Censoring Student Publications Persuasive Essay Essay Example for Free

Censoring Student Publications Persuasive Essay Essay Imagine that you are a high school student and have just received the newest edition of your school’s newspaper. As you are flipping through the pages, you discover a terrible article written about you. How would you feel? Recently, there has been much debate on whether high schools should be able to regulate the content of student publications, such as newspapers and magazines. Censoring student publications would be beneficial because they may contain inappropriate things. Also, it would be favorable because the material in student publications may be offensive to its readers and the text may bepoorly written. Because of this, high school officials should have the right to control the content of student publications. First of all, student publications should be censored because they may be filled with inappropriate content. Some high school students are not mature enough to determine whether certain subjects and language are usable. Without censoring student publications, students may publish something with an inappropriate subject. Since it is used throughout today’s entertainment, they may also use vulgar language. It is not appropriate for school, so high school officials should be able to censor student publications in case it is used. As a result of inappropriate subjects and vulgar language, the content of student publications may be offensive to its readers. If a student publisher does not like a fellow student, he or she may publish an article about that student. Of course, it will be something terribly offensive. Since student newspapers are given to the entire student body, practically everyone will see it. This will lead to a higher chance of bullying. Bullying is already widespread, so it does not need to be increased by angry, careless teenagers. Lastly, most high school students are not good enough writers to publish a newspaper or magazine. Students’ articles will not always be grammatically correct and presentable. Their research will be insufficient because they do not do enough research about most topics and write mostly off the top of his or her head. The articles will also be bursting with bias. Most students are not able to write an article without including bias because they are not mature writers at his or her age. Because of this, student publications should be censored. In conclusion, high school officials across the nation should have the right to control what goes into his or her school’s newspaper or magazines. Because of immaturity and carelessness, students may publish an article about an inappropriate subject and include crude language. Content of student publications may be offensive and increase the risk of bullying. Also, the newspapers and magazines may be poorly written due to the lack of writing maturity. It is essential to students’ wellbeing that a law be passed that allows high schools to control their student publications for every school in the United States not just Hazelwood School.

Impact of Lyndon B. Johnson

Impact of Lyndon B. Johnson Discuss the historical significance of Lyndon B. Johnson LBJ, LBJ, how many kids have you killed today? Was one of the principal protest chants of the 1960s in the United States. It was directed at President Lyndon B. Johnson. It was about the war in Vietnam that the American government under the Johnson administration had been steadily become more involved in each passing year after he came to office following Kennedys assassination in November 1963. One can only imagine how this must have hurt for a man of Johnsons pride and character. Being accused of killing children is not something that anyone takes lightly. His reputation as a connoisseur of Washington hid visionary leadership qualities. He knew how to get what he wanted and when. He realized that American society had to change as the first post-World War Two generation was clamouring for a greater voice in society. His election in 1964 was one of the biggest majorities ever. It is hard to find a historical figure that does not have more than one facet or side to their political legacy and life, and Lyndon Johnson was no exception, but in his case, it was so much more pronounced. Yes, he was historically significant. Itis impossible to argue that he was not. This significance is firstly in his ‘Great Society legislation and philosophy, and secondly in his prosecution of the war in Vietnam. Each of these will be discussed in turn. Part A) Visionary: Kennedys footsteps and Great Society. Any president who comes to office following the death, accidental or not, of another president finds himself or herself in that shadow of that person. The position of vice-president is not an easy one in American government and politics. It carries no power and limited stature. One constantly feels second to holder of the office of president. Naturally, the vice-president is part of the cabinet and provides advice, but the political ideals and program belong to the current president. Looking at Kennedy and Johnson, one can only see differences, but the political need of Kennedy for Southern votes in 1960 made him choose Johnson. His victory created the myth of Camelot, which still stands to this date. He believed in civil rights for all Americans and wanted a more peaceful relationship with the Soviet Union. He was young and handsome, which generated a huge amount of charisma. His death robbed the United States of a leader of great potential. On November 22, 1963, Lyndon Johnson step ped into his shoes following his assassination. He lacked Kennedys charisma, but soon showed confidence. His reputation as a master of the Senate was proof of competence and knowledge. These skills would be soon into great demand as he was immediately confronted with the need to resolve multiple societal problems, such as race relations in the South and health care; issues that Kennedy had started looking at in his brief tenure as president. Johnson felt he had to bring the solutions to fruition, both for the country and Kennedy, and lastly for himself, which meant putting his imprint on them. The United States of the 1960s was in the throes of racial tensions and economic retardation. Southern states were resisting and ignoring federal attempts to impose civil rights for blacks. The result of which was the low voting levels and harassment of blacks in the American Deep South. There were periodical racial riots requiring at times the intervention of federal National Guard to quell them. Unemployment was rising and many Americans had no kind of medical coverage. The American constitutional order placed checks and balances on every level of power, but as the source of the racial inequalities was being ignored for very many reasons that are beyond the scope of this discussion, although one of them was that many presidents were reluctant to rock the boat fearing electoral and legislative setbacks. Such fears did not scare Johnson, as he had earned and cherished a Senate reputation of bending and cajoling other lawmakers to his way of thinking. He could be many things to many p eople. His birth in the Southern state of Texas gave him the image of a good olboy, which could be utilized to great effect. This appeal and experience would be highly beneficial as he was able to push through many legislative reforms by the end of 1965. Every January, the current American president gives a State of the Union address during which he or she proposes various ideas and programs for that year. At this point, Johnson declared a War on Poverty  and called for the passing of Kennedys tax cut and civil rights bill; the first easily passed its hurdles, while the second quickly got delayed. Part of his war on poverty involved creating jobs through massive government aid and intervention, very much on the scale of Roosevelts Great Deal in the 1930s, which served as his inspiration as he understood that the state could not stand by while the people suffered. This realization was in stark contrast to his view of the United States as the true representative of freedom in the world, which meant bringing violence and suffering to people around the world as everyone had their own There were two other major legislative elements of the Great Society, namely Medicare and Medicaid, and the Higher and Elementary and Secondary Education Acts in 1965;the former two set up health care funding for the elderly and the needy, while the latter two provided federal aid to schools. Some of his opponents argued that these reforms were federal involvement in state affairs and fought court cases to resist or delay them. A country of the stature of the United States could not claim to be torch bearer of democracy and freedom,  when a quarter of citizens were denied their rights and many governmental institutions either colluded