Networking, yesterday and today

Social networking has changed the world. When my grandma was seventeen years old, she had to walk two farms down to talk to her best friend. She would never think of doing it in the middle of the night unless it was an emergency.  Most likely, her “chores” had to be finished before she left the house.  People socialized “in person” back then.  In our society today, we are “internet socializers”.  You can easily open Facebook on your smart phone or computer and talk to your best friend all you want and anytime you want to.  I am sure we are all guilty, at one time or another, of ignoring things that should be done (homework, chores, etc.) because we are caught up in the internet daze.  We easily spend hours a day socializing and searching websites.  Yes, the internet has improved our society a lot by making communication easier with each other, but at the same time it has also had negative effects.  A positive example of the use of social networking can be when you’re having trouble with your homework. You could ask anybody--friend, someone in your class, a teacher/professor--to help you by emailing them or writing on their wall on Facebook or Myspace. Also social networking makes it easier to stay in touch with family and friends that may not live by you. A negative is that many teens are not smart about what they share online. This leads to people becoming addicted to these sites such as Facebook and MySpace. In some cases it results in stalking, rapes and even death. I personally use a networking site of my own. I really like it because it makes it easier to talk to friends and family. Face it, in our crazy, busy lives, sometimes this is the only way we can stay in touch. Unfortunately, some of the things that my classmates have put up on their pages are just terrible. These include raunchy pictures and nasty comments. Even cyber bullying has gotten out of hand. Most of the time, kids can’t say what they want to say to each other’s faces, but they hide behind their computer or smart phone and are very comfortable saying it over the internet.  This usually makes matters worse.  In addition to all of these possible negative results, what also matters to me is the loss of a true, heart-to-heart, in-person conversation.  There is no way that a computer or smart phone can take the place of a sympathetic look, a high-five or a hug.  Words sent over the internet cannot compete.  It amazes me how communication on the internet is a must in our society now.   However, as our society has evolved into the busy, non-stop, highly-competitive world of today, the internet allows us to reach out to others whenever it fits into our schedules.  I plan to do my best and hope that our society in general also attempts to keep enough in-person contact in their lives to balance our electronic relationships.

Here’s a picture of the most commonly used social networking sites in our society.

Let’s hope our society doesn’t forget the importance of face to face commutation with others.