The Dangers of Social Networking

Watch out with Social Networking!

Social networking have become an important part of people's lives. Not only do people publish everything they do throughout the day, but they also share private information on the media, which may represent potential dangers for them. Some of these networking have stated policies in relation to the age at which people can make use of its services, being this fact not respected by some users. Alarming is the young age at which children start using the media for publishing different personal data, such as what they do in their lives, what they think or even pictures of themselves. Here is the danger of all of it! Most of our children do not know who they are talking to. What is more, they do not even know if the profile of the person they think they know is a real one. It has been reported a great amount of fake profiles used to cheat or even to harass people via internet. 
Facebook and Twitter are two of the most used sites, with millions of users worldwide. Although the age limit for using Facebook is 13, and for Twitter is 12 the real tendency is that children who are between 8 and 10  years old also make use of them. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (2014) the use of social networking has the following advantages: 

• They allow people to stay connected to friends. 
• They permit people to develop new social contacts with other people with the same interests. 
• People can share their art works, music and political views. 
• They are a means to develop and express your individual identity.

It is a fact that people can get in contact with friends and family that live far away, they can express their thoughts and feelings and they can also share interests with other people. But it is also a fact that all of these represent potential dangers, especially for children. They do not differentiate what information they should share, to whom and for what. They do not know how to discriminate a fake profile from a real one,  and not even adults know how to do it. And it is then when something like this may happen:

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, on the other hand, states that there are also some risks around the use of social networking: 

• They expose children and adolescents to "cyber bullying", which is a type of bullying made by online means. 
• They may share excessive information through internet. 
• As a consequence they are vulnerable to predatory adults. 
• They are exposed to considerable amounts of inappropriate content or information for their age. 
• They run the risk of identity theft.
• Spending a great amount of time in front of the computer reduces the time they may spend doing physical activity. 

The serious and real risk here is that parents do not know who the people their children talk to are. And not controlling them may lead to situations such as the one depicted in the video. Children and adolescents are easier attracted through internet by pedophiles and people involved in human trade and sexual slavery. Most of the young people victims of these criminals have been caught through Facebook with false profiles. 
For these reasons the site before mentioned offers the following pieces of advice in order to preserve our children and adolescent's physical and moral integrity: 

• Parents should keep a certain control on the information they share. 
• Parents should advise their children to keep personal information for themselves. 
• Parents should suggest their children to post only the information they feel comfortable with. 
• Children should have the sufficient trust to their parent in order to talk to them before considering meeting a person face to face. 
• Parents should establish rules in relation to the use of social networks. 
• Parents should monitor the use their children made of social networking. 
• Parents should also establish a time limit in the use of  internet when it interferes with family activities or external social activities. 

To conclude, the reflection we can build up around this issue is that the use of social networks has its pros and cons, but for children and adolescents it is important to establish a certain control on its use so as to prevent situations such as the one in the video, or even worse consequences.






Sources: 

• http://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Children_and_Social_Networking_100.aspx
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV1ZCF4oueQ
• http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/10619007/Children-using-social-networks-underage-exposes-them-to-danger.html

A Teen Mum

Being a mum at 18 is not an easy task. Especially when you are about to finish secondary school and you are BY YOURSELF. To face this situation at such young age makes a girl feel frustrated and hopeless. The first thing that comes to your mind is that your life has no way out, that you will end up raising a child and depending on someone else. Your goals and dreams have no space in the world a girl imagines for her and her child. These are the thoughts of a novice teen mom. But let me tell you something. It's not that way at all! If you know deep inside what you want for your life and the life of your child there is nothing in this world that can prevent you from making your dreams come true. The difference in this case lies in the fact that you no longer think about YOUR LIFE, but you think about OUR LIFE, in other words, how you will become the life of your dreams in the life that will both dream about. To replace your goals for our goals is now your main objective. . It scares, paralyzes and often discourages, but in the end you will realize it is the most pleasant role a person may have. 
Not only does your life change completely, but it also makes your path go through unthinkable places. You will no longer sleep all night long, which is not a pleasant matter let me tell you. You may spend long hours asleep at night when he/she feels sick or annoyed. You may spend long hours in a hospital because s/he has an illness which is the worst part of it because you cannot bear to see them suffer. What is more, you will switch amusing nights with friends for tiring nights changing diapers, preparing feeding bottles and singing nursery rhymes. You may think that there are no positive sides about being a teen mum. But wait! Don't make rush conclusions. 
The best side of the role comes out when you fix your gaze at him/ her and both come to feel the same love and affection for each other. Your heart beats faster, your hands become more cautious, your eyes more attentive and your face turn into a happy one. Non the less you feel when s/he starts pronouncing his/her first words; their facial expressions transport a mother to a place where anything else exist, where nothing can hurt him/her and where everything is perfect and possible. How rewarding it is to see their growth, the path they choose to follow, the example they decide to take. And let me tell you that it is right there when the word MOTHER gains meaning. You have shaped and determined the life of someone else that is not yourself. You have transformed the life of the human being you love the most. 
To tell you the truth, it is almost impossible to put into words what to be a teen mom is like. Anyway, it is certain that the only way to prove it is to be one. Let me give you a piece of advice first. When you got to the decision of becoming a mother try to be completely sure, to have the necessary resources and the sufficient capacity. Then, go on and experience it. You will know at the end that being a mother is the best role women are able to fulfill throughout her life. 

Roberto Gómez Bolaños

Only few people can make you laugh in such a way that you end up in never forgetting them. This is the case of Roberto Gómez Bolaños, the famous Mexican actor with his endearing characters such as "El Chavo De Ocho" and "El Chapulín Colorado". Not only did he mark a generation of children, but he also kept his characters alive through the time until today, when he is admired by people of all ages. I remember waking up early just to watch his show, laughing endlessly as well as receiving the teachings his shows offered. His death has left an empty space in the hearts of those who grew up contemplating his art. "Under no circumstances should people forget to be honest, respectful and sincere", was the lesson we learnt from each episode. These are universal values that can be instilled to our children generations. We can see in today's society that many of our children lack these values either because we as society do not consider them important any longer, or because we have forgotten to keep on instilling these values on them. The naïve language used in the show combined with the performance of extraordinary actors and actresses made the show an unforgettable one. Millions of people gathered on the streets to say goodbye to this incomparable artist, who will be in our hearts forever after, as long as we watch him in "La Vecindad".