in their denial or stood by while it occurred. Kennedy recognized this horror, although his predecessor Eisenhower had started redressing the ill when he ordered the National Guard to intervene during the Little Rock crisis in 1957. The Civil Rights Act was passed in July 1964, while the Voting Rights Act in 1965. The riots and violence soon became things of the past except when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in April 1968resulting in riots across 100 cities. A new Civil Rights Act was passed later that year. On a more personal level, he was the first American president to nominate a black person to the Supreme Court and the Cabinet, who were Thurgood Marshall previously having served as the solicitor-general of the United States in 1967 and Robert Weaver as secretary of housing and urban development in 1966. Both decisions opened some of the last bureaucratic rooms to racial integration despite the racist cringing of many Southern senators and governors. Part B) Ideologue: Cold War and the quicksand of Vietnam. The war in Vietnam would become Johnsons undoing. Like almost any other project or idea that he had, he wanted to fight and win it. His major pieces of legislation had been passed by early 1965 or were on their way. This freedom permitted him to increase the American presence in Vietnam. He ordered the first combat troops into Vietnam reversing a Kennedy policy of pulling out of Vietnam as he believed in the ‘Domino Theory whereby if one country fell to Communism, others would follow, so a stand had to be made and Vietnam fulfilled that role. This geo-political theory developed in the 1950s and soon became a guiding principle of many elements of American foreign policy, but sadly it was very blinkered way of thinking, because the theory soon became the reality as facts were manipulated, or even created, to fit into it. The inability to grow beyond it would hamper much of Johnsons thinking on Vietnam. The initial American involvement in Vietnam dated from 1955 after the French h ad been defeated atDien Bien Phu when the United States under Eisenhower felt it had to buttress non-Communist forces in South East Asia. The world of the 1960s was in the throes of a cooling-off period in the Cold War after having closely brushed with nuclear Armageddon in Cuba in October 1962, and the growing American involvement was perceived as a renewed hot period. Not everyone believed in this war, as they realized that it was a battle between two opposing ideologies, Capitalism and Communism; both of which had their supporters and critics, and the question was why did someone have to choose between them. Many counties did ignore the two superpowers and formed the Non-Aligned Movement. ‘Unsurprisingly, this act angered both superpowers. The nature of this war was that the United States and Soviet Union never actually fought each other, but used proxies to fulfil their ideological agendas. Ironically, the political nature of many of these proxies was that they were corrupt, repressive and dictatorial; for instance, in the case of Vietnam, the Diem government in the South supported by the Johnson administrati on was suppressing opposition to its rule, while Ho Chi Minh in the North was widely praised and respected. In atwist of irony, the repressive policies of the Diem government led the American government to overthrow him, but this only further destabilized the country and accelerated its slide into chaos. The basic Cold War philosophy meant that the legitimate democratic needs and hopes of millions were ignored, and it can be argued that this fact damaged the United States more than it did the Soviet Union as the United States claimed to be leader in world democracy and freedom. Johnson’s belief in the American mission to bring democracy to the world was one of his justifications to get involved in Vietnam. This argument begs belief. In the end, this contradiction could not be resolved, and it became the source of the American military and political loss. When Lyndon Johnson came to office, there were only about 16000 advisers in Vietnam, but he would raise the number of combat soldiers to almost 50000 by the late 1960s. He increased the number of bomber missions in the hope of crushing the spirit of the Vietnamese. Not only was the cost in lives was enormous, but also in infrastructure, as bridges, dams and building were destroyed. Such destruction put a stop to any development projects by the Vietnamese. One of the consequences of such a massive bombing was the scarring of the landscape whereby huge holes were made across the country creating impediments to agricultural development. One of the more tragic episodes of the Vietnam War was the authorization to use a weed killer to defoliate trees and shrubs in the hope of uncovering supply routes used by the Vietnamese. It was code-named Agent Orange and was sprayed from planes flying over jungles. It was a pesticide and was never thought of as being dangerous to the health of humans. Protests quickly grew as claims were raised that it was causing various forms of cancer in both Vietnamese civilians and American soldiers, and recently studies have slowly tended to support such views. The psychological success but military failure of the North Vietnameses Tet offensive in 1968started the American military withdrawal process. In a major reversal, Johnson stopped increasing troops and thought of ways to extricate himself and his country from Vietnam. The failure of Johnson to realize that the war was based on the desire of independence of a people at all costs meant that regardless of how many military victories were achieved, the war never ended. It has been a standing law in American politics to not bring back soldiers in body bags as it is politically damaging. Every death was a nail in Johnson’s political coffin. The chant How, Ho Chi Minh shouted by American protesters must have been devastating to Johnson as they cheered his opponent in a war that he su pported. In other areas of the gloomy world of the Cold War, Johnson was quite forward thinking and deserved credit. The close call of nuclear destruction during the Cuba Missile Crisis meant that a special red phone line was installed so that the leaders of the United States and Soviet Union could talk to each other quickly. To accelerate communication and travel, a new air route was installed between Moscow and New York City. His meeting with Premier Kosygin in June 1967 was another in a recent line of summits between American and Soviet leaders, and their discussions led to proposals to reduce the development of nuclear weapons, which later grew into the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons ratified internationally in March 1970, but unfortunately as this was passed by the American Senate in 1969 after Johnson had left office, much of the credit went to his successor, Richard Nixon. This agreement was one of the first major limitations of nuclear use and was the father of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, otherwise known as SALT. Conclusion According to ancient Egyptian mythology, the soul of every person was weighed measuring his or her good and bad deeds to decide their place in the Afterword. This view has both negative and positive aspects as every action has a value, but one huge good or bad act can outweigh a lot of small bad or good ones. Depending on whom you ask, both the Vietnam War and the Great Society can be either, but prosecuting an unnecessary war is hard to defend, while programs designed to help the needy is so much easier to do so. The war in Vietnam failed to achieve any of its objectives of liberating people and extending American power in the region, while the Great Society opened American society to new levels and made more people feel part of it. In this regard, a very simple description of Lyndon Johnsons place in history is that he was a divisive figure. He was the author of two great things in American society; firstly the Great Society and secondly the Vietnam War, although the present use of the term great is in its sense of social grandeur and socially revolutionary. He is remembered affectionately and hated deeply for each of them, but not always in the way that some of us might think. It is a mark of this divisiveness, which he himself recognized, that he stepped aside from running again as president in March 1968. His successor as president was Richard Nixon. Bibliography Morris, Errol. The Fog of War. DVD. Columbia Tri Star, 2004. Johnson, Lyndon. The Vantage Point: Perspectives of the Presidency, 1963-1969. Holt, Rinehartand Winston, 1971. Caro, Robert A. Master of the Senate: the years of Lyndon Johnson. Cape, 2002. Bernstein, Irving. Gunsor Butter: the presidency of Lyndon Johnson. Oxford University Press, 1995. Dallek, Robert. Flawed Giant: Lyndon Johnson and his times, 1961-1973. Oxford University Press,1998.

