Summary/Response to Children: Social Networking Sites, A Debate in the House of Lords

My English teacher assigned the class to read the article, "Children: Social Networking Sites, A Debate In the House of Lords", by Susan Greenfield, and to write a summary as well as a response about the article. The article goes into two main questions about social networking sites. The first is what is the appeal of social networking sites and the second is what is in jeopardy because of it. As Greenfield explains in the article, she believes there is four possibilities. The first being the attention span, the second being the expectancy of having the here-and-now , the third is lack of empathy, and the last issue is the identity of people. I have to agree with much of what Greenfield says because I myself have noticed all these things first hand. Being a teenager growing up during the technological era  has effected my life. I have yet to figure out if it is for the better or not. My attention span when it comes to others and talking to them is short because as soon as I become disinterested I automatically turn to my phone and social networks to connect with others even when I have a friend right in front of me. I like being connected to the here and now with everyone and that is the attraction to social media sites. It's also harder to be empathetic over the internet as well because we are behind a computer screen or a phone so we don't feel the same way we would as if it were in person.  Lastly, identity is a big thing on the internet. You can reinvent yourself or pretend to be someone else or even emphasize yourself to make you look better. Many people on the internet are inauthentic and it makes it harder to get to know others when they aren't even who they say they are. They maybe one way online and another way in person. That's where someone's identity can get confused.