These sites are useful in the sense that they keep you updated on the latest news and generally keep you in the know about your friends’ current interests and activities.Yet, everything has a flip side to it and some people use these friendly networks to spread malicious gossip. How do young people handle these issues when they turn ugly? 

Samanvita Shetty
Student

Social networking sites are a blessing. They help one keep in touch and entertain one in a variety of ways. But when it comes to malicious gossip and trouble making, most young people are alert to stay away from such activities. Luckily we always have the 'block friend' or 'delete activity' button provided by the likes of Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, so things are pretty much manageable”

Aleka Raju
Student

When networking sites are misused by troublemakers and gossip mongers, there are ways to handle the situation depending on what is said about you and by whom. I would choose to ignore  gossip, because I can't really control what other people say about me and those who say it are obviously not my friends. The very fact that I haven't reacted is also a dampener for them because they have failed to elicit a response.

Prerana Sitaram
Student

Today social networking sites are an integral part of any teenager’s life. You cannot survive without them and they are a great way to keep in touch with friends,especially those abroad.

Having said that they are also hot spots for gossip and can be very intrusive and controversial. The important thing is to be careful about what you post on your site and be alert when it comes to reporting abuse, obscenity or misuse”

Danielle D’Silva
Student

Troublemakers and people who misuse the internet for nefarious purposes are aplenty. The best way to deal with this is to keep your dignity, warn your friends about the gossip mongers and totally ignore the person. These sites also give us the option to 'report abuse'. It may be a bit of a lengthy or tiresome process but it's better to do it as soon as possible and fix the problem rather than deal with unwanted consequences later.”

Daniel Peris
Student

After I moved to Denmark, I still managed to stay connected with to my Indian friends and cousins with the help of social networking sites. While there is some amount of trouble with those who like to gossip and create trouble I haven't found any major issues that I have had to deal with.