Lisa Mercer, Who Uses Social Networking Sites, socialnetworking.lovetoknow.com, July 29, 2009

Liz Gannes, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo: Were Not a Media Company. Were in the Media Business. Jan. 30, 2012

Sean Ludwig, Pinterest Now the Third Most Popular Social Network After Facebook & Twitter, Apr. 5, 2012

Meris Stansbury, Ten Ways Schools Are Using Social Media Effectively, Oct. 21, 2011

Jimmy Daly, How Is Facebook Affecting College Students Grades [Infographic], July 2, 2012

Martin OMalley, Chapter 233: Labor and Employment User Name and Password Privacy Protection and Exclusions, May 2, 2012

Kyle Christie, Going Viral: Using Social Media to Publicise Academic Research Apr. 11, 2011

ValleyCentral.com, Fourth Social Media Murder Reported in Nuevo Laredo, Nov. 10, 2011

Nancy Messieh, How Not to Run an Instagram Account: Vogue Spain Caught Stealing from Well-Known Street Photographer, Apr. 22, 2012

NBC News, Thousands Descend on Tiny Dutch Town after Facebook Invitation Goes Viral, Sep. 22, 2012

Internet Safety Technical Task Force, Enhancing Child Safety & Online Technologies, Dec. 31, 2008

Bigger Brains, Get Noticed. Disseminate Your Research Better, (accessed Dec. 5, 2012)

Sheryl Nance-Nash, What Insurers Could Do with Your Social Media Score, Dec. 12, 2011

Declan McCullagh, Feds Snoop on Social-network Accounts Without Warrants, Sep. 27, 2012

Mary Wilks, Online Social Networkings Effect on Adolescent Social Development, (accessed Dec. 5, 2012)

Zephoria, Doing the Math on MySpace and Registered Sex Offenders, Feb. 6, 2009

LexisNexis Risk Solutions, Role of Social Media in Law Enforcement Significant and Growing, July 18, 2012

Bianca Bosker, Fortune 500 List Boasts More Female CEOs Than Ever Before, May 7, 2012

Kelly Jackson Higgins, Report: Social Networking Phishing Attacks Up More Than 240%, June 29, 2009

Global Post, Vancouver Riots: The Shame and the Blame Spread Online, June 17, 2012

Abbie Alford, Social Media Fueling Teacher & Student Sexual Relationships, May 24, 2012

HR Focus, Certain Tools Are Helping HR Connect Swiftly with the Right Job Candidates, Sep. 1, 2012

US Army, Social Media Roundup: Dangers of Location-Based Social Networking and Geotagging, Feb. 22, 2012

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Move Over Youngsters, Grandmas on Facebook, Oct. 27, 2011

Jobvite, The Essential Guide to Developing a Social Recruiting Strategy, Mar. 3, 2012

Danah M. Boyd and Nicole B. Ellison, Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship, , Oct. 2007

, Aug. 20, 2007

Nielsen Wire, Social Media Report 2012: Social Media Comes of Age, Dec. 3, 2012

Daniel Hernandez, Mexico: Decapitated Woman Mourned by Social Media Website, Sep. 25, 2011

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, PEW Internet Project Data Memo, people-press.org, Jan. 14, 2009

Raquel Recuero, Facebook, Public Education and Equity: A 13-year-old Fights for a Better School, Oct. 8, 2012

David Derbyshire, Social Websites Harm Childrens Brains: Chilling Warning to Parents from Top Neuroscientist, Daily Mail, Feb. 24, 2009

Joann Pan, Tweets at the Tables? More of Us Mix Social Media and Food, Feb. 29, 2012

Aylin Zar, Facebook for Centenarians: Senior Citizens Learn Social Media, Aug. 31, 2011

Raquel Recuero, Social Media Discourse: Violence, Olympiads and Our Everyday Life, Aug. 23, 2012

