Most people I know are on social networking sites and have been pressuring, I mean, asking that I join in as well.
The e-mails enticing me to join are tempting. I’ve been “added as a friend” here and there and been invited to “see what’s new” with other friends.
One even asks: “Is X your friend? Please respond or X may think you said no.”
Well, X, please be assured that I still am your friend. Didn’t we go out for lunch just the other day?
When you decide to join in the fray, you wonder which site to sign up for, before ultimately deciding to sign up with more than one site as you know different people who are on different sites.
It really reminds me of the days when instant messaging or free Web mails first started. Back then, everyone I knew had an ICQ address and multiple e-mail addresses, but today, it’s either Windows Live Messenger Mail, Yahoo Messenger or Gmail.
Additionally, besides being able to keep in touch more regularly with friends, these sites are also a great way to find long lost friends from university, secondary school and maybe even primary school.
It works especially when you have really busy friends. This is one easy way to keep in touch, assuming that the pages are updated regularly.
However, these sites can also put you in touch with people that you don’t really want to keep in touch with and don’t want them to be part of your life.
IT security and control company, Sophos, surveyed 500 Facebook users to find out how often Facebook was accessed from work. While 40 per cent only accessed Facebook from home, 37.2 per cent visited the site once or twice a day from work but eight per cent used it up to 10 times a day from work.
Meanwhile, 14.8 per cent of those surveyed, or about one in seven, logged onto Facebook almost permanently during their working day. Some friends have admitted that they are addicted to Facebook, MySpace or Friendster.
And if you do a search of Facebook addiction or MySpace addiction on the Web, don’t be surprised at the number of results that show up. While social networking sites serve as a great tool for friendships, nothing beats actually meeting a friend in person, having a good time and catching up on life over a glass of teh tarik.
And of course, taking pictures to put up on your personal space.