Why use social networking services

Does a social networking service force us to sacrifice what could perhaps be important conversations and face to face interactions with others by substituting them with "relationships" that do not require continuous effort? Relationships where an understanding of whom the other is, is not based on a personal connection but on a perception of another that we gather from personal descriptions and photographs that others have specifically edited to portray the image that they want for themselves? Or on the contrary, does this service hand us the ability to say things to others or forge relationships with people that we wouldn't have had the confidence to otherwise, therefore, positively broadening the scale on which we socialise?

Perhaps there is no correct response to this as different people use these “services” with different levels of commitment and for different reasons. Furthermore, the level of attention and time that one permits themselves to devote to, for example, Facebook, is contingent on different factors. Is a person using Facebook as a distraction from their commitments and responsibilities or are they only signing on during spare time where they would otherwise be consumed by boredom? Is a person trying to stay in touch with people who are living far away? or is a person trying to make new friends and find people that they’ve never met to interact and create relationships with? Privacy settings help one asses which types of users they want to accept into their online world. However, when one has no way of knowing how closely another is watching their profile, privacy is not actually in full effect. Furthermore, even in this online world that we have created and claim to have the ability to keep as personal and private as we want, we are being bombarded with publicity. Again taking Facebook for example, on the right-hand column of ones profile, ads are always present. They are there to be read, to be taken in without even realising that one is doing so. On an e- mail account, junk can be filtered and one can choose to delete a message without reading it. On Facebook, junk is there, unavoidable, often only noticed subconsciously as is most publicity. So, if privacy settings may not be as efficient as we think and we can not always avoid creepy people adding us and looking at our profiles, then why use these services?

I think that humans will always want to share ideas and experiences. Why go on a trip and take photos if you can't share them with other people? Isn’t it better to have a place where you can post the names of your favorite bands with the idea that maybe someone else will like the same stuff? The bottom line is that in our rushed busy lives people don't always have the time to talk to each and everyone of their friends on the phone at night. So, if a quick post on a social networking site can make you feel like you are more involved in the life of someone that you care about, if in this site, a place has been created where you can not only learn about but somewhat view that friend's experiences, then the site, i think, has done it’s job.