Should we really be blocking social media?

http://mashable.com/2010/04/13/social-media-ban-backfire/

This article discusses the unintended negative consequences of restrictive internet filtering policies in education, government and business. Here's the main point from the first two paragraphs:
"Humans have a natural proclivity to want what they cannot have. Our insatiable appetite for sharing information, combined with the nearly limitless ways to access the web have thus far frustrated the most sophisticated attempts to block access to social media services.
From the Great Firewall of China to the public schools of Britain, IT security experts are finding that restricting Internet access can have the unintended consequences of civic backlash, poor worker productivity, and students unprepared for cyber threats."
And here's his point regarding content filtering in schools:
"My own university bans the Internet in some large lecture halls. Yet, when I wander in back of the room before lecture, I see students hunched over cell phones, the signature blue and white colors of Facebook, and an inordinate number of students camped out near the perimeter of the hall, where a weak wi-fi signal permeates the room.
Meanwhile, some schools in Britain have chosen to “lock down” their systems, allowing access to only verified websites. However, a report from their government’s department of education found that “this approach had disadvantages in the schools visited. As well as taking up time and detracting from learning, it did not encourage the pupils to take responsibility for their actions.”
Additionally, children were less likely to understand proper Internet safety when outside of school. By contrast, in those schools that took a more educative approach to e-safety, teachers could use incidents of phishing, cyber-bullying, and inappropriate material as a way to discuss how such encounters should be dealt with in the future. Indeed, in at least one high school where cell phone use was part of the curriculum, the principal noted that inappropriate use of technology is exceedingly rare."
In other words, blocking access to social media sites may ultimately prove more distracting — and potentially more dangerous — to students."