Life in Smallville

Social Networking. By now, most of us have heard of (or even use) websites like MySpace, TagWorld, Yahoo 360, and a variety of other sites that facilitate 'social networking.' There is no doubt that is becoming a buzzword for 2006. For years now we have all been able to keep in touch with each other virtually instantaneously through a variety of methods: cell phones, email, instant messaging. So, now why is social networking becoming such a big deal?

Recently a friend of mine and I had a discussion about it. I, nor him, have been a huge fan of social networking, specifically MySpace, and so we have joked back and forth about the absurdity of it all. This particular discussion went a little different though, because it started with me saying "Dude, I on the fence now about whether or not to get a MySpace account." To which he quickly replied "If you do, I will never speak to you again." Through the conversation we discussed the aesthetic quality of MySpace (read: it is ugly), how that plays a role in the popularity of it, and a few of the pros & cons. The reason this all came up was due to an interaction I had with one of the high school students I have gotten to know over the past couple years. This particular student has moved away, and I asked him what the best way to keep in touch with him would be. I even threw out a couple suggestions "Email? Text? Cell?" Without skippign a beat, he said "MySpace." Now, the reason this puts me in a dilemma is that the reason I gave for holding out on MySpace was that I keep in touch with everyone I want to trough seeing them, calling them, emailing them, etc. And I told people the only reason I would get MySpace was if it was beneficial, instead of for the junior high popularity contest that it is. Now that this student has indicated the best way to keep in touch with him is MySpace, I am on the fence...

The reason this caused and issue with my friend though, is that he didn't see how the student couldn't just reply to an email if I sent that; and if I stop responding to my friends emails, he will disown me. So, this brings up two issue. The first being why this student couldn't/wouldn't respond to my emails. Without having discussed this with him, I am assume the reason is he does 99% of his communicating with friends through MySpace, so it is easier to keep in touch that way. A one-stop-shop if you will. So, that point is a bit understandable. I took the side of social networking and told my friend that its just a different generation. Just like with our generation (Gen X), and the generation before us. When email and instant messaging was introduced to us, we jumped on it, though some of the generation before us didn't really understand and said "Why don't you just call them?" Even though we embraced chat and email, it didn't mean we stopped talking to them on the phone. So, I told my friend I would never stop corresponding with him on email. This is just an opportunity for me to keep in touch with a student I have mentored for a couple years, and that is a worth while reason.

So, this brings us back to the original debate. Do I get a MySpace account to keep in touch with a student/friend? Or do I hold out longer, ignoring this student?