P-Worm
Jan 15, 2009, 11:37 PM
This is something I have been thinking a lot about lately. Are social networking sites, such as Facebook, good for society as a whole? I'm not even talking about so-called privacy issues or the massive amount of time people devote to them (though I have concerns about those as well).
I don't have a myspace account (though my band does). I don't have a Facebook account. I don't have a twitter account. I don't touch these things because I think that it is an important development to teach yourself to be social. I believe that there is a deep hunger within each of us that to socialize with others. In the past, one would need to step outside of their comfort zone to fill that driving need. I see social networking sites as things that fill that deep need or hunger, but do so in a superficial way. Meeting people on the internet is considerably easier than meeting them in real life and so the personal gain you get from stepping outside your comfort zone is lost.
Maybe that isn't such a bad thing. It sure feels nice to be in touch with so many people. I'm also sure that social networking sites have helped people make friends that were too shy in the past. Even though they might not have faced their fears and gotten over being shy, they met some much needed friends. That can't be wrong, can it?
I want to hear everyone's opinion on the matter, but first, let me relay a story about one of my friends.
My friend had been seriously dating someone for quite some time. This guy she was dating left on an extended trip for multiple months. These two wrote each other letters while he was gone and she promised to wait for him to get back.
Well, I guess the wait was just too long because she started to date another guy. They eventually got engaged without her previous boyfriend even knowing about him. I wish she had told him she was dating someone else, but she didn't. What erks me the most, though, is that she didn't even bother to tell him personally that she got engaged. Instead, she felt that it was perfectly sufficient to just update her status on Facebook so that he would eventually find out that she was engaged while browsing her profile.
Sure, this is one case out of a million. And there's a good chance that even if Facebook wasn't around she would have found another slimey way to break the news to him. But the whole thing still concerns me a bit. The option was available and she took the easy way out. I'm sure the ordeal totally crushed her previous boyfriend and Facebook helped her be a coward. :(
Anyway, I want to know how everyone feels about social networking sites. Is there genuine cause for concern, or am I just a tin-foil-hat wearing fool?
P-Worm
I don't have a myspace account (though my band does). I don't have a Facebook account. I don't have a twitter account. I don't touch these things because I think that it is an important development to teach yourself to be social. I believe that there is a deep hunger within each of us that to socialize with others. In the past, one would need to step outside of their comfort zone to fill that driving need. I see social networking sites as things that fill that deep need or hunger, but do so in a superficial way. Meeting people on the internet is considerably easier than meeting them in real life and so the personal gain you get from stepping outside your comfort zone is lost.
Maybe that isn't such a bad thing. It sure feels nice to be in touch with so many people. I'm also sure that social networking sites have helped people make friends that were too shy in the past. Even though they might not have faced their fears and gotten over being shy, they met some much needed friends. That can't be wrong, can it?
I want to hear everyone's opinion on the matter, but first, let me relay a story about one of my friends.
My friend had been seriously dating someone for quite some time. This guy she was dating left on an extended trip for multiple months. These two wrote each other letters while he was gone and she promised to wait for him to get back.
Well, I guess the wait was just too long because she started to date another guy. They eventually got engaged without her previous boyfriend even knowing about him. I wish she had told him she was dating someone else, but she didn't. What erks me the most, though, is that she didn't even bother to tell him personally that she got engaged. Instead, she felt that it was perfectly sufficient to just update her status on Facebook so that he would eventually find out that she was engaged while browsing her profile.
Sure, this is one case out of a million. And there's a good chance that even if Facebook wasn't around she would have found another slimey way to break the news to him. But the whole thing still concerns me a bit. The option was available and she took the easy way out. I'm sure the ordeal totally crushed her previous boyfriend and Facebook helped her be a coward. :(
Anyway, I want to know how everyone feels about social networking sites. Is there genuine cause for concern, or am I just a tin-foil-hat wearing fool?
P-Worm
