Social Networking Sites - Good Or Bad?

It’s not surprising to know that these days almost everybody has an account on at least one social networking site. All different types of people from all over the world and all age groups use these sites, from children to the elderly. Even celebrities use them. On Twitter you can even follow your favourite celebrities and read their latest updates.

There are a number of such sites and some are definitely more popular than others. Facebook, Myspace and Twitter are the most popular ones from my understanding. They are updated on a fairly regular basis and are changed to be more simple for people to use and navigate around. New features are often added for the benifit of the users.

Most people go on to these sites every day to see what is going on in their family and friends lives. It’s a great way to keep in contact with people that don’t live close by and to know what’s going on in the lives of those that you love. If a family member or friend goes overseas or to a different state, you can keep in touch and look at their photos and see what they have been up to. You can reconnect with old work and school mates and see where they're at in life and what they have done in the years past. They are used for many different reasons including playing games, joining and creating groups, using applications and sharing photos just to name a few.

The question I’m raising here is whether or not these sites cause more trouble than they’re worth. I have heard and seen on many occasions of people writing nasty things about others and embarrassing them publicly for anyone to see. That is not fair and should never be done. These sites are not there to let the world know that you dislike someone and to hurt anyones feelings. I don’t believe that people need to let everybody know every single thing that they do every minute of the day. Some information should be kept private, especially if it’s regarding someone else.

Also everyone knows a lot about what you’re doing, who you know, where you are, where you work etc. If you don’t have your profile and pictures on private, anyone can look at them. I know that I wouldn’t appreciate people that I didn’t know looking through my profile, pictures and personal information.

Personally I enjoy these sites to share photos, play games and keep up to date with what’s going on in the lives of my family and friends. My sister lives in another state so it's an easy way for us to keep each other infromed with what's been going on. What do you enjoy about these sites?

I think everyone should use these sites as they are meant to be used and not take them for granted. We’re lucky to have social networking sites in the first place. Life would be so different without them. On the other hand maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing because we would see people in person instead of writing them a message or chatting online.

I remember my younger days when we all played outside and went over to each other’s houses to play. It seems that now kids go straight home to their computer and go on the internet and play games or watch television. Some time on the computer is fine but kids really do need to get out in the fresh air and run around. That used to be the best part of being a kid. Running around the park, playing ball games and generally being outside and having a good time. It's so much more healthy for them instead of sitting infront of screens.

Whether I or anyone else thinks they are a good or bad idea, they’re here to stay so we may as well respect them and the people using them. So remember to always treat people the way you would like to be treated.