An Argument Against the Death Penalty :: Death Penalty Argumentative Persuasive Papers

An eyewitness to the execution of John Evans in Alabama describes this scene from the final moments of a death penalty sentence being carried out: "The first jolt of 1900 volts of electricity passed through Mr. Evans' body. It lasted thirty seconds. Sparks and flame erupted from the electrode tied to his leg. His body slammed against the straps holding him in the electric chair and his fist clenched permanently. A large puff of grayish smoke and sparks poured out from under the hood that covered his face. An overpowering stench of burnt flesh and clothing began pervading the witness room. Two doctors examined Mr. Evans and declared that he was not dead." It took three jolts of electricity and 14 minutes before John Evans was declared dead (Radelet, "Facing the Death Penalty"). Throughout history, various forms of executions such as this one have taken place as a punishment for crime. In 1976, the United States reinstated the death penalty after having revoked it in 1972 on the grounds that it "violated the Constitution's ban on cruel and unusual punishment" (MacKinnon, "Ethics" 289). Since its reinstatement, the morality of such punishment has been extensively debated. I argue that the death penalty cannot be morally justified on the basic grounds that killing a human being as a form of punishment is wrong. A major argument supporting capital punishment is that it serves as a deterrent to crimes - specifically, murder. However, this argument requires that the would be killer would take at least a moment to consider what the consequences of murder within our legal system are. This assumes that the killer is capable of such reasoning, and that the crime would be considered before it occurred. In fact, "those who commit violent crimes often do so in moments of passion, rage and fear - times when irrationality reigns" (Information, "Capital Punishment" 107). Whether or not a murder or crime is premeditated, there are statistics existing that cause us to question how supportive an argument of deterrence can be. In 1989, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee said that if we look at other Western democracies, "Not one of those countries has capital punishment for peacetime crimes, and yet every one of them has a murder rate less than half that of the United States" (Information, "Capital Punishment" 110). The Information Series on capital punishment also says that states that FBI statistics from 1976-1987 show that "In the twelve states where executions take place, the murder rate is.

Robert Burns :: Essays Papers

Robert Burns A Biography of Robert Burns Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and writer of traditional Scottish folk songs. He was born on January 25, 1759 in Alloway, Ayrshire. Burns was the oldest of seven children born to William Burness and his wife Agnes Broun. His father was the descendant of a line of tenant farmers. His wife was also eldest daughter of a tenant farmer. Burns’ parents were both not very well educated, but were deeply religious. When Burns was born, his father worked as a gardener. However, the family grew too large for their cottage at Alloway and their needs to great for his father to support as a gardener. His father then decided to try his hand at farming and moved his family to the farm of Mount Oliphant. At Mount Oliphant, Burns engaged in difficult farm work and suffered from undernourishment, which lead to permanent injury to his health. His father next moved the family to the farm of Lochlea where Burns’ father, William, died in February 1784. Burns was then left as head of the family. He and his brother Gilbert decided to rent Mossgiel Farm that later proved to be another failure. Although his family struggled, Burns managed to obtain an education. At the age of six, Burns and his brother Gilbert were sent to John Murdoch’s School in Alloway. In 1768 Burns and his brother left the school and Burns briefly boarded as a pupil of John Murdoch at Ayrshire Grammar School in 1773. Through Murdoch’s influence, Burns read Shakespeare, Milton, Pope and Dryden. However, a great deal of Burns’ education took place in his own home. He was encouraged in his self-education by his father and his mother acquainted him with Scottish folk songs, legends, and proverbs. Burns also read widely in English literature, the Bible, and learned to read French. Burns’ literary career began with the Vernacular Poems. In 1784 Burns read the works of the Edinburgh poet Robert Ferguson. Under his influence and that of Scottish folk tradition and older Scottish poetry, he became aware of the literary possibilities of the Scottish regional dialects. During the next two years he produced most of his best-known poems, including â€Å"The Cotter’s Saturday Night,† â€Å"Hallowe’en,† â€Å"To a Daisy,† and â€Å"To a Mouse.† In addition, he wrote â€Å"The Jolly Beggars,† a cantata in standard English, which is considered one of his masterpieces. Several of his poems, notably â€Å"Holy Willie’s Prayer,† satirized local ecclesiastical squabbles and attacked Calvinist theology, which brought him into conflict with the church.

Julius Caesar :: essays research papers

William Shakespeare is one of the greatest play writers ever born, And this is shown by how popular his plays are still today even after thousands of years. One of his famous plays still in use today is Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar is one of the greatest plays ever written and has been read or seen by many generations. There are many topics that can be chosen to talk about in Julius Caesar and one of those topics is the presents of the supernatural Caesar or Caesar’s ghost and what affect he has on the living.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For my first main idea I chose the impact of Julius Caesar when he was alive and the impact of his ghost. Caesar had a big impact when he was alive and when he was dead with return of his ghost. This shows that Caesar had allot of impact on other peoples lives and even after death has an impact on people close to him and those who deceived him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second main idea was the affect on Brutus and how he experienced Caesars return a few years after Caesars death. Also how Caesars ghost was not mad at Brutus and Brutus acted like nothing had happen and he had not killed him but now worshipped him. This shows that Brutus had killed Caesar for the good of Rome in his mind and still had the up most respect for him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Third idea was what he had done for Rome and how he gave all his money to the people of Rome and also how he had a perception that if it was his time to die then he would die. This shows that Caesar believes in what is meant to happen should happen and that you can’t change was is meant to happen. But also Caesar could have prevented his death and could have more time to contribute to the history of Rome.

