Social Networking in MyFace
by Samantha Cerchero
By now, the words “MySpace” and “Facebook” are familiar to many Americans
between the ages of 16 and 25. These and many other social networking
websites like, friendzy.com and meetup.com have become increasingly
popular as the millennium years go by. While the first social networking
sites were created in the late 1990s, it was not until about 2001 when
these sites started to boom. MySpace.com, “a place for friends”, helps
connect people not only throughout the nation but throughout the world.
With the click of a mouse, you can make friends all over the globe,
or meet someone that lives in the same building as you do. Is this just
a new trend that will fade away in time, or the start of a new age in
cyberspace?
Facebook.com has been catching on quite rapidly among college students. The website, which links more than 2600 colleges and universities, has hooked more than 80% of college undergraduates. With rates like that, we have to wonder; are these websites adding to one’s social life or replacing it?
Both MySpace and Facebook, among many other networking sites like friendster.com, allow a user to post as much personal information as they dare to. Facebook.com even goes as far as to have a space to put your college address and phone number. Although this is all optional, many students choose to go ahead and put themselves on the internet, displaying this information for all to see. When using networking sites to aid in job-seeking and friend-making, they can be highly effective and fun to use. However, when these websites start replacing friends and “real-life” social interaction, we have to wonder if it can be taken too far.
Of course making new friends, especially ones that have the same interests as you, can be exciting. When one starts their endeavor on one more social networking sites, it will take up much of their time - time that could be spent with real friends, outdoors or studying. If a shy person builds up their virtual friend list, it can be motivation to try their new friend-making techniques out in the real world. But, in a world where groceries can be delivered, games can be played, books can be read and four thousand friends can be made all through an internet connection, some can argue that there is no reason to ever leave the house.
As well as taking away from true relationships, social networking websites have become a haven for pedophiles, murderers and the like. The average teenager does not think twice about putting the town they live in and the school they go to on their website, as well as countless pictures of themselves. This is a predator’s paradise. Among the targets, females in their early teenage years are the most preyed upon. Instead of meeting with a new friend, girls fall upon assault, rape, and even death. The internet’s power is not to be reckoned with. Members of these websites need to be made aware of all the risks they take merely by registering.
Social networking on the internet seems to be becoming a contradiction in itself. Teenagers all across the nation and elsewhere are becoming addicted, in a sense, to these websites. Instead of homework, exercise and real socializing, teens are more interested in making their websites look better, seeing how large their friend list and browsing through millions upon millions of could-be fake profiles. In a society where community and support systems can be weakened easily, these websites can be looked upon by teenagers as a support structure and an escape route. The sense of a community is important in most if not the entire world. Does a virtual community count? Or will sites like these progressively become more important to people as a whole, ultimately losing touch with society and creating a dependency on false human interaction?
Social networking on the internet does have its benefits,
but users need to be made aware of not only security issues, but dangers
to their own personal growth. Make new friends, join groups and have
fun, but don’t forget there is another world outside of the internet
that is begging for nurturing.
