204 Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Chapter 14 INTRODUCTION Internet medium is developing with the increased usage and understanding of how to use email, could shop online, and search the web for recipes or the long- lost instruction manual for a piece of equipment in the garage, etc. Now, internet is more about blogs, podcasts, Facebook, Myspace, and Orkut. These are some of the tools and technology associated with a recent phenomenon called social networking and is present everywhere. Social networking has become part of the daily life experiences for an increasing number of people. The rapid adoption of social network sites by teenagers in the United States and in many other countries around the world raises some im- portant questions. Why do teenagers flock to these sites? What are they expressing on them? How Sunitha Kuppuswamy Anna University Chennai, Chennai, India P. B. Shankar Narayan Pondicherry University, Puducherry, India The Impact of Social Networking Websites on the Education of Youth ABSTRACT Social networking websites like Orkut, Facebook, Myspace and Youtube are becoming more and more popular and has become part of daily life for an increasing number of people. Because of their features, young people are attracted to social networking sites. In this paper, the authors explore the impact of social networking sites on the education of youth. The study argues that these social networking websites distract students from their studies, but these websites can be useful for education based on sound peda- gogical principles and proper supervision by the teachers. Moreover, the research concludes that social networking websites have both positive as well as negative impact on the education of youth, depending on one’s interest to use it in a positive manner for his or her education and vice versa. DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-1553-3.ch014