In recent years, there has been a massive increase in the use of social networking, and video-blogging websites including, MySpace, Bebo and YouTube. These sites can allow their users to upload, view and share anything from photos and video clips to weblogs and e-mails. With all the focus on communication and sharing however, what if another person posts a picture or video, that you don't want to be seen?
This appears to be the case with Scotland's First Minister, Jack McConnell, who has just of late, been on the receiving end from this abuse of social networking sites, when a video of a young man in his house was posted on YouTube.
Websites such as YouTube have also been facing lawsuits and claims of piracy. There also seems to be an issue with censorship on these sites, with invasion of privacy a common problem.
For example, you only have to consider the case of someone who has been the victim of a so-called "happy slapping" attack to realise how much negative impact a site like "YouTube" could possibly have on a young person.
Not only do you have to suffer the psychological trauma of the assault, you also have to then bear the humiliation of having the whole event posted in video format for thousands of web users to view, and often even mock and ridicule.
All of these sites have a long way to go before they can prove that they cannot be exploited for negative means. The beauty of these sites for their users is the freedom to upload media for self-promotion, but perhaps more authority should be exercised to ensure young people in particular are not taken advantage of.
About this team
This article was written by David McReynolds and edited by Gavin Leung. It was published on the Reach for the Sky website.
