Social Networking

Social Networking is a powerful new media technology. It is relevantly new way of communication. That is why every other day people are coming up with new ways of using this technology. First of all when we think about social networks we think about sites like Facebook, or MySpace. These networks are used primary for communication. Thus, they resolve a social problem which arise in highly urbanized societies like the one we live in. I am talking about a problem of loneliness and alienation. Very often people do not know their neighbor who lives next door. We have no time to exchange a couple of words with a somebody we do know because we hurry to catch a train or are afraid to miss an important meeting.
However, social networks are not solely used privately. Lately, businesses are trying to explore the ways of utilizing social networks. For example, Frank Langfitt gives an example of how social networks can be successfully used for job recruiting (Social Networking Technology Boosts Job Recrtuiting). Another good example of corporate application of social networks is described in the article of Kenji Hall (Why is Nissan Mimicking MySpace). Nissan Corp. is trying to bypass bureaucracy by boosting informal contracts.
The technology provides the fast, cheap and convenient way of communication. That is the biggest advantage of the social networking. However there are some “dark sides” as well. Online communication sometimes creates an illusion of a crowd around you. You think you are surrounded by friends. Though, indeed, those “online friends” are most likely just companions for a minute or two. Moreover, the more people use social networking the more difficult it becomes for them to socialize in a real world. Another big problem of social networking is a lack of real body movements. People do not need to relocate their bodies in order to communicate to each other. As one of the results, obesity becomes one of the biggest problems for Americans.
Of course, social networks are not yet fully exploit. The new technologies will make it even better and faster. Probably they would converge social networking with other technologies like virtual reality, which will make the networking even more attractive for users. Whatever it is going to be I know it will be amazing, I guess, somehow, it will change social norms, but I am absolutely not sure if it will positively affect the human physiology. Many years ago I read a fantasy story about the distant future, where people have huge heads and miserable small bodies. I want to hope that it is not going to happen.