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Parent Category: Upper-Intermediate News Lessons

Category: Science and Technology

Written by Chris Cotter

Do social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter encourage social interaction? Or do these sites encourage people to become loners? The sites - and there are dozens and dozens of them - have now caught on with working professionals. In fact, people who are over twenty-five are the largest growing demographic of users. People continue to become busier, with demands at work and at home requiring immediate attention. There simply isn't enough time in the day to meet with friends. Social networking sites allow people to stay in contact, and without scheduling face time.

But there are other reasons than just time management. Social networking sites allow users to keep in contact with "proximity friends." These are people who are or were physically but not personally close, such as ex-classmates, ex-colleagues, parents of the children your kids play with in the neighborhood, and friends of friends. We may send these people holiday and birthday cards, call with congratulations of a wedding or a newborn, or express condolences of a death in the family. Face to face contact, however, is largely nonexistent.

There is then the feeling of contact. As a result, many view the networking sites as a tool that improves communication. The contact may be superficial and achieved through emails and instant messages, yet many people now know more small details about one another. As long as the personal pages are regularly updated, it's easy to share photos or hear about kids, achievements, and other important news.

People "talk" with one another more frequently, but they rarely meet in person. Social networking sites beg the following question then: Are people becoming social hermits?