Social Networking Sites as a Part of the Young Generation's Life.

The presented thesis deals with social networking sites and the way teenagers use them in everyday life. The main goal of the thesis is to identify the strong and the weak points of communication via social networking sites from the perspective of their users. The first aim is to chart the factors influencing the usage of social networking sites. The second aim is to ascertain how users of social networking sites perceive the need for protecting their privacy. The theoretical part of the thesis defines the term social networking site, describes functions and types of social networking sites. Furthermore, communication via social networking sites is described together with its positives and negatives. The subsequent part deals with the dangers connected with using these sites as well as preventive programmes existing in our country. The possibilities of data and privacy protection are also described. Since the thesis is focused on teenagers, the developmental stage of adolescence is described as well. The practical part describes the research itself goals and hypotheses, methodology and results. Quantitative research and questionnaire survey were used for gathering the data. The control sample was composed of secondary school students, specifically from the Secondary Medical School and the Technical Secondary School of Engineering in Tábor. The results of the research have shown that 98.5 % of respondents use social networking sites. The average age of the respondents was 18 years. Most frequently, they use these sites to stay in contact with their friends and to acquire information. The strong points of the communication for them are being able to communicate quickly, almost free of charge and the opportunity to communicate with remotely placed friends. Contrarily, they regard bullying, cyber-bullying and easy abuse as its weak points. The majority consider anonymity on social networking sites positive, which has confirmed the hypothesis. In most cases, the users endeavour to protect their privacy. The results may serve as a study material or as a basis for prevention of dangers connected with using social networking sites