The Dark Side of Engaging With Social Networking Sites (SNS)

Although engagement with the deep or dark web may seem to some to be intimating or possibly threat- ening, the surface web similarly presents users with challenges which may also be detrimental to one’s peace of mind or health. This paper reviews the dark side of engaging with the surface web through the use of Social Networking Sites (SNS), the issues discussed in this paper will also be relevant to users’ engagement with the deep and dark web. While SNS have the potential to impact positively on ado- lescent’s health and well-being, the use of SNS has the potential for exposure to possible risks (Guinta & John, 2018). SNS include: Facebook (2018), QZone (2018), YouTube (2018), Twitter (2018), Red- dit (2018), Pinterest (2018), Tumblr (2018), Flickr (2018), Whatsapp (2018), Snapchat (2018), Viber (2018), Google+ (2018), Instagram (2018), LinkedIn (2018), Skype (2018), Tinder (2018), Grindr (2018), amongst many others used around the world. Computer algorithms are used to draw people in to frequent use of SNS. Once someone is online and engaging with SNS, more computer algorithms are used to keep the persons attention and hence increase the amount of time spent online. Recommender systems are used to enhance collaborative filtering algorithms which encourage users engagement with Social Networking Sites (Eirinaki, Gao, Varlamis, & Tserpes, 2018; Liu & Lee, 2010). The dark side of engaging with SNS includes: addiction or addictive behavior, child pornography, cyberbullying, fake news, Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO), social comparisons, stalking, amongst many others, which can all lead to neglect of other duties, sleep deprivation, loneliness, isolation, depression, and so forth. The aim of this chapter is to review the negative effects of engaging with SNS and consider what solutions can be proposed to alleviate the damage caused by engagement with SNS