Lego Analysis Essay

Large losses in Vinalines, Vinashin, EVN, Vietnam Cement Corporation VICEM, Song Da Corporation, TKV †¦ somehow make it easier for the Vietnamese economy sinking into stagnation condition than ever before. Global economic slowdown led to foreign investment flows into Vietnam show signs of decline. Attract foreign investment from the beginning of 2012 to 04/20/2012 only 68. 5% compared to the same period last year, which is down 0. 3% compared to the same period last year. Trinh Thanh Hoan, Director of Insurance Management and Supervision Department of Finance, commented that: the financial crisis affecting the insurance industry in Vietnam, but not heavy. Vietnam’s insurance industry is one of the few lucky industries has overcome the crisis. Revenue growth rate of the insurance industry first 6 months of 2012 has reached a relative situation, though not as high as in 2011. Original insurance exploitation activities increased by 11% compared to the same period in 2011, of which 13. 5% non-life sector, life insurance increased by 8. %. In this context, the Prudential – with revenue of VND 2,182 billion, accounting for 39. 69% of the market array of life insurance market in Vietnam is facing great opportunities to promote their competitiveness The study of the financial situation in 2011 by Prudential in conjunction with specifying the challenges they are facing in 2012 through which creating a premise to promote the Vietnamese insurance m arket in general and the Prudential Vietnam in particular to develop at a stable and healthy way is the reason why this topic was chosen. Title: â€Å"How was the financial situation of Prudential Vietnam in 2011, its problems in 2011 and its challenges in 2012† Object of this project is to study the financial situation in 2011 of Prudential Viet Nam in which the writer focused on the analysis of sales along with the challenges that they are facing in 2012, which is the main factor determining the competitive position of the company The range of research topics: In term of spatial: The insurance company in Vietnam, especially Prudential In term of time: Empirical research in the period 2011-2012 Research objectives of the project are presented in three main aspects, namely: Develop practical scientific arguments about the challenges that Prudential are facing in 2012 as an important strategy in business development issues of Prudential Analysis of the financial situation of Prudential Vietnam in the 12-month period of 2011 The layout of the contents of the subject consists of three parts: Chapter 1: Historical development and organizational structure of Prudential Vietnam. Chapter 2: How Prudential Vietnam did their business in 2011. Chapter 3: Financial Situation of Prudential Vietnam in 2011 compared to 2010, its problems in 2011 and its challenges in 2012. In term of finishing this project, because of limitation in knowledge about finance and insurance field and the lack of information that we can find both on The Internet and directly from Prudential Vietnam, our report may be confined. We would like to show our gratitude to Dr. Gitte Top, who has specially enthusiasm in guiding our group during the process of doing and finalizing this project. We wish you be always happy in your life. METHODOLOGY A. The method used in general is the research â€Å"onion† * Definition : In order to answer how a research should be answered a clear methodology was sought which is referred as â€Å"research onion†. It presents a clear framework for the most suitable methods and strategies to address a research. It promotes the knowledge to answer a research question. After deciding a suitable philosophy other elements are selected from the layers which assist in answering a research. Each element in a different layer is discussed below in order to get an idea why elements were selected while conducting a research * The purpose of research onion The classification of research purpose most often used in the research method literature is threefold one of exploratory, descriptive and explanatory. However, in the same way as our research question can be both descriptive and explanatory, so our project may have more than one price. Indeed, as Robson (2002) point out: â€Å"The purpose of your enquiry may change over time† I. The research paradigms The first layer of the onion is research paradigms. It gives an idea that how we think about the research. Several views about research process dominate the literature, which include positivism, realism, interpretivism and others as well. The knowledge is always judged in different ways and these are different ways you can judge the knowledge. We chose realism because it is a mixture of both the philosophies positivism and interpretivism as it allows us to study for the social issues trying to understand the impact of wider social forces. Moreover, we would take advantage of the accuracy in evaluation of the figures provided in the financial report of Prudential in 2011 to see correctly its problems and challenges. These reasons are why the realism is selected II. The research approaches The second layer of research ‘onion’ refers to research approach. There are two approaches involved: 1. Deductive approach Deductive approach works from more general to specific. This is informally called as top-down approach. A deductive approach is consistent with developing a theory and testing it through research. Arguments based on laws, rules and accepted principles are generally used for Deductive Reasoning. 2. Inductive approach Inductive reasoning works the other way like deductive moving from specific to general to broader generalization and theories. And informally it is referred as bottom op approach. And its conclusion is likely based on premises and usually involves a degree of uncertainty. Because of the limitation about the information we can look up, we chose the deductive approach in order to have a clear orientation to carry out the project. B. The project I. Object of this project: To analyze financial situation of Prudential corporation in 2011, then reveal factors affecting the company included the cost and national economy situation and as well as the difficulties which corporation face in the this year II. The range of project * In term of space : Insurance market in Viet Nam and especially Prudential * In term of time: Practical research in the 12-month period of 2011 about the main activities of the Prudential corporation; challenges of Prudential in 2012 III. The research objective Offer the student the opportunity to train the skills falling into the categories of writing a report – to learn the logic and practice of investigating/analyzing actual problems, equivalent to current challenges in modern financial companies – and to being introduced to formulating a research question. IV. The research methodology To estimate specifically and exactly how was financial situation of Prudential Vietnam in 2010 our group thinks it is suitable to use dialectical materialist methodology (human relations results), along with the clever combination of theories in economics and management, based on the analysis of reliable material which our group collected, in which we focuses on information on the homepage of Prudential Vietnam. C. The structure of assignment The layout of the contents of the subject consists of five parts 1. The introductory part 2. Methodology 3. The main part a. Chapter 1: Historical Development and Organizational Structure of Prudential Vietnam b. Chapter 2: How Prudential Vietnam did their business in 2011 c. Chapter 3: Financial Situation of Prudential Vietnam in 2011, its problems in 2011 and challenges in 2012 4. Conclusion 5. Appendix CHAPTER 1: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUTURE OF PRUDENTIAL VIETNAM PART 1: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT Established in London 1848, Prudential is one of the world’s leading retail financial services groups providing life insurance, financial services and asset management products and it has been writing