Noah Shachtman, Marines Ban Twitter, Facebook, Other Sites, , cnn.com, Aug. 4, 2009

Matthew Johnson, Facing Online Hate: Preparing Youth to Deal with Hate on the Internet, (accessed Dec. 6, 2012)

Stuart Schaar, Revolutionary Challenges in Tunisia and Egypt: Generations in Conflict, New Politics, Summer 2011

Charlotte Tucker, Social Media, Texting Play New Role in Response to Disasters: Preparedness, Communication Targeted, May June 2011

Semiocast, Brazil Becomes 2nd Country on Twitter, Japan 3rd Netherlands Most Active Country, Jan. 1, 2012

Mark Blankenship, How Social Media Can and Should Impact Higher Education, Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, Mar. 2011

Greg Rollett, How Musicians Are Using Social Media to Connect with Fans, Mar. 12, 2010

Rob Waugh, Beware the New Computer Virus Spreading Via Chat Messaging Window on Facebook, May 21, 2012

USC Annenberg School Center for the Digital Future, Special Report: America at the Digital Turning Point, Jan, 2012

Garry Blight, Sheila Pulham, and Paul Torpey, Arab Spring: An Interactive Timeline of Middle East Protests, JFootnotes Sources Social Networkingan. 5, 2012

Leslie Lanir, Digital Information Overwhelms and Distracts Students, Nov. 4, 2012

Ben Sisario, Digital Notes: 50,000 Are Owed Royalties, Agency Says, Aug. 15, 2012

website, June 26, 2008

The background and pro and con arguments were written by ProCon.org staff based upon input from the following footnotes (directly referenced) and sources (used for general research and not directly referenced):

Keith Hampton, Lauren Sessions Goulet, Lee Social NetworkingRainie, and Kristen Purcell, Social Networking Sites and Our Lives, June 16, 2011

National Endowment for the Arts, NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman Announces New Report on How Americans Use Electronic Media to Participate in the Arts, June 25, 2010

Audrey Hudson, Exclusive: W.H. Collects Web Users Data Without Notice, Sep. 16, 2009

Janet Kornblum and Mary Beth Marklein, What You Say Online Could Haunt You, Mar. 8, 2006

Jeremiah Owyang, Snapshot of Presidential Candidate Social Networking Stats: Nov 3, 2008, Nov. 3, 2008

Lindsey Stiner, Is Social Media to Blame for Inappropriate Student-Teacher Relationships?, Oct. 16, 2012

Javelin Strategy & Research, 2012 Identity Fraud Industry Report: Social Media and Mobile Forming the New Fraud Frontier, 2012

Nielsen Company, Global Faces and Networked Places, nielsen.com, Mar. 2009

National Research Corporation, 1 in 5 Americans Use Social Media for Health Care Information, Feb. 28, 2011

Sabrina Kidwali and Catherine Imperatore, Social Media as an Advocacy Tool, Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, Sep. 2011

Howard Blume, Students Online Photos of California Tests Delay Release of Scores, July 18, 2012

Facebook, Statistics, (accessed Sep. 15, 2009)

, Feb. 4, 2009

Ryan Owens and Chris Murphey, Growing Number of Project X Party Copycats Lead to Arrests Nationwide Mar. 17, 2012

Emily Johns, Dangers Faced by Journalists Extend to Social Media Users, Fall 2011

, Sep. 16, 2009

Metro, Instagram Attracts More Mobile Visitors Than Twitter for First Time, Sep. 28, 2012

Victoria J. Rideout, Ulla G. Foehr, and Donald F. Roberts, Generation M2L Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-Year-Olds, Jan. 2010

Annalisa Rodriguez, Social Media Doesnt Mean Social Isolation, Oct. 16, 2012

Nucleus Research, Facebook: Measuring the Cost to Business of Social Networking, nucleusresearch.com, July 2009

Quentin Hardy, McKinsey Says Social Media Could Add $1.3 Million to the Economy, July 25, 2012

