse students.”

Rosen released the findings at the American Psychological Association in a speech titled “Poke Me: How Social Networks Can Both Help and Harm Our Kids”.

The negative effects of over-using social media include making students more prone to vain, aggressive and anti social behaviour, the report said.

Children under 13 who overuse social sites on a daily basis are also more likely to be prone to bouts of anxiety, depression, sleeping problems and stomach aches.

The study also found that social networking had some positive effects also. They helped shy children interact more.

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Facebookers Furious as Social Network Publishes Phone Numbers

August 11, 2011 by  
Filed under Lingerie Events

Facebookers Furious as Social Network Publishes Phone Numbers

Facebook Phonebook Outrage

Once solely concerned with social-networking supremacy, Facebook’s push to lead the mobile communication market has now grabbed users’ attention and national headlines twice in as many days. First, the company unveiled its new mobile messenger app, which received rave reviews from early adopters on Wednesday.

Today, however, attention has turned to Facebook’s phone-book-syncing protocol—and the responses are, to put it mildly, anything but rave.

The social network finds itself in the midst of yet another privacy scandal after reports went viral today that phone numbers in users’ mobile phones have been published and may be visible to others on Facebook. Users are complaining that the company has managed to pluck the full names and phone numbers of contacts who don’t even have a Facebook account—individuals who likely have never provided Facebook with any contact information.

The following message has flooded the network as angry users copied and pasted the warning onto their profiles and those of their friends:

“All the phone numbers in your phone are now published on Facebook! Go to the top right of the screen, click on Account, then click on Edit Friends, go left on the screen and click on Contacts. Then go to the right-hand side and click on “visit page” to remove this display option. Please repost this on your Status, so your friends can remove their numbers and thus prevent abuse if they do not want them published.”

The company has responded to concerns on its fan page, dismissing “rumors” that the contacts are visible to users and adding that the feature has long existed on the site. “The phone numbers listed there were either added by your friends themselves and made visible to you, or you have previously synced your phone contacts with Facebook.”

In the comments section below the company’s post, users didn’t appear reassured. Comments ranged from “Keep numbers personal” and “Get your act together” to “Soooo glad I have Google+.” Several users wrote that they did not approve the phone sync and yet still found the numbers posted in their contacts list.

If you’re curious about the status of your own phone book, login to Facebook and follow the steps in the warning message. Let us know what you find in the comments below, and share your thoughts on the company’s privacy policies.


Get more business intelligence from Portfolio.com:

  • A Socially Made Millionaire: The concept of a self-made millionaire is a myth. From mentors to investors to pivotal business contacts, even serial entrepreneurs who make millions are socially made success stories.
  • Groupon Loss Tests IPO Strength: As the daily deal company awaits approval to go public, its revenues are growing so quickly compared to last year that investors might start to salivate—but there’s a catch. Its losses also doubled in the second quarter.
  • Can You Trust Anonymity at Work?: The ballsy women in the film The Help spoke out about their poor working conditions. But they did so anonymously. In today’s workplace, when you give “anonymous feedback,” how protected are you?

John Harrison is a freelance writer for Portfolio.com.

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