Social Networking....Pros and Cons

For the last few weeks I've been pondering some of the pros and cons of social networking as a whole. As many know, social networking has became the norm in this society. It seems like everything is centered around social networks like facebook, twitter, etc. I must admit though that I've became a little fatigued with this concept of social networking because 1) I spend too much time on it and 2) too many things have became petty thanks to social networking.

So today I decided to seek some friends on social networks regarding what they saw as some pros and cons to social networking. Some of what they said as pros included networking, connecting with people (especially those who we may have never connected with if it wasn't for social networking), rekindling of old friendships, ways to interact with persons of influence, the spread of the gospel, and convenience. Some of the cons shared included privacy (the lack thereof), the fact that once it's in cyber space it's there forever, identity theft, and potential problems with relationships.

But at the end of the day, one of the best points made to me (and I'm paraphrasing) is that "social networking is what you make it." Therefore, if we use it for positive purposes then it can be a positive force. That thought really stuck with me!

So what do I see as the pros and cons of social networking? For pros, I think social networking is a good way to connect with people. It allows people who are maybe not as social in society to be social via a computer. I think social networking is a good way to pass along information. Some of the major news stories from deaths to political stories are sometimes first brought out on social networks. Also I agree with all the points made by my friends as far as the pros.

For cons, I think that social networking has made us kind of anti-social as a society. Maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but I do not think that we value face to face interaction like we did back in the day. It's almost like we really don't have to have face to face conversations to interact well with people. There are many people I've met via social networking that I've never met in my life but connect with them well because we may share personal interest like belief in God. Also, I hate the fact that many people put out their business on these sites. People need to write down their very private thoughts in a journal. If they don't want people in their business, they should not put it out there because once it's out there, it's out there.

Overall, social networking is a phenomenon that most likely is not going anywhere, can be a positive tool for this generation, but at the same time must be used with caution! I've learned as I'm maturing more that everything in our head does not need to be put out there for the world to see. As it has been said, some things are better left unsaid!