Social Networking: Evil? (Thursday, 09/16/10)

Note: For the past several weeks (or month), I have compiled this series of posts concerning social networking. Since there is always something happening on these sites, my opinions may be a little outdated already! lol! But I'm still going to post them.... so enjoy!
 


Ahhh... the ability to connect with friends and family on a daily bases, and in real time! One of the greatest ideas, or is it?

As you may know, the Internet draws every out into one big community. Some people are smart, and others... well, you get the idea...

I'd like the discuss the woes of social networking, but more specifically, Facebook. I knew I would not get all my thoughts collected within one post, and I'm not sure how many posts I will end up writing concerning this idea. The are several things I want to address (or rant about). Lol!

A couple years ago, Lydia and I took the plunge and joined two social networking sites: MySpace & Facebook.

At first we were hesitant. We had heard so much bad stories about them, how they need to be avoided, how they can ruin your lives, lead you into temptation... etc. The main thought from many: they're evil!

Well, we talked about it, looked into it, and decided to go ahead. There were several friends on both sites, and they seemed to be fine with it. We posted a little bit of info about ourselves at first, and were very careful on who we added as friends. However, to our surprise, there were friends on there that we hadn't heard from in years! It was exciting! 

There wasn't very many relatives on there, but as time went on, more joined. And wouldn't you know it... more friends have joined too!

So do I think it's evil? Well, not if you do it right! I'm sure if someone really wanted to, they could stalk me. But it would be pretty boring. I post more puns and one-liners than anything else, so they really don't have much to go on! lol.

Perhaps there might be a possibility I might offend someone. Sure, it happens. It's not that I do things on purpose. But these are social networking sites, they involve people, and people can easily make a mountain out of a molehill. I just try and do whats right, and if someone has a problem with it, they can address me with the issue. If they hold a grudge about something and don't tell me, its not my fault!

All in all, as long as everyone plays nicely, these sites are a great tool for keeping in touch and updated with friends and relatives! Now that's cool!

~Matt