Is Social Networking Ruining Our Society?
Social networking sites like Myspace, Twitter and Facebook have literally exploded in popularity in just a few short years. With more than 60 million active Facebook users and an average of 250,000 new registrations per day, it is evident that the world is turning to social networking. At the moment Australia is the fourth largest user of Facebook in the world and the phenomenon is only growing. Social networking is providing people of the world with an online community in which we can talk to our friends from all over the world simultaneously.
Some debate that Facebook, and other social networking sites are undermining our ability to communicate and the use of such sites dehumanise what is an important part of community life and living together. However, if anything, I believe these social networking websites allow us the opportunity to meet and form friendships with people that we may not otherwise communicate with and to create these friendships faster. They allow us to keep in contact with friends and family, whether they are in our own city or on the other side of the world, with greater ease. In today’s fast paced environment nobody has time to sit down daily and respond to individual emails; Facebook and MySpace allow us to reach all of our friends and colleagues with a simple click of a button. For the introverts among us, social networking eliminates the pressure of face to face contact and can help those shy people with the initial contact of meeting others. Facebook’s photo sharing application is rated the most used on the Internet, drawing more than twice as much traffic as the next three sites combined. These statistics show a great emphasis on the online community, especially when 14 million photos are being uploaded every day. With active users doubling every six months and more than half of active users returning daily it is clear to see people all over the world are embracing the convenience of social networking.
Twitter, a micro-blogging
Some debate that Facebook, and other social networking sites are undermining our ability to communicate and the use of such sites dehumanise what is an important part of community life and living together. However, if anything, I believe these social networking websites allow us the opportunity to meet and form friendships with people that we may not otherwise communicate with and to create these friendships faster. They allow us to keep in contact with friends and family, whether they are in our own city or on the other side of the world, with greater ease. In today’s fast paced environment nobody has time to sit down daily and respond to individual emails; Facebook and MySpace allow us to reach all of our friends and colleagues with a simple click of a button. For the introverts among us, social networking eliminates the pressure of face to face contact and can help those shy people with the initial contact of meeting others. Facebook’s photo sharing application is rated the most used on the Internet, drawing more than twice as much traffic as the next three sites combined. These statistics show a great emphasis on the online community, especially when 14 million photos are being uploaded every day. With active users doubling every six months and more than half of active users returning daily it is clear to see people all over the world are embracing the convenience of social networking.
Twitter, a micro-blogging