Everyone is talking about our new social networking era. Whether its Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, Bebo, Blogger, or any of the countless other sites out there, almost everyone is a user. The media uses it to research trends, along with make them. People use them to make friends, and lose them. Businesses uses them to advertise and keep people informed. And some people, like myself, use them just for the hell of it. I don't need Facebook or Myspace to make friends. I don't need to follow Jersey Shore cast members on Twitter. I use them because it makes communication fun. We live in an extremely technologically advanced society. We are beginning to move away from interpersonal dyads and moving into an age of conversation in which we are almost fully disconnected from one another. We text, email, IM, and post. The days of phone calls are dying, along with meetings in which every one is in the same room. The "Social Networking Bug" is taking over. It increases efficiency indeed, allowing us to multi-task and have time to think over our responses. Face to face communication still exists. Yet, I feel as though with the next generation it will whither even more. And the next, more. And the next, more. And so on. Until finally, every bit of communication is conducted through fiber-optics or cellular signal, or even the next unimaginable means of data transport.
I have always considered myself a pretty simple person. I don't need most of what I have. Stick me on a river with a fishing pole and I am a happy guy. The "Social Networking Bug" has hit me just like everyone else, but I believe social networking has greater meaning than just another way for people to meet, advertise, or follow stars. Do you agree?