life insurance in the United Kingdom for 163 years. In 1995, Prudential arrived in Vietnam ;amp; established the Prudential Representative Office in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. Later on, in 1997, it established a 2nd Representative office in Ho Chi Minh City After 11 years , in 2006 , it was awarded the â€Å"No. 1 brand in Insurance – Finance – Banking Industryâ€Å". Up to now, it has keep dominating the market share in insurance market. PART 2: ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE Board of Directors Mr. Alexander John Hambly Chairman (Non-Executive Director) Mr. Hambly is the Regional Head of Private Equity of Eastspring Investments (Singapore) Limited (formerly known as Prudential Asset Management (Singapore) Limited) joined Prudential in 2003 and was Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Eastspring Investments Fund Management Limited Liability Company (formerly known as Prudential Vietnam Fund Management Private Limited Company) from January 2006 to September 2007. Alex was also the Chief Executive Officer for Prudential Property Investment Management (Singapore) Pte. Ltd from September 2007 to February 2010 and the Chief Executive Officer of PPEM Pte. Ltd. from March 2009 to October 2010. He has more than 20 years’ direct investment experience gained in both Asia and other major markets. Prior to joining Prudential, he worked for four years for Actis (formerly known as CDC Capital Partners) based in Singapore, four years with HSBC Private Equity based in India, and seven years with Barclays Bank plc based in London, India and Singapore, the last three years of which he was on secondment to a private equity fund (Baronsmead plc) in the United Kingdom. He holds a BA in Modern History from Durham University in the UK. Mr. Hambly is also a member of the VII Audit and Remuneration Committees. He has not been a director of any other listed company in the last three years. Mr. Henry (Van Hung) Lam Managing Director (Chief Executive Officer) Mr. Lam, a resident of Vietnam, was born in Vietnam and came to Australia in 1977 and studied electrical engineering. He resides in Vietnam and is responsible for the group’s operations in Vietnam. He was awarded the â€Å"Red Star† at the end of 2000, the first overseas Vietnamese to receive this, for his contribution to the economy of Vietnam and in 2010 he was awarded the â€Å"Second Class Labour Medal†. He has not been a director of any other listed company in the last three years. Mr. Lam is a director and shareholder of Corbyns International Limited, the Company’s ultimate holding company. Mr. Alan Alexander Young Managing Director (Chief Operating Officer) Mr. Young commenced his business career in the financial sector and was employed for several years in banking and finance. For the past twenty years, he has gained wide experience in the administration of public companies, particularly in the resource sector. Mr. Young is a Board member of all the operating subsidiaries in Vietnam. He was a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Managers, Secretaries and Administrators and past President of the Western Australia-Vietnam Business Council Inc. He has not been a director of any other listed company in the last three years. Mr. Roger (Sing-Leong) Kwok Independent Non-Executive Director Mr. Roger Kwok is the Managing Director of Arcadia Group in Perth which specialises in designing, developing and managing retirement resorts and premium properties. For the last twenty years, Mr. Kwok has managed a number of Australian businesses in the automotive and healthcare sectors. He is a past president of The Western Australian Chinese Chamber of Commerce and brings significant experience in business relations in international markets, particularly China, which sources raw materials to VII’s rolling mills. Mr. Kwok is the Chairman of the VII Audit and Remuneration Committees. He has not been a director of any other listed company in the last three years. Mr. Andrew David Walker  (appointed 3 January 2012) Independent Non-Executive Director Mr. Walker has graduate and postgraduate qualifications in Medicine and Medical Science from Newcastle University and is a Fellow of the International College of Surgeons. He also has a MBA from The University of Melbourne. Before starting his business career, Andrew was as officer in the Australian Army and a Platoon Commander in Australia’s elite parachute regiment. Mr. Walker has a wide range of Board experiences, both Public and Private companies. He was the Past-Chairman of the Melbourne Chapter of the Young Presidents Organisation. He was named the 2006 Ernst & Young’s National â€Å"Entrepreneur of the Year† (Service Category). In the past three years,  Mr. Walker is the Executive Chairman of Vallenar Iron Company and Founder-Chairman of Aspen Medical Pty Ltd. Mr. Walker is a member of the VII Audit and Remuneration Committees. CHAPTER 2: HOW PRUDENTIAL VIETNAM DID THEIR BUSINESS IN 2011 PART 1: HOW DID PRUDENTIAL GET PROFIT? The renovation and modernization of the country and international economic integration requires every industry, every business have to try harder, continuing deeply comprehensive reform in all its activities. With the function of mobilizing small amount of money from countless individuals to create a central insurance fund to invest in various sectors of the economy, insurance companies, particularly life insurance Prudential company has become an institution, a key professional investors on the capital market of many countries. And if the world over a long period, the investment activities of the non-life insurance companies are considered a complementary activities in order to increase profits in addition to profit from insurance operations, since the type of life insurance on the market, investors have become a very important activity, can’t be separated and have to say it determines the survival of life insurance companies. To be more specific, the writer will present the way Prudential get profits. Firstly, by buying insurance contracts, Prudential’s employees try to persuade other people to buy their insurance policies. They will get amount of money when the contracts accomplish and unless the buyer have some problems with their body or life, the company will use the money to invest some particular activities to make more profits. Secondly, they generate profit by mortgage. Lending is an important role for life-insurance company. With the nature as an investment tool, Prudential company must also be subject to some limitations when it carry out loan such as restrictions on the maximum amount allowed for limited borrowing and lending of money. Currently the mortgage loans of life insurance companies primarily secured by real estate . Most of loans under life-insurance company tend to increase quickly. This is also the form of attracting more customers to the insurance company. In Vietnam today lending policy is very popular and used by insurance companies as a form of competition. The next one is that Prudential company invested in securities. This is the investment tool which is used by almost life-insurance company most widely, hence the profits from investment securities giving the insurance company is very huge. Moreover, investing in securities has a high liquidity because insurance companies can quickly sell the securities to the market if demand for payment is necessary. Stocks and bond are two kinds of securities which most life insurance companies prefer to invest. In a word, investing in securities has higher margins than other forms of investment. Life-insurance companies tend to invest large value on that list. Associating with the development of securities market in recent years, the investment of life insurance companies in this market is considerably increased. Currently Most of life-insurance companies move to invest in securities and loans which have guaranteed level less but have a higher expected rate of return. Next, Investing in real estate is important element without mention on the way