Laura Said-Moorhouse and Stina Backer, Why Women in Business Are Flocking to Twitter Chat, Sep. 27, 2012

Aaron Smith, Laurie Segall, and Stacy Cowley, Facebook Reaches One Billion Users,new york asian escort Oct. 4, 2012

, WhiteHouse 2.0 Embraces Social Networking, May 1, 2009

David Gutierrez, Facebook Is Making You Miserable, Scientists Find, Nov. 29, 2012

Sarah Medina, Daniel Cui, High School Goalie, Gets Support of Peers After Mean Prank (Video), Oct. 3, 2012

Jerry Brown, Today I Signed Two Bills to Prohibit Universities and Employers from Demanding Your Social Media Passwords, Sep. 27, 2012

Paul A. Kirschner and Aryn C. Karpinski, Facebook and Academic Performance, Computers in Human Behavior, Nov. 2010

Beth Snyder Bulik, Apparently That Text Cant Wait -- Not Even During Sex: Report Reveals Surprising News About Social Media and Its Grip on Our Lives, May 5, 2010

Matt Raymond, How Tweet It Is!: Library Acquires Entire Twitter Archive, Apr. 14, 2010

Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor, and Kimberly J. Mitchell, How Often Are Teens Arrested for Sexting? Data from a National Sample of Police Cases, Pediatrics, Jan. 2012

Mike McKee, MySpace Musings Arent Private, Appeals Court Rules, Law.com, Apr. 6, 2009

D. D. Luxton, J. D. June, and J. M. Fairall, Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective, American Journal of Public Health, May 2012

Levi R. Baker and Debra L. Oswald, Shyness and Online Social Networking Services, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Nov. 2010

Megan Garber, Health Blogger Could be Jailed for Giving Health Advice While Unlicensed, Apr. 24, 2012

Xiaolin Zhou, Barry Wellman, and Justine Yu, Egypt: The First Internet Revolt?, Peace Magazine, July-Sep. 2011

David Deal, Think Social Influence Marketing and Innovation During the Recession, Feb. 10, 2009

Anick Jesdanun, The Best Crowdfunding Site for Hurricane Sandy Relief, Nov. 12, 2012

K. Wolfling, M. E. Beutel, and K. W. Muller, Construction of a Standardized Clinical Interview to Assess Internet Addiction: First Findings Regarding the Usefulness of AICA-C, Social Networking Journal of Addiction Research & Therapy, 2012

Intuit Websites, How Small Businesses Are Using Social Media, s1.intuitstatic.com (accessed Dec. 5, 2012)

Chris Cuomo, Rep. Anthony Weiner: The Picture Was of Me and I Sent It, June 6, 2011

Sam Laird, Twitter Troll Who Posted Fake Sandy News Apologizes to Internet, Oct. 30, 2012

CBS Local, USC Study Examines Whether Social Networking Exacerbates Risky Behavior Among Teens Apr. 2, 2012

National School Boards Association, Creating and Connecting: Research and Guidelines on Online Social - and Educational - Networking, July 2007

Anxiety UK, Anxiety UK Study Finds Technology Can Increase Anxiety, July 9, 2012

PEW Internet and American Life Project, The Strength of Internet Ties, pewinternet.org, Jan. 25, 2006

National Conference of State Legislatures, Employer Access to Social Media Usernames and Passwords, (accessed Dec. 5, 2012)

Michael Falcone, In Iraq: To Twitter or Not to Twitter?, Feb. 9, 2009

Alexandra Topping, Social Networking Sites Fuelling Stalking, Report Warns, Feb. 1, 2012

David Schepp, Employees Admit Social Media Is a Waste of Their Time [Infographic], June 13, 2012

Todd Wasserman, The Architect of OccupyWallStreet Praises the Power of Magical Hashtags, Oct. 27, 2011

