Facebook, Twitter and Other Social Media

[Ming]

Julie, try downloading a program called Skype, create an account, add contacts and when they're online, press the green call button! A picture of a webcam shows up next to the person's name if s/he has a camera, you just click that and start conversing.

[Moonraker]

Justswatiwasgonnasay!

[Julie2owlsdene]

It's as simple as that

But I still need friends

[Moonraker]

The joy of all this technology is that I am never far away from Ming! Did I say "joy"?

[Ming]

Perhaps you meant "nightmare"?

[Stephen]

I'll still look at Facebook whenever I'm online (probably not quite as much as a year ago), but I'll be the first to admit it is rather pathetic to come rushing home to see how many people have responded to your status or sent you a message as if to somehow quantify your popularity! I currently boast 75 Facebook friends (mostly family, colleagues and schoolfriends), but in REAL LIFE outside of extended family I can only really say I have a few friends at the moment, so perhaps "social networking" is a curse rather than a blessing.

You think that's shallow? Before I understood Facebook, I got an account with the even more inexplicable MySpace - simply to become friends with famous people (or at least people who claim to be famous people!) I'm currently friends with Brigitte Bardot and the lead singer of the Shangri-Las to name but two!

[Anita Bensoussane]

I currently boast 75 Facebook friends (mostly family, colleagues and schoolfriends), but in REAL LIFE outside of extended family I can only really say I have a few friends at the moment, so perhaps "social networking" is a curse rather than a blessing.

Is making friends through internet sites and communicating with them on a regular basis not part of "REAL LIFE," then? (I'm not getting at you, Stephen, I'm just pondering!)

Anita

[Lucky Star]

Is making friends through internet sites and communicating with them on a regular basis not part of "REAL LIFE," then?

Anita

Possibly. I think it walks a very fine line. A few good friends like we have on these forums and with whom we hold real and often very involved discussions and conversations is good. Especially since at least some of us have an annual opportunity to meet up face to face. However exchanging occasional comments about one's emotional status etc with virtual strangers in the peculiar medium of "txt spk", and spending all of one's time hunched over a screen searching for new contacts seems a buit unhealthy to me. I could be just misunderstanding the phenomenon, I dont use my facebook very much, but people i know who are into it seem utterly obsessed. Sometimes it appears that, to them, if its not on facebook then its not real.

[Moonraker]

I think for some people, cyber-friends is a substitute for friends that you can meet in the flesh, especially cyber-friends whom you have never personally met. Of course it is real life; it always amuses me when people who, for example, never miss an episode of any soap opera are told to "get a life" -- what does that mean? If they are happy watching tv most of the day, good luck to them!

[manzanita]

I suppose it's no new debate - the whole when a hobby or interest takes over. Think it was Robert or Moonraker who said once upon a time, reading was seen to be anti social.

I think online friends do serve a purpose, particularly for those who cannot or who find it hard to make friends, but at the same time, I do think that on the whole, society is no better off for this virtual world. Personally, I think basic manners, interaction skills, grammar and the like are going out the window and possibly the rise of online is at the back of that.

I think in a way it's also makes people more likely to "dump" someone. You don't have to face them in reality to say why you don't want to be friends with them, you can just hit "block" or whatever. Like contract killing - it's not near you so it's easier. I blame "Big Brother" and similar for that mentality. Because you can meet many people in a short space of time, do people bother getting to know one another or is it just permanently speed dating?

As I've said before, I penpal and the number of people I have come across who don't give a friendship any chance to develop or are so restrictive in who they will write to - even down to the paper the want their penpal to use! - is getting more common.

Everything is so speeded up these days and I don't think we are always doing ourselves a favour. What was it the Guinness adverts say - good things come to those who wait?

[auscatherine]

even down to the paper the want their penpal to use!

Really? What kind of specifications do they have for paper? That sounds so bizarre!

[manzanita]

It is bizarre auscatherine! Usually the stipulation is that the paper is cute and decorated with stickers and doodles because they don't like reading letters written on plain lined paper.

I really don't get it myself... it's like being at school and people only talking to the cool and "in" kids to maintain their own coolness or something. Talk about being superficial! I really think these people need to sort their friends criteria out and quick!

[auscatherine]

Oh, I was thinking it might have to be recycled or something. Even more bizarre!

[mish]

That has to be one the strangest things that I have heard for ages... when I was a kid I had penpals - I couldn't imagine stipulating their stationary choices!!! It takes all sorts I guess...

[Moonraker]

I couldn't imagine stipulating their stationary choices!!! It takes all sorts I guess...

Most of my choices would be stationary, too. Sitting in the garden, lying on the settee, staying in bed....