Political Correctness, Free Expression, and Social Networking

Guess why they call it Myspace? It's time for adults to grow up.
An article by Gary Stager
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First of all, I want you to know it took me forever to find this article. It was one of the articles on my English exam, and it was one of the impetuses for this blog.

Political correctness is a major issue in today's society. It's gotten to the point that we can't really say anything that would otherwise offend someone. For instance, the Urban Dictionary lists terms that people would've normally said before the Tolerance era, such as "vertically challenged" instead of short, or "big-boned" instead of fat.

Society has twisted and conformed to something like a Reign of Terror, where people can't say something without worrying if they'll offend someone. Life was so much simpler back in the days when kids could climb the neighbors' trees without the neighbors worrying about getting sued if the kid falls out of the tree, or in the days when kids could roam around the neighborhood with the other kids without their parents worrying about sexual predators and kidnappers. But now those days have vanished, along with our sense.

School is a breeding ground for political correctness. According to Gary Stager in his article, "schools endanger the very students they seek to protect when they bubble-wrap kids and the curriculum." Classics have been banned from the curriculum all in the name of keeping students "safe."

So, the issue here is whether or not social networking sites should be banned. Parents are in an uproar about their kids becoming prey to sexual predators and other garbage on sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and other social networking sites. Gary Stager argues that social networking sites puts students in control of people they "friend" and some unwanted guest can be blocked from viewing their profiles at the click of a button. Besides, it's all a matter of sense. Adults must assume that kids are completely vulnerable and innocent to the dark and perverted world around them. But if kids are taught some sense, such as "don't get in the car with a stranger" and the Internet equivalent "don't share information with a stranger online", they will be better prepared to deal with social networking sites. Call it Internet 101.

Besides, social networking has benefits. It allows kids to communicate with their friends halfway across the world (where phone service would be basically useless due to the time differences), channel their angst at their parents (I do it), and share news and events. The communication aspect of social networking sites comes in handy to me, because I have friends that live in Europe. I never could talk with them on the phone due to the nine hour time differences, so social networking sites allow me to send my friends messages asking how they're doing and such. Events such as "join the March of Dimes" and other worthwhile causes can be organized on social networking sites, and it raises awareness to friends about certain causes.

The issue here is the benefits of social networking, and the realization that political correctness has muddled the sense of everyone.

What do you have to say about it? But please, nothing that would otherwise offend anyone.
--Amber