to generate profit . The investment in real estate plays an essential role because it maintains the stability of the value of investing in real estate which is less affected by inflation. However, investing in real estate has high market risk and low liquidity. Therefore the real estate business of life-insurance Prudential is suffered from certain limitations. In addition to these forms of investment, life insurance companies also invest in other forms of joint ventures, deposits at credit institutions, pledge and mortgage. With life insurance company investment which is usually long term should be greater long-term portfolio than that of non-life insurance companies . In previous time, loans secured by the mortgage is the primary form of investment life insurance companies. These investments often bring a higher rate of return than investments in government bonds, although liquidity is not high. Those are the fourth best ways of Prudential company to gain profit. However, it does not mean that they are the only measures. To generate profit, Prudential also take part in forms of organization and operation of investment. And Prudential with a large scale of enterprise and the nature of insurance can invest in this activity with two forms: The first one is establishing investment company belonging to Prudential company. The establishment of an independent investment organization in the form of the investment company or investment fund owned by the insurance company all the shares or hold the shares in the form of applied fairly common in the insurance company in the world. This pattern is consistent with the large-scale insurance companies and developing companies, it helps insurance Prudential company concentrate on its resources to improve the quality and efficiency of investment activities. These funds may only focus on a geographical area or specific industry groups or a wide range of activities and general investment fields. In recent years insurance companies have large-scale switch to set up the fund to focus its resources and improve the quality and efficiency of investment activities. The next one, Prudential buy shares in the non-dominant of other investment company. PART 2: PRUDENTIAL MARKET SHARE AND THEIR COMPETITORS Market share * 2011 situation 2011 was a challenging year for the global economy and Vietnam was not an exception. The slow growth in the US and EU region also softened Vietnam’s export demand. Moreover, the tightening policy by the SBV to tackle inflation lowered domestic industrial activities. For the full year of 2011, GDP growth was 5. 9% compared to 6. 8% in 2010. This is the second lowest year of GDP growth in the last decade, only higher than 2009 the year after the global financial crisis started. According to the annual report 2011, the revenue of Prudential Vietnam account for nearly 39% of the total revenue of the life insurance market, reduced 1% compared to 2010. However, Prudential Vietnam has reached new business premium of VND615 billion ($30 million), up 21. 2% year-on-year. The total premium income increased to VND2. 8 trillion ($137 million), up 12. % year-on-year. With the market share of 38%, the company reaffirmed its No. 1 position in Vietnam’s life insurance market. In additional, Prudential Vietnam has won the  Golden Dragon Award 2011  with the title â€Å"Best Financial Service† for all three business units in Vietnam: Prudential Vietnam Assurance, Eastspring Investments and Prudential Finance. This is the 10th consecutive time th at Prudential has won the Golden Dragon Award. * Prediction in 2012 2012 outlook is expected to improve due to consistent government policy, the more stable VND and improvement in the balance of payment. We become increasingly optimistic about Vietnam outlook in 2012 due to the consistency of SBV in implementing monetary policy, the more stable VND, and the improvement in the balance of payment. However, in the short term, lower GDP growth is expected in trade off for long term macro stability. During this period, the equity market might remain volatile and highly reactive to releasing news. We think that selective investment in sectors with stable consumption demand (i. e. non-cyclical consumer goods) or have a strong financial capacity will bring benefits for investors. In the long run, we increasingly become optimistic about the equity market as the VN Index valuation is currently at one of its lowest levels historically and compared to other markets in the region. Competitor In Vietnam, the insurance sector is regulated by the Insurance Supervisory Division within the Ministry of Finance. The insurance trade association is the Association of Vietnamese Insurers (AVI). The main life insurance companies are: Bao Viet (also a non-life insurance company); Prudential; Manulife; AIA; Dai-ichi Life; ACE Life; and Prevoir. Key non-life insurance companies include: Bao Viet (also a life insurance company); Bao Minh; Petrovietnam Insurance Company (PVIC); PJICO; PTI; Cong ty BH lienhiep; Bao Long; Vien Dong; and VIA. In the first quarter of 2012, the total sales of life insurance in the market are 3522 billion, up 8. 1% compared to the same period last year. The companies have large market shares of Prudential Vietnam, with 1,308 billion, accounting for 37. 14% market share, Bao Viet is 942 billion VND, accounting for 26. 73%, Manulife is 440 billion, accounting for 12. 5% . Leader in sales of new premium remains the Prudential Vietnam with 239 billion, followed by Bao Viet Life 226 billion and Manulife is 131 billion VND. The strongest opponents of the current Prudential Vietnam Bao Viet Life, with a market share of new operators are close to Prudential. Futhermore, Manulife, although total sales revenue and new operators have a big gap with the Prudential, but development strategy, with a solid foundation and changes quite flexible according to the market trend of this company many companies in the same industry appreciated. AIA is also one of considerable competitors with daring and efficient strategies which may have a spectacular breakthrough in the market share in a few years. Meanwhile, Dai-ichi Life Vietnam after a period of impressive growth, there seems to be a lull down and has not had any extensive development. In the recent economic condition, the issue is not about the number of new contracts or pushing the revenue growth. The vital tatic is maintaining the signed contracts. It dues to the fact that the level of contracts termination in Vietnamese market has always been a â€Å"nightmare† for life insurance ompanies, this ratio is always around 10 – 15% for every years, the rate cancelling contracts in the early years are often higher. Therefore, the development of effective strategies many insurance companies selected for this difficult period. Although the cancelling contracts are high, Datas from the Vietnam Insurance Association showed that the three months of this year, the number of contracts restoration of 27,797 contracts, an increase of 35% over the same period last year. The companies have the contract high recovery rate is Prudential, Bao Viet and Dai-ichi Life Vietnam. Thus, under the current intensive competition, whether Prudential can retain their leader position of the life insurance market or not, it’s still a question. CHAPTER 3: FINANCIAL SITUATION OF PRUDENTIAL VIETNAM IN 2011 COMPARED TO 2010, ITS PROBLEMS IN 2011 AND CHALLENGES IN 2012 PART 1: FINANCIAL SITUATION IN 2011 COMPARED TO 2011 AND ITS PROBLEMS IN 2011 Business activities results Unit: Million VND Content| 2010| 2011| I. Revenue| 7,601,313| 8,871,160| 1. Revenue from insurance activities| 5,365,668| 5,992,532| 2. Revenue for financial activities| 2. 235. 