3.09.2011

Social Networking

What better subject is there to start blogging with?  There is no way to avoid the social networking scene these days.  Almost every webpage you visit has an option to link the article/video that you are viewing to your Facebook/Twitter.  Hollywood is making movies about it.  Commercials and news shows plaster our television screens with pleas to "follow" them.  Mark Zuckerberg is worth billions.

People have been getting together with their friends to socialize since the dawn of humanity.  So, why the newfound obsession with knowing every detail of the lives of hundreds of people who we hardly know outside of our virtual relationships?  Ten years ago I didn't care what the girl I had a crush on in second grade was having for dinner.  Now I can't wait to hear how her meatloaf turns out because I remember that her oldest son thought it was too dry when she cooked it a few months back.  How many hours have been collectively wasted in recent years?  Instead of being productive, we were all setting our statuses and creeping on friends of friends who we will probably never meet.

To me, the real concern is how long this fascination will last.  It seems to still be on the rise.  Facebook recently surpassed 500 million registered users.  My grandparents are among them.  That's proof enough to me that social network sites are still booming.  However, I expect that their popularity will eventually decline because that is the case with almost everything.  Something bigger and better always seems to come along, burying yesterday's fixation.  I hate meatloaf by the way.

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