Differnt+Social+Networking+Uses

[|Blogs] =[|The Mindfulness Approach]= Therapeutic Techniques that Work by Peter Strong, Ph.D. =Online Therapy, Online Psychotherapy & Online Counseling via Skype= Online Therapy through Skype is Effective for Anxiety and Depression. Published on July 30, 2010 []

All say that they find online sessions using Skype or other videocam formats to be less intimidating than face-to-face sessions and that they feel generally more relaxed and in charge of the process. This is good, because the purpose of any form of therapy, teaching or [|coaching] is to give you the tools you need to better manage emotional suffering so that you can live a happier life. Although client and therapist may be thousands of miles apart, it feels like you are in the same room. This format is becoming very popular for people in remote areas or people who are unable to leave home for one reason or another. It is a lifeline for those with [|agoraphobia], who are trying to learn how to cope with venturing out. In Australia, for example, internet therapy is very common, because so many people live in isolated communities where there are few, if any, counselors. Interestingly, many of my clients live in New York and LA. In their case, there are plenty of therapists available, but the [|competition] is so high that they cannot afford their rates. Skype Online Therapy sessions can be conducted from anywhere in the world. All you need is access to the internet. This is a wonderful feature, because it allows you to talk with quality professionals and teachers that may not be available in your region or country. For example, someone from Germany or Australia can have a session with a quality therapist from California or Boulder, Colorado - the “hot bed” of progressive schools of psychotherapy, alternative therapists and [|spiritual] teachers. The world has become much more connected through this wonderful technology and the possibilities are limitless for promoting wellbeing and [|happiness].

Skype Play date: [] =Four Reasons Your Child Should Try Skype Play Dates=

Keeping in Touch With Family
Many of us adults have discovered the world of Facebook. On Facebook, the relationships we have with friends and family that we don’t see very often have turned into relationships where we talk almost every day. Skype can offer the same thing, only better because it’s live video. Our kids can see their cousins or other family members that they don’t normally get to see. A weekly Skype play date with cousins across the country can help foster a bond that they would not otherwise get to have.

Broadening Their Horizons
Many moms who spend time online have made friends with other moms in other states and even in other countries. The idea of using Skype to introduce the children of our online friends to our children is a good one, especially when it means introducing friendships with kids in other countries. What better way to open your child’s life up to other cultures and lifestyles then by weekly Skype play dates?

Friends Who Move Away
Skype play dates also help ease the pain kids feel after their best pals move away. Keeping them in regular contact and enabling them to still be able to “play” together is a great gift that technology didn’t offer when we were kids and our best pals moved away.

=Skype Provides Security through Privacy Setting and Personal Profile Options= By [|Loren Abdulezer], [|Susan Abdulezer], and [|Howard Dammond]  Skype gives you two mechanisms for protecting your privacy: your privacy setting, which allows you to decide who can directly call or converse with you and your Skype [|profile]. Your profile contains information that you allow anyone on Skype to see. Your Skype profile can be jam-packed with info, or it may contain barely anything — your choice.  Skype's default setting allows anyone to initiate a call or [|IM] with you. You need to be aware that if you simply click OK, you may be authorizing him to know both your full Skype identity particulars (except your e-mail address) and your online status in real time.  At any time you can right-click any name in your [|contact] list and choose to block this person from contacting you or to remove him or her from your contact list.  To control your privacy options in general, click Tools→Options→ Privacy. On the Privacy Settings screen, you can allow calls from anyone or only from people in your contact list. You can do the same with IM messages. You can also block your online status from being shown on the Web. And you can control how your video is handled.  Even if you set your privacy settings so that only people on your contact list can contact you or see when you are online, you can still receive “Hello from” requests from new visitors.  You get to decide how much personal information you want to share with the world via your Skype profile.

 Read more: []

[] -Skpe privacy

= Facebook, Texting, and Teens: Is It A Good Thing? Pros and Cons, and Suggested Parental Controls = By [|Christopher T. McCarthy] Valkenberg & Peter (2010) report that eight-years ago only 11% of a teen's friends were online. Now, only about 11% are NOT online. Teens online now communicate almost exclusively with their friends. In the past, they mainly communicated with strangers in chat rooms. In today's culture, if your teen does not have access to texting or Facebook, they could be completely left out of their community network. In my practice, I have seen teen's mentally health improve by utilizing these means of communication. They have more friends, closer friends, and feel better about themselves. It contradicts what we first thought would happen years ago, that kids would become even more socially isolated, but it's true. They still need face-to-face interaction, but the use of these technologies can make that connection less difficult to initiate and maintain.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5377736Get a phone that allows you to text. Get a Facebook account and become your child's friend. Knowledge always breaks down fear. Interact with these technologies to gain a better understanding of your child's world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5377736

[|Why Social Networks Are Good for the Kids] Sarah Lacy- //Senior Editor, TC// **-TechCrunch** is a leading technology media property, dedicated to obsessively profiling startups, reviewing new Internet products, and breaking tech news. Founded in 2005, **TechCrunch** and its network of websites now reach over 10 million unique visitors and draw more than 33 million page views per month.

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We no longer “go to the Internet” to interact with some shadowy user name where we pretend to be someone we’re not. Ok, maybe people on Second Life do. But sites like Facebook and Twitter are more about extending your real identity and relationships online. That’s what makes them so addictive: The little endorphin rushes from reconnecting with an old friend, the ability to passively stay in touch with people you care about but don’t have the time to call everyday. Facebook makes me a more considerate friend because I now remember people’s birthdays. Over Geni, I stay in touch with my niece who I used to see once a year, but is now helping me map out our family tree. Via Twitter, my parents and in-laws know everything happening in my life so that when I call home, we have substantive conversations, not the awkward, “So…..whatcha been up to?” variety. In dozens of cases, these sites have made my real human relationships longer lasting and more substantive. They have actually given me a longer narrative, because it has rekindled friendships with dozens of people with whom I’d lost touch.

