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The key is to keep the other person in mind and go out of your way to be both polite and helpful — before you need help yourself, said Paul Gillin

Effects of Moderate Use A moderate amount of computer use and game playing doesn't seem to affect social development. The social behavior of moderate computer users and nonusers was roughly the same in terms of sociability and relationships with friends and family. However, heavy computer users tended to believe they had less control over their lives than their classmates, a possible indication of inadequate socialization. Increased Hostility and Aggression After the massacre at Columbine High School in 1999, researchers and educators paid more attention to violent video games such as Doom, the daily game of choice for one of the two teenage killers. Many studies show that violent TV shows increase aggression and hostility in both children and adults. It appears the same is true of computer games. The key variable appears to be a preference for violent games, rather than the amount of time a child plays such games. Even playing Mortal Kombat for a short time increases a child's hostility and aggression. Violent computer games also desensitize children, who show less empathy and willingness to help others, according to research cited in "The Future of Children." Brain Drain In a small study of 18 Chinese university students, published in the "PLos ONE" journal and reported on Mail Online, kids who played games on their computers at least eight hours a day, six days per week showed alarming amounts of atrophy in parts of their brain, as measured by MRI scans. The scans also found abnormalities in the white matter of the brain, which coordinate communication between different areas of the mind. On Mail Online, Dr. Aric Sigman of the Royal Society of Medicine called the July 2011 report a "wake-up call." Experts fear that in addition to cognitive damage, heavy Internet use might reduce the inhibitions and decision-making ability of children, leading to damaged relationships with family members, peers and authority figures.

Remember that what you share about yourself becomes more-or-less public knowledge on these forums, so you’ll want to choose your words carefully.

Netiquette is how we use the internet effectively. The common conventions. It's the way cyber society operates.

Spell check & proof read messages. Do not write in "all caps". Tell the truth in your profiles. Be yourself on the internet. Do not flame or respond. Stay away from spam and graymail. Be conservative in email you send. Do not send email late at night. Shop on secure sites. Use discretion when sharing.

Given the newness of these types of technologies, it is only in the last few years that educators have started to notice them and explore their effects on student behavior and performance. While there is supporting evidence to suggest that these technologies have a large influence on the social development of adolescents, an even more pertinent issue for classroom teachers is what effects these technologies have on the academic development of young people. In this article, I examine how students' use of text messaging technology, specifically IM, affects their writing skills. How does IM use affect students' interest in traditional writing (as learned in school)? In what ways does IM usage affect students' writing ability? How does "IM-speak" change students' views of what is considered "proper" language? How can classroom teachers build on student use of this increasingly popular technology? In this paper I provide a discussion of the current issues and current teacher practices surrounding instant messaging as it relates to student writing.

Blunders like these can be costly. And as burgeoning markets in Asia increase in importance, new insight is required to break through what you could call a language barrier.As a result of the globalization of business through mergers and international investment, English has become a lingua franca. Almost two billion people worldwide speak it, and more than half of these learned it as a second language. Moreover, global popular culture is dominated by English-language television, music, film, print and social media.

People treat e-mail like face-to-face communication. We're used to saying things out loud and having our intentions, mood and demeanor correctly interpreted by the person we're speaking with. But when you strip away facial cues, social context, tone of voice and other information, people can easily misunderstand.