FACING IT: Humans' experiment with social networks is fairly new, but wildly popular. Researchers are trying to get a handle on the impact of these new social tools on our minds.
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In Brief
- As social networks proliferate, they are changing the way people think about the Internet, from a tool used in solitary anonymity to a medium that touches on questions about human nature and identity.
- If Facebook were a country, it would be the fourth most populous in the world, just behind the U.S. Almost half of its users visit every day.
- Nielsen Online reports that social networking (and associated blogging) is now the fourth most popular online activity. Time spent on social-networking sites is growing at three times the rate of overall Internet usage, accounting for almost 10 percent of total time spent online.
- Social networks can lessen loneliness and boost self-esteem. But they can also have the opposite effect, depending on who you are and how you use these forums.
Steve is the kind of guy who likes to let everyone know what he is doing in generous detail. His Facebook page is littered with entries such as “Just finished my java mochaccino and about to walk Schnooker” and “Lost recipe for my scrumptious caramel fudge cake ... super bummed ... sigh.” He is certain that his online friends want to know exactly what is going on in his life, and what better way to oblige them than with hourly, if not half-hourly, updates?
It is easy to dismiss what Steve and millions of social-network users do every day as the flower of banality, but in truth they are engaged in the largest worldwide experiment in social interaction ever conducted. The Internet has always provided a loose forum for the like-minded to congregate, but social networking contributes considerable structure to the chaos, allowing people to communicate more consistently and vigorously than ever before.
This article was originally published with the title Are Social Networks Messing with Your Head?.
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5 Comments
Add Commentit is a important topic that
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs for social networks, I haven't yet seen what they can do that email and blogs can't, though I can imagine some better-designed systems.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI don't have a cell phone, or any of their descendants. Why would I want to type on a little bitty keyboard and look at a similar-sized screen that has to be at least a few inches from my eyes? I would have much preferred that computers, cell phones etc. had gone more toward being wearable. The ideal I hope to see some day has a headset with two screens on either side of the head, viewed in semi-silvered mirrors and magnifying lenses. One could simply turn down screen brightness to see through the mirrors to what's going on in the real world.Two screens would give options for 3-D. Many other options could be added.
A flexible keyboard would strap across the knees when sitting, or across the stomach when standing. A small version would about 15 character keys for the fingers of each hand and two or three modifier keys (Shift, Ctrl, Alt etc.) for each thumb. Modifier keys could be pushed in various simultaneous combinations, to give at least 16 possible meanings for each character key. More advanced designs are definitely possible.
This topic is very important. Because, modern man is addicting to the Internet and its sites. This situation is reducing the rate of reading a book or watching a movie or communicating the other people. Increasingly, people is losing their communication skills. Therefore, this topic is essential.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSorry,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMost people are not that interesting... after 15 mins. it's totally boring.
I totally agree with you. What I like about your writing is that you did not fill it with unnecessary fluff. Most of the times, less is more and your opinion on this matter definitely highlights that. Clear and concise, very informative, and I will definitely be back for more. Thanks for the useful info!
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