Do you think students should befriend teachers and vice-versa on social media like Facebook, Orkut, MySpace, etc? Does this harm/enhance the student-teacher relationship?

When teachers and students share things which each other, there is a better understanding between the two and the students feel comfortable with teachers and vice-versa. Teachers are able to better understand the students and can help them solve their problems. However, excessive familiarity with students can also lead some students to lose respect for their teachers as well. So, I think that they could be friends on social sites but must maintain distance and respect to some extent.
Aastha Singh, Agra

I would love to have my teachers on my Facebook friend list. We are not on social networking websites to run away from our elders but to be connected to people. I can cover up what I have missed in a class over a chat with my teacher on Facebook and she can also receive my feedback on her teaching as a lovely post on her wall. To me, being friends with our teachers on networking sites totally enhances the teacher-student relationship.
Aditya Khare / Ryan International School, Mumbai

Being friends with teachers on social networking sites has its pros and cons. It always depends whether the teacher is broadminded or not and also the nature of student. Once I had a very bad experience. My Orkut account was hacked and some nonsense was posted by the hacker to the principal. I was blamed for it before things were cleared up.
Parigya Gupta / St Anthony Sr. Sec. School, Fatehgarh

Yes, if the teacher is interested in helping out students in an approachable and engaging way, I think students should befriend teachers on social media. But in many cases, excessive intrusions by students or teachers on each others' profiles or scraps won't help in enhancing their relationship. It would leave the person being stalked wary.
Mugdha Gupta / Sophia Girls' School, Meerut

I find that adding teachers on social networking sites can only harm the relationship. Sometimes we don't even remember all the friends we have on our pages and put up dumb things we think only our friends would know, but end up having our parents/teachers know about it. A teacher and a student should be friends, but it should be a friendship held at arm's length and with mutual respect. If we get too friendly with them and find out more about their personal escapades from their social networking pages we may lose the respect and admiration for them.
Fathima Abdul Kader / Infant Jesus Public School, Ernakulam

Social networking sites are proving to be a great platform for people to interact. And some students are using them to consult their teachers with their doubts. And teachers too are willing to do that. It not only makes study easy and quick but also increases comfort level in students and teachers. The students no longer have to wait for lectures to clear their doubts. This is working even in favour of those students who feel shy discussing their problems in the presence of their classmates.
Aishwarya Sandeep Sansare / St Xavier's High School, Mumbai

Nowadays, students befriending teachers on social media sites are a common sight. It not only enhances the student-teacher relationship but also allows exchange of ideas and opinions, which may otherwise be awkward in a classroom environment. A student can casually approach a teacher with queries and difficulties; and a teacher can not only be a mentor, but also a friend and guide. However, students are exposed to the teacher's personal life (and vice-versa) which may not be academically related; thus proving to be a drawback.
Meenal Bale / St Xavier's College, Goa

A student-teacher relationship is always best when it is a little informal, it not only helps the teacher understand the student but also makes the student believe there is someone he can always count on for any help. Further, it helps the teacher to keep in touch with the present generation and be aware of new ideologies and fashions. It no doubt enhances the student-teacher relationship.
Shubham Goyal / Don Bosco School, Siliguri

I personally have had cordial and friendly relations with my teacher. One of our teachers used to put up notes for the students of our class on Facebook and everyone could access them easily! If you are in your limits then sharing virtual space with anybody can't really harm you. In my case I was hugely benefited.
Mariya Sethjiwala / Indore