State of Connecticut Attorney Generals Office, CT, NC Attorneys General Say MySpace Response to Subpoena Reveals 90,000 Registered Sex Offenders with Profiles, Feb. 3, 2009

One.org, Helping African Women Business Leaders Connect with Social Media, (accessed Dec. 5, 2012)

CNN, Facebook Nearly as Large as U.S. Population, Sep. 16, 2009

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Robin Wauters, comScore: Russians Spend More Time on Social Networks Than the Rest of World, uk.techcruch.com, July 2, 2009

Trevor Hughes and Carolyn Pesce, Motive Sought in Deadly Shooting Rampage at Colorado Theater, July 21, 2012

Mia Moody, New Media-Same Stereotypes: An Analysis of Social Media Depictions of President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, The Journal of New Media & Culture, Summer 2012

Kaplan Test Prep, Kaplan Test Prep Survey Finds That College Admissions Officers Discovery of Online Material Damaging to Applicants Nearly Triples in a Year, Oct. 4, 2012

World Health Organization, Mixed Uptake of Social Media Among Public Health Specialists, Nov. 2011

Huffington Post, Social Media by Gender: Women Dominate Pinterest, Twitter, Men Dominate Reddit, YouTube (Infographic), June 21, 2012

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Tim Childers, From Social Networking to Academic Networking A Paradigm Shift, , May-June 2011

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Desiree Adib, Pop Star Justin Bieber Is on the Brink of Superstardom Nov. 14, 2009

, Feb. 2009

Lee Rainie, Amanda Lenhart, and Aaron Smith, The Tone of Life on Social Networking Sites, Feb. 9, 2012

Tabitha Whissemore, Students Connect Through Social Media Project Nov. 28, 2011

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Macon Phillips, Change Has Come to WhiteHouse.gov, White House blog, Jan. 20, 2009

2009

Tineka Smith, Social Media Revenue Predicted to Reach $16.9bn in 2012, July 25, 2012

Chris Crum, Facebook Now Has 1.01 Billion Active Users, Brought in $1.26 Billion in Q3 Revenue, Oct. 24, 2012

Richard Dalke, Social Media Case Study: The Stanley Cup Hockey Riots, June 27, 2011

Chenda Ngak, Pinterest CEO Says Key to Success Was Marketing, Not Engineering, Oct. 22, 2012

Vivek Kundra and Katie Stanton, New Technologies and Participation, June 12, 2009

Dan Evon, NYPD Adding Twitter Tracking Unit to Police Force, (accessed Dec. 5, 2012)

Ronald J. Levine and Susan L. Swatski-Lebson, Are Social Networking Sites Discoverable?, Law.com, Nov. 13, 2008

Heidi Beirich and Laurie Wood, Robert Killians Years of Posing as a Neo-Nazi Biker Cost Him Dearly, Fall 2012

Brian Solis, People Use Social Networks to Connect with Friends and Family, Sometimes Brands, Sep. 13, 2011

Common Sense Media, Social Media, Social Life: How Teens View Their Digital Lives, 2012

Gartner, Gartner Says Worldwide Social Media Revenue Forecast to Reach $16.9 Billion in 2012, July 25, 2012

Sal Bommarito, New York City High School Cheating Scandal Sparks Fear That Facebook Can Be Used to Cheat, July 2012

Shea Bennett, Revealed: Twitters 10 Most Retweeted Tweets of All Time, Sep. 27, 2012

Kathryn Anderson, Workplace Aggression and Violence: Nurses and Midwives Say No, Australian Nursing Journal, July 2011

Megan Sponcil and Priscilla Gitimu, Use of Social Media by College Students: Relationship to Communication and Self-concept, Journal of Technology Research, 2012

Jewish Action, The Social Media Revolution: What Does It Mean for Our Children?, Aug. 24, 2012

Benny Evangelista Twitter Moving to Larger SoMa Office Space, , Oct. 13, 2009