Social media has grown at an astonishing rate in recent years. In 1992, fewer than five million people in the United States used email (Goodale). In a 2010 study by Miriam Geller, Yahoo! Director of Product Management at Mail, it has been recorded that over 270 million people access Yahoo! email only (Brownlow). This illustrates the incredible popularity that the Internet has acquired in the space of eighteen years. Formal letters and phone calls have long been forgotten, replaced by this new wave of technological communication called social networking. Social media is defined as the use of websites that allow users to share content, interact, and develop communities around similar interests. Networking platforms such as Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and many others are spreading like wildfire. Simply put, social media is “in.” As a result, failure to address this issue that is becoming so prominent in today's generation of children, adolescents, and young adults results in a multitude of negative effects. Everyone's use of the Internet varies. One may need to use the Internet a lot for work or to stay in touch with friends and family. But spending time online quickly becomes a setback when it absorbs too much attention, leading to neglect of relationships, work, school, or other crucial aspects of life. With the incredible increase in numbers, the creators of these viral Topilko 2 sites have no choice but to expand and embrace their target market of "twenty-five and under" who continually demand more to cater to their needs (Goodale). “These technologies are addictive,” says author Michael Bugeja, lamenting what he calls “increasing self-centeredness” encouraged by social media... middle of article ... discuss Myspace's problems. " MITnews.org (2006): Web.Topilko May 73, 2011. .Kelsey, Candice. Generation Myspace New York, NY: Avalon Publishing Group, 2007. Print. Nies, Yunjide, Susan James and Susan Netter “Mean Girls: Cyberbullying Blamed for. TeenSuicides." Parenting. ABCnews.com, January 28, 2010. Web. May 8, 2011.cyberbullying/story?id=9685026>."Social-Team Flight All-Stars-Small Businesses." TeamFlightAllStars.com. Web. May 3, 2011. .Walker, Jenny. Interview with Meghann Topilko, May 7, 2011. “What is social media? ". Web, May 4. 2011..