Does online social networking bring people closer together or isolate and insulate them with technology?

Do you think online social networks help or hinder real life communication? Is it acceptable that instead of meeting face to face, people opt to do all of their interacting with each other online?

It's a great tool for catching up with people, but it's prob. more of the latter. Instead of interacting face to face, people tend to put all of their business online for not only for the person they intended, but for the rest of the world to see. In that regard, it makes people stupid.

Nystyle709 wrote:It's a great tool for catching up with people, but it's prob. more of the latter. Instead of interacting face to face, people tend to put all of their business online for not only for the person they intended, but for the rest of the world to see. In that regard, it makes people stupid.

True

Its probably one of the worst things that has ever happened. Whatever happened to meeting up in person and sharing your life's experiences over coffee or lunch instead of posting electronically on a board where the world can see it. There is nothing personal in that at all.

A few months back there was a study about teenagers in one town who gave up text messaging for a month as an experiment, they couldn't believe it, they had time to do their homework, and to spend with their brothers and sisters, and they actually had to go and see their friends face to face and actually TALK to them which they found to be very awkward.


Although I'm thankful for the ability to communicate online because all of my friends I talk to there, none of them live anywhere near me, it's New York or Arizona or Canada, so all my local friends it's still a face to face method of communication, or at least telephone.

Tony Marino wrote:Its probably one of the worst things that has ever happened. Whatever happened to meeting up in person and sharing your life's experiences over coffee or lunch instead of posting electronically on a board where the world can see it. There is nothing personal in that at all.

I agree. Some people take it WAY too seriously....I get messages all the time on FB from my sister, aunts and cousins asking me things. I'm thinking, why didn't you call?

I think it can be a useful tool to keep up with people though some folks don't filter and get too used to communicating via screens.

Tony Marino wrote:Its probably one of the worst things that has ever happened. Whatever happened to meeting up in person and sharing your life's experiences over coffee or lunch instead of posting electronically on a board where the world can see it. There is nothing personal in that at all.

And yet, here we are.

Nystyle709 wrote:It's a great tool for catching up with people, but it's prob. more of the latter. Instead of interacting face to face, people tend to put all of their business online for not only for the person they intended, but for the rest of the world to see. In that regard, it makes people stupid.

Agreed. My personal pet peeve is when I make a post about something random and someone responds to that post, "How are you doing today?" Just soooo out of place, you could have called, or sent a note lol.

On another note, I hate it when people turn Facebook into their diary. I had a friend on FB who constantly posted random pics of food, of her cat, what she was drinking, thoughts about how much some guy is a loser because he stood her up...I guess some people want others to commiserate with them but it seems desperate in a way.

Opa Shale wrote:
And yet, here we are.

I think it can be a useful tool but it should not be the only means of communication. It's allowed me to keep in contact with cousins who live far away without having to worry about huge long distance phone bills and I've caught up with friends I lost contact with after high school. I'll always be grateful for that.

I do agree that time should be limited, esp. for teens.

I'm not on any social networking site (I don't count TCC) so I don't know for sure. It probably does isolate certain people.

Don't like Facebook & gotta be in the mood for twitter. My online experience is pretty much limited to here, a few other forums & newsy stuff. I do less now than years ago. I'm sure some people have dedicated their lives to updating their Facebook & growing imaginary crops & an assortment of other imaginary things. So yeah I can see how easy it would be for some to become isolated by it.