Are social networking sites good for our society?

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60 million Americans received help with major life issues (975 KB) [|[21]] (changing jobs, finding a new place to live, buying a car, and caring for someone with an illness) from people in their social networks in 2006. These people said social networking sites helped them connect with friends and experts who assisted in their decisions

59% of students with access to the Internet (950 KB) [|[22]] report that they use social networking sites to discuss educational topics including career and college planning, and 50% use the sites to talk about school assignments. Some parents and teachers say that using these sites helps students improve their reading, writing, and conflict resolution skills, learn to express themselves more clearly, and meet new and different kinds of students from around the world. [|[2]]

Social media helps low-income kids become more familiar with computers and related technology. One study showed that nearly three quarters of children from poor households have profiles on MySpace or Facebook. By using these websites, they have learned how to edit and upload photos and videos, and have become experienced in using html code to personalize their profile pages. [|[3]]

Studies have shown that being part of a social network has a positive impact, including increased quality of life and a reduction in the risk of health problems. They help improve stroke recovery, memory retention, and overall well-being. [|[4]]

Internet users have larger social networks than non-users, and using social networking sites to maintain those relationships facilitates more face-to-face interaction. Internet users are augmenting their offline social networks, not replacing them. [|[5]]

To make social networking sites safer for children, the sites have minimum age requirements and default settings based on the user's age to protect children. MySpace, for example, requires users to be at least 14 years old, and the profiles of all users under the age of 16 are automatically set to "private" so they cannot be found during a general search.

Social media sites are expanding from general interest to more specific uses that benefit society. For example, sites have been created for medical purposes such as dealing with life altering diseases, alcoholism, drug addiction, weight loss, and autism. Social networking sites with a specific focus help introduce people to others who are dealing with similar issues and provide information, contacts, peer support, and encouragement

=Educational Benefits Of Social Networking Sites Uncovered= ScienceDaily (June 21, 2008)

University of Minnesota (2008, June 21). Educational Benefits Of Social Networking Sites Uncovered. //ScienceDaily//. Retrieved April 4,

In a first-of-its-kind study, researchers at the University of Minnesota have discovered the educational benefits of social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook. The same study found that low-income students are in many ways just as technologically proficient as their counterparts, going against what results from previous studies have suggested. The study found that, of the students observed, 94 percent used the Internet, 82 percent go online at home and 77 percent had a profile on a social networking site. When asked what they learn from using social networking sites, the students listed technology skills as the top lesson, followed by creativity, being open to new or diverse views and communication skills. "Students are developing a positive attitude towards using technology systems, editing and customizing content and thinking about online design and layout. They're also sharing creative original work like poetry and film and practicing safe and responsible use of information and technology. The Web sites offer tremendous educational potential." The students participating in the U of M study were from families whose incomes were at or below the county median income (at or below $25,000) and were taking part in an after school program, Admission Possible, aimed at improving college access for low-income youth.

=Positive Impacts of Social Networking= [|marcanderson] Interview via webcam is on the rise. Companies have drifted from phone interviews to interviews via webcam. It is believed that this mode of interview both saves time and money. Companies prefer the use of video-chat software because it gives a better sense of what a prospective employee is saying. For instance, facial expressions, and body language, go a long way in evaluating a candidate for a job. This development is important to both prospective employees and employers, because employers do not have to spend much on travel expenses for prospective employees, and employees do not have to travel all the way to another city or state for an interview.

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) stated the following in their July 2007 study titled "Creating & Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social - and Educational - Networking," posted on nsba.org: //"////Almost 60 percent of students who use social networking talk about education topics online and, surprisingly, more than 50 percent talk specifically about schoolwork...//

//With words, music, photos and videos, students are expressing themselves by creating, manipulating and sharing content online...// //Only a minority of students has had any kind of negative experience with social networking in the last three months; even fewer parents report that their children have had a negative experience over a longer, six-month period."//

Ben Parr, Co-Editor of Mashable, stated the following in his Jan. 20, 2010 article titled "Social Media's True Impact on Haiti, China, and the World," posted on Mashable.com: //"With the Iranian government clamping down on information and enforcing censorship// [during protests of the Iranian presidential election in June 2009]//, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube became the primary mediums for bringing information out of the conflicted nation and spreading notes between dissidents... Twitter's role was so important in fact that the US government got involved in scheduling Twitter's downtime...// //After a magnitude 7.0 earthquake (and multiple aftershocks) devastated the nation of Haiti// [on Jan. 12, 2010], //social media became the medium in which everybody spread the word. Dramatic Haiti earthquake Twitter pictures swept across the web, while tech giants mobilized. The most impressive part of social media's impact on Haiti has to be the charity text message campaign that has already raised more than $10 million for Haiti victim relief. Social media spread the word, technology made it possible...// //Real-time communication platforms like Twitter and Facebook have spread the word about what's happening within these nations, long before the mainstream media prints the story. These tools have also created a level awareness we've never seen before."//

=[|Statistics Show Social Media Is Bigger Than You Think]= By [|Erik Qualman] | August 11, 2009

1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media 2009 US Department of Education study revealed that on average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction 1 in 6 higher education students are enrolled in online curriculum % of companies using LinkedIn as a primary tool to find employees….80% 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations More than 1.5 million pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook…daily.