Anti-Social Social Networking

Social Networking Anti-Social?

Apparently, the cry of social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace has gotten into the church. Archbishop Vincent Nicholas told BBC News that he sees a decline in a basic interactive ability among young people thanks to the use of social networking sites, which seem to put quantity of friends over the quality of those friendships.

I don't know about you, but the whole Top 8 concept from MySpace speaks against that a little. If only because those 8 people, who are featured on your page, are supposedly your closest friends. My personal MySpace page only has like eight people on it period because I'm not big into MySpace even if I do like the concept.

However, if he has an issue with Facebook and MySpace, what does he think about an idea like Twitter? I mean, Twitter is really all about what is a person doing right that second. It's essentially a new way of text messaging that doesn't cost quite as much. It makes it easy to keep up with people, but that doesn't necessarily foster any further connections.

Then there is the other side of this coin, the fact that we feel as if we know a person too well despite never having met them. Once you've seen picture after picture of person and seemingly coached them through their family issues and emotional problems, you feel as if you know them....despite never having seen them once face to face, in your life.

Either way, there is no face to face interaction: his primary complaint. Has face to face gone the way of the dinosaurs? I don't think it has yet, but it's definitely heading that way.