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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Social networking and social media are the latest
3 wave in Internet uses; Internet usage has evolved quickly from
4 simple e-mail, banking, and shopping to a place to meet
5 friends, share interests and activities, and find and interact
6 with others with similar interests; the drive to be part of a
7 group is a strong motivator; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Social network sites are designed to allow
9 interaction between users who share interests, skills, or some
10 other commonality and to build cooperative activities;
11 according to the Wharton School's online business journal, over
12 300 social networking sites existed in 2006; social networks
13 have become a source for community collaboration on a worldwide
14 scale; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Social media sites allow people to share content
16 they have uploaded on sites like Wikipedia (a cooperative
17 encyclopedia), Flickr (photo sharing), and YouTube (video
18 sharing); and
 
19     WHEREAS, Wikipedia has given birth to a similar function
20 used in schools to promote teamwork, YouTube allows an outlet
21 for youngsters' creative talents, and Flickr allows the sharing
22 of photos with friends and relatives, particularly with

 

 

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1 grandparents; and
 
2     WHEREAS, A recent study prepared for the Online Computer
3 Library Center (OCLC) by Harris Interactive, Inc., quotes from
4 Time Magazine's December 13, 2006 article, "Time's Person of
5 the Year: You", by Lev Grossman: "The new Web is a very
6 different thing. It is a tool for bringing together the small
7 contributions of millions of people and making them matter.";
8 and
 
9     WHEREAS, Among the 14 to 21-year age group of Internet
10 users surveyed, 75% have been online for 4 years or more, about
11 a quarter of their lives; to quote from the OCLC study, 20% of
12 all surveyed and 32% of the Americans surveyed "have used a
13 social media site and created or contributed to others' web
14 pages; 17% have blogged or written an online diary/journal";
15 and
 
16     WHEREAS, About 37% of Americans surveyed have used a social
17 networking site, the largest percentage within the countries
18 surveyed; today it is easier for the non-technical user to post
19 on a blog, build a web page, contribute to a social media site,
20 or interact on a social network site; and
 
21     WHEREAS, This same study, "Sharing, Privacy and Trust in
22 our Networked World", pinpointed MySpace as the most used

 

 

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1 social networking site among the countries surveyed, excluding
2 Japan, in which Mixi was the most used; both are used heavily
3 by users under the age of 50 and very little by those over 50;
4 among social media sites, YouTube was the most frequently used
5 site and used in much the same proportions; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Every new technology comes with the need to learn
7 to use it safely; the introduction of the automobile 100 years
8 ago required the world's populations to adopt a new lifestyle;
9 the Internet has created a similar global lifestyle shift and
10 is still evolving; Internet use for e-mail, information
11 searching, and on-line ordering and banking is now commonplace;
12 social networking has gained widespread use since 2005, but
13 privacy and participation on social networking sites differ
14 from that understood in earlier uses of the Internet; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Of importance to the Senate is that the OCLC study
16 found that users of social networking will share interest
17 information, but are less likely to share contact information;
18 while on a commercial site, 73% will share surnames and 50%
19 will share telephone numbers; on a social networking site, only
20 46% will share surnames and 12% will share telephone numbers;
21 on social media sites, the numbers are even lower; even so, it
22 is urgent that all Internet users understand the risks of
23 sharing personal information, and so it was encouraging to find
24 that 85% of those surveyed in the OCLC study understood that

 

 

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1 use of social networking sites was not reasonably private and
2 that youths were less likely than older age groups to feel that
3 their Internet activities were private; and
 
4     WHEREAS, The Illinois Library Association (ILA) is to be
5 commended for partnering with MySpace to produce and distribute
6 cyber safety bookmarks through public libraries nationwide and
7 particularly in this State; this trio of bookmarks lists
8 methods for dealing with cyber bullying, gives tips for parents
9 on social networking safety, and emphasizes safe blogging
10 practices; the bookmarks are available from ILA, and the Senate
11 recommends that every school in this State use these or the
12 information and videos available on other sites to begin a
13 discussion with youngsters; and
 
14     WHEREAS, In the State of Virginia, the Department of
15 Education has produced an excellent handbook to guide schools
16 in Internet safety instruction, which can be found on its
17 website; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Social networking and social media sites are not a
19 fad, but rather a part of every student's learning experience;
20 and
 
21     WHEREAS, Social networking and social media sites are
22 merely a step in the continued evolution of the Internet, and

 

 

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1 our youngsters and their parents need help to cope with this
2 swiftly changing environment; therefore, be it
 
3     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
4 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Senate urges
5 schools and public libraries to use available information to
6 provide Internet safety education to the children and parents
7 of this State; and be it further
 
8     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
9 delivered to the State Board of Education and the Illinois
10 Library Association.