645| 2,871,628| II. Costs| 6,263,946| 7,878,625| 1. Insurance activities and sales cost| 5,298,593| 6,335,556| 2. Financial activities costs| 379,520| 819,496| 3. Manager costs and other costs| 585,833| 723,573| III. Profit without taxes| 1,337,367| 992,535| IV. Taxes| 329,815| 240,839| V. Net Profit| 1,007,552| 751,996| The table shows how Prudential did their business in 2011. According to the table, in 2011, Prudential’s revenue showed an upward trend in both insurance and financial fields. Specifically, its revenue increased by 626,864 million VND and 635983 million VND respectively. However, costs for business activities involved insurance, financial activities, management cost and other cost also grew in this 12-month period as a figure of 1,614,679 million VND. As a result, net profit was decline by a significant number, 255,556 million VND for particular, despite of reduction in taxes. In conclusion, this insurance and finance company still got profit in the previous year, however it was less than it had been in 2010. Important financial ratios: Content| 2010| 2011| I. Asset Structure| 1. Fixed Asset / Total Asset| 0. 3%| 0. 4%| 2. Moveable Asset / Total Asset| 28. 7%| 31. 4%| II. Capital Structure| 1. Debt / Debt and Equity| 87%| 88%| 2. Equity / Total Capital| 13%| 12%| III. Payment Capability| 1. Money and money equivalents and short-term investment / Short-term debt ( times )| 3. 77| 3. 58| 2. Total Asset / Total Debt ( times )| 1. 15| 1. 13| IV. Profit ratios| 1. Profit without taxes / Total Asset| 5%| 3%| 2. Net profit / Gross Revenue| 13%| 8%| 3. Net profit / Net Revenue| 20%| 12%| 4. Net profit / Equity| 30%| 22%| The table illustrated some relevant financial ratios included asset structure, capital structure, payment capability and profit ratios. In general, these numbers provide a negative business image of Prudential in 2011 compared to they did in 2010. For example, their payment capability was limited and profit ratios also reduced to. The figures were 0. 19 time deduction in money and money equivalents and short-term investment / short-term debt and 8% decline in net profit / net revenue. Clearly, business activities of Prudential in was not effective compared to 2010 and this fact was because of several reasons and also led to several issues of Prudential in 2011. Factors had devastating impacts on insurance market in general and Prudential for particular included The 2008 Financial Crisis, inflation rates, the increase of gold price and Resolution of the government Firstly, the 2008 Financial Crisis has been proving that it has global affects and there are no countries being exception. In 2008, White House admitted the conclusion of The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) which is â€Å"The United States has been being in recession since December of 2007† and tried to accelerate the economic recovery process by improve finance, credit and real estate market. According to official figures, GDP of the biggest economy in the world decreased by 0. 2% in the fourth quarter of 2007 but increased by 0. 8% in the first quarter of 2008 and 2. 8% in the following 4 months. Subsequently, it declined again in the third quarter of 2008 by 0. 5%. However NBER informed that recognizing the recession was not just based on GDP but on other economy factors such. For example, employment market and capital slowed down and showed a downward trend in a 12-month period. After that, this disease started spreading all over the over and several countries and regions were victims. Fifteen European Union countries were the first, then Russia, Japan, China, Singapore †¦ Later on, in 2009, Vietnam became a victims of the crisis, which brought the economy down without recovery up to now and every single industry was effected involved insurance field. As a consequence, business activities of Prudential fell down year after year. Secondly, the inflation rates of 18. 13% was rather high than ideal number and it also means that Consumer Price Index (CPI) was 18. 13% higher than the previous year, furthermore, some essential products increased by 50% or even 100%. Hence, it had impact on social quality and decreased the amount of saving money of residents, limited to capability of participating in insurance activities or maintaining the life insurance contract due to people who have low average income, and increased the compensation costs of non-life insurance. Therefore, the growth of about 10000 billion VND costs of insurance activities and sale costs of Prudential was an obvious consequence. Thirdly, the 24. 6% rise of gold prices also created psychological allocation of the insurers. The stock market and real estate was bleak which reduced investment opportunities and profitability of the insurance business and even generated difficulties for making provision for diminution in value of investment in a relatively large number. And finally, in 2011 The Resolution of the Government about the credit crunch, tightening expenditure and government investment has decreased demand for property insurance, construction and installation of new assets purchased. To conclude, because of several reasons involved The 2008 Financial Crisis, inflation rates, the increase of gold price and Resolution of the government led to a bleak business image of Prudential in 2011 compared to 2010. However, they did a great job in the insurance industry in this year and the evidences proved this is Prudential was the market leader of this field with insurance revenue increased by 12% with the biggest market share and being the number one company in this major. PART 2: CHALLENGES OF PRUDENTIAL VIETNAM IN 2012 Problems of Prudential in 2011 mostly referred to the costs of business activities and the degradation of the economy. However, in 2012, its main mission is to fix these problems and to take advantage of new opportunities in the market to improve its business. In 2012, the inherent difficulties in 2011 still continue, the risk of high inflation, the government undertook to restructure the economy, in which the focus of restructuring banking, securities and insurance will affect the insurance market. Property insurance market is predicted slowing down because of tightening credit, expenditure management and government investment spending forced the non-life insurance companies have turned to market development, non-property insurance products. Moreover, many businesses have to limit their production or stop working because of difficulties in accessing to bank credit which led to an increase in the number of unemployed workers and reducing income. Hence, these determinants generated bad effects on the demand of life insurance. Furthermore, the stock market and real estate do not have any signals of recovery which makes insurance companies being more cautious with investment in this area. And last but not least, The Finance Ministry urged the insurance businesses to thrift, cut costs by 5% – 10%, rearrange insurance companies, restructure the insurance market, improve the business insurance effectiveness, risk management, customer care and upgrade competitive capacity. Although 2012 is expected to continue to be a difficult year for the life insurance industry, based on the difficulties of the Vietnamese economy in general, but there are also positive signs bringing new development in insurance market and providing new opportunities for the life insurance industry, especially Prudential: * The impact of a imited credit growth in the banking system is a positive factor to promote extensive cooperation between the banking system and insurance, also a positive signal for the strong improvement of banking and insurance products * The cost of an employer to purchase insurance for employees is calculated on pre-tax costs will set the stage for the life insurance prod ucts take a forward step to businesses. Limitations of the health insurance system with lower benefits will be an opportunity to stimulate the development of life insurance products which have many benefits about high quality health care and health insurance product lines with high value. To sum up, taking good reactions to overcome these difficulties and take advantage of the opportunities above, Prudential will conduct a successful business in 2012. APPENDIX http://www. vii. net. au/Company/BoardofDirectors. spx http://www. investor. prudential. com/phoenix. zhtml? ID=1099317&c=129695&highlight=&p=irol-newsArticle http://thuvienluanvan. com http://timluanvan. com http://www. prudential. com. vn/ Principles of microeconomics (2003 ) – Mankiw Principles of microeconomics 2ed (2001) –Mankiw Economics book 7th John Sloman – Alison Wride GROUP MEMBERS Nguyen Hoang Tuan Anh Le Xuan Chanh Duong Le Hoang Gia Nguyen Kim Khanh Vo Thanh Tung Nguyen Minh Hai

