Unless you've been under a rock for a few years, you've heard of social networking sites like Myspace or Facebook. What is the purpose of sites like this? To summarize, it's a web-space where you can write about yourself, post pictures, and connect with people to become "friends" and even blog and post videos... Amazing. I even belong to some of these sites, including the two mentioned above.


I was reading in a local paper the other day, Boston Now, that people who use Facebook usually go to college and are more well adjusted then those using Myspace (See original reference Here.) Now if you view the comments on the article it brings up a very good point... Facebook started as a college only networking site which has just recently expanded to allow anyone with an email address to join... just like Myspace. Does this mean that Facebook will be infected by the "burnouts" of Myspace? I doubt it. More likely, people like myself already have both types of accounts, at least the younger generation of networkers do.


Are these sites safe? Even before sites like these, there were chatrooms where people asked the same questions. These sites are safe for adults with a good head on there shoulders... as for teens... I don't think they have the ability to cope with the distractions that come with these sites. Working at several community technology centers, I can attest to the face that Myspace is very popular with teens. They don't only use the site to connect with friends, but use it to try to "hook up" with people and some even practice "cyberbullying". Seeing this usually upsets me, because they should be using their limited time at the computer labs to do something productive and learn something new.


So, are social networking sites good or bad? Like anything else, it really depends on how you use them.