Yes it does.
Social networking online or off causes quite a bit of emotional damage to a child. Dealing with ones peers at a young age is not a pleasurable experience especially in our society. In truth the act of learning to deal with others socially is more a matter of taking enough emotional abuse to build up a proverbial callus, what many people call becoming 'thick skinned'. The end result usually crushes much of a childs idealism and youth as they try to learn how to cope and gain the knowledge that not only are they not the center of the universe but that the universe is a cold dark place where most people want to kick you, knock you down and stab you in the back because they like your shoes. Kids cause emotional damage to other kids to feel better, and then some partents who did the same justify it, resulting in bullies. Then on the other end of the spectrum are kids that get picked on. They have a hard time building that callus mindset that protects the bullies and other kids, try to speak out from indignation and all around hopelessness feeling the world is agaisnt them. Most kids are in the middle point where they pick on and get picked on, but even this is not without damage.
Online is exponentially worse because the people who like online networking and especially social networks like facebook are usually trying hard as they can to lash out in an environment where they can feel like the predator and at the same time be anti-social. Kids who are getting into it now can't take it when they are made to go on the receiving end of the emotional abuse and at least in the real world you can attack the person. At the same time when a kid looks to a social network for friendship they often ignore the fact that they can get it elsewhere. Some base their whole lives on it and get irrationally enraged when someone 'cyber bullies' them. Sadly the victims of cyber bullies are more likely those who can't handle the aggressive elements in the real world, so that puts those most likely to be frustrated anyways at the fore.
Long story short, as I feel I could go into circles a bit, is that online social networking is not inherently worse, but it tends to put those kids least able to handle it at the fore. Its like asking your wizard to go to the fore of battle when he doesn't have any more usages of mage armor or stone skin for the day.
Social networking online or off causes quite a bit of emotional damage to a child. Dealing with ones peers at a young age is not a pleasurable experience especially in our society. In truth the act of learning to deal with others socially is more a matter of taking enough emotional abuse to build up a proverbial callus, what many people call becoming 'thick skinned'. The end result usually crushes much of a childs idealism and youth as they try to learn how to cope and gain the knowledge that not only are they not the center of the universe but that the universe is a cold dark place where most people want to kick you, knock you down and stab you in the back because they like your shoes. Kids cause emotional damage to other kids to feel better, and then some partents who did the same justify it, resulting in bullies. Then on the other end of the spectrum are kids that get picked on. They have a hard time building that callus mindset that protects the bullies and other kids, try to speak out from indignation and all around hopelessness feeling the world is agaisnt them. Most kids are in the middle point where they pick on and get picked on, but even this is not without damage.
Online is exponentially worse because the people who like online networking and especially social networks like facebook are usually trying hard as they can to lash out in an environment where they can feel like the predator and at the same time be anti-social. Kids who are getting into it now can't take it when they are made to go on the receiving end of the emotional abuse and at least in the real world you can attack the person. At the same time when a kid looks to a social network for friendship they often ignore the fact that they can get it elsewhere. Some base their whole lives on it and get irrationally enraged when someone 'cyber bullies' them. Sadly the victims of cyber bullies are more likely those who can't handle the aggressive elements in the real world, so that puts those most likely to be frustrated anyways at the fore.
Long story short, as I feel I could go into circles a bit, is that online social networking is not inherently worse, but it tends to put those kids least able to handle it at the fore. Its like asking your wizard to go to the fore of battle when he doesn't have any more usages of mage armor or stone skin for the day.