MyFaceSpace
Social networking. We all know it. We’re all involved with it in some capacity or another. Some people reading this probably came here because of a link they saw on Facebook or MySpace.
More than 200 million people are on Facebook. That’s an amazing number. But is it a good number?
I think it is. And I’ll tell you why.
Social networking sites (SNS from here on out) offer us a way to stay in touch with people from all stages of our life — something that was impossible even 5 years ago. People we normally never would’ve talked to after graduation are now a daily part of our lives, whether that’s directly (messaging, wall posts or whatnot) or indirectly (reading status updates and those incessant quizzes).
In my case, I have many friends I made while marching drum corps. They live all over America, some outside of America. I rarely get around to calling them and almost never go see them. But because of SNS, I get to talk to them all the time. They know what I’m up to. I know what they’re up to.
Also, I recently moved away from home, away from friends and family. If this were 2004, communication would effectively be cutoff (save for a select few). But it’s 2009 and I can very easily — with the stroke of a key – close that 200 mile gap. I know whether my mom is having a good day or a bad day, or I know that Brandon still can’t spell.
For those people I don’t want to follow, I block them from my feed. I don’t have to know about them if I don’t want to. And believe me, I do.
SNS also fulfill that voyeuristic side of all of us. Face it, we all like to follow the drama, whether we’ll admit it or not. And there is plenty to be had on Facebook and MySpace.
And not to mention, SNS fill the down time. If you’re bored, it kills time.
Now, there are plenty of downsides to SNS. Downsides that are sure to be pointed out in the above post.
Drew