Facebook the Negative Effects Essay

Thirteen-year-old Megan Meier hanged herself after being cyber bullied on MySpace by Josh Evans—not a real boy, it turned out, but a creation of neighbors. According to Oprah.com, Social networking has become a part the daily lives of Americans both young and old. The digital age that America finds itself in has made online social networking a top resource for communication. It is the ultimate test of ego, a new social acceptance, a place of danger, a growing addiction and obsession and over the past six years; social networking sites have become a social and cultural phenomenon. In the words of Noel Sheppard, It creates electronic relationships and makes it easy for a â€Å"friend† to misrepresent themselves under the â€Å"protective umbrella of anonymity†. It places distance between people who could communicate in person but instead choose to communicate online. Although social networking sites are increasing interactions among friends and family, it is decrea sing the quality of human interactions in real life. Social networking has facilitated communication, commerce, and information distribution. However, the downside to the social networking has become the topic of recent studies because of the rise of digital media and the ways the computer has penetrated human society. Popular social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace, have caused many children to become obsessed and addicted, resulting in being incapable of having real conversations with people, to a larger effect, it is harming their health and work ethic in classrooms and the average teen now spends on average nine hours per week on social networking sites. This accumulates to 18 days out of the 365 days of the year. Those 18 days spent sitting on a chair in front of an artificial communicating device, an average person could walk from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back. Due to social networking sites, young teens are encountering alarming and harmful changes in their brains, and constant exposure to buzzing noises and bright lights, can cause shorter attention spans. Moreover, social networking sites are not only are harming the brains of children but it is resulting in low grades and low self-esteem. Furthermore, teachers are noticing that their student’s work is suffering because they constantly spend time on social networking sites rather than focusing on their homework. According to BBC News, 58% of teachers said that their children’s spelling was becoming worse and worse as  they enter the â€Å"digital age.† Spokeswoman Janie Burt asserts that â€Å"Rather than relying on life experiences, educational travel and face to face interaction with others, children are becoming obsessed with social networking sites and this is shaping their attitudes instead.† Online communicating is shaping our society into socialization, depression, and incapability to establish real life relationships. The distinction between genuine friends and acquaintances is becoming blurred. Users are spending time maintaining relationships with people with whom they do not really care. Cyperbullying has become more proliferated through social networking sites than emailing and text messaging. According to Procon.org, statistics show that 17.3% of middle school students have been victims of cyperbullying. Victims, often teens and young children experience lowered grades, self-esteem, and symptoms of depression. Social networking sites reveal personalities that are more â€Å"polished† and â€Å"bolder† thus creating a veiled stranger. Alex Gilbert, a teacher of creative writing, was puzzled that his friend- â€Å"a particularly masculine-type dude†- who is interested in metal bands and motorcycles, posts videos on Facebook of â€Å"uber cuteâ €  kittens (Sheppard 2). Topics discussions like these that are on social networking sites are not subsistent for real life conversations. Social networking also allows passive-aggressive behavior. Virtually anything can be said behind a screen. Furthermore, social networking sites have evolved into a social acceptance, a basic necessity for the common American and you can even be seen as rude or unprofessional to ignore this new evolved media. Because real personal socializing has decreased, people are becoming socially isolated and even parents and couples are spending less time with their loved ones because they use internet social networking as a tool of communication. One 35-year-old woman even discovered her husband was divorcing her via Facebook. Conference organizer Emma Brady was distressed when she read that her marriage was over when her husband updated his status on the site to read: â€Å"Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady. Facebook, the most widely used social networking site has over 90 million users in the United States and over 300 million worldwide. Certainly, social networking sites are increasing interactions among friends and family, but it is decreasing the quality of real personal interactions. Social  networking sites were not developed to help people connect and improve their lives, but rather, so companies can make money by advertising to them. A statistic from procon.org states that advertisers in the U.S. spent almost 1.4 billion dollars to place advertisements on social networking sites in 2008. Social networking sites also have an effect on politics. In the presidential election of 2008, candidates campaigned to voters with many different types of sites. On November 3, 2008, the day before the Election Day, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama had 2,379,102 Facebook fans while Republican candidate McCain had 620,359 according to procon.org. This illustrates the effect social networking can have on all aspects of social and even political life. As online communication gradually destroys our society, the problem is not only the tools we use to communicate, but it is what we choose to expose online that can be harming. Based on an article written by Melissa Ridenour, a poorly responsible driver crashed his car and posted on his Facebook wall â€Å"I’m not an alcoholic, I’m a drunkaholic† which later that very information he posted, was used to prosecute him in court. Sharing your personal information on social networking sites can create higher risks of robbery and invasion of security and privacy. In just recent cases, police, colleges, and schools are supervising MySpace and Facebook pages to obtain personality behaviors and conduct. Due to this, thousands of social network site users have lost their jobs or failed to launch new ones. What we choose to reveal online can be easily seen by predators. Such personal information is all that is needed for your identity to be stolen. According to procon.org, in February 2009, MySpace identified 90,000 sex offenders with profiles on the site. A statistic from the Internet Safety Technical Force says that 43% of online sexual solicitors were under the age eighteen and 30% were between eighteen and twenty, while the other nine percent were over the age 21. Thirteen-year-old Megan Meier’s death was not caused by a real person, but by an artificial world of social networking that creates danger, isolation, and harm to every element in society. Although proponents of social networking argue that online interaction connects people with friends and family around the world, society has turned social networking sites into toxic time carnivores. When balanced on a scale, social networking is  overweighed with negative effects. Like millions of users worldwide, Social networking has become part our daily lives but we cannot let it sink our society into the trap of the digital age.