It is quite amazing to me to watch the phenomena of social online networks.
Whereas, they do have some nice interactive features, they are not the be-all-end-all of a human society, even if many folks think this is the epitome of an advanced civilization.
Not long ago, I was discussing this with an acquaintance who told me that kids were now doing their homework online with "virtual friends" across the globe, and by doing this they were securing long-term relationships and learning important knowledge.
Well, to that my thoughts are this; it would be a stretch to assume that social networking strengthens knowledge.
In fact, one might say it's making humans utterly stupid beyond belief, perhaps even devolving the human brain.
Yes, I know my opinion is harsh, but I don't make it lightly or off the cuff, I make it from what I am witnessing in the real world.
Nevertheless, as my acquaintance points out, these social online networks have grown incredibly fast and this phenomenon has taken the world by storm.
Yes, that is fact, it is true isn't it? Although we don't know how long it will last, if it will implode, or how it will evolve from here in the next five-years, just as one might look back 5-years hence and see how it is today and think; wow, who could have predicted that? How big is this phenomenon? Well, Facebook alone is approaching a billion subscribers, with nearly 800 million now? You cannot make up this stuff up, those kinds of statistics could not have been predicted 5-years ago.
Okay so, will social online networking continue to grow? Well, actually with technology there is usually a run-up, peak, drop-back, and then a gradual climb, so where is social networking based on that type of graph? Indeed, there may be a dying fad in 2-3 years, unless there is a significant leap forward.
Many believe or assume that folks can create long-term relationships which will last a life time using these networks, and while that is possible, generally that is the exception, not the rule.
Further, it is utterly preposterous to think that one needs to belong to a social network to be "connected" or to make friends.
That's not the case, real friends can be made anywhere, they don't have to involved in online correspondence or social online networking.
Five years ago, everyone had friends, today, people still have friends in the real world, what's the difference now, nothing except this fallacy that to have friends you must be connected to one of these online networking groups, it's simply not so.
Still, people are actually starting to believe that it is.
Maybe social networks are a net-negative and are devolving our society.
Maybe they are not worthy of the human race? Just throwing that out for all you social online networking junkies, who can't break bad habits.
Please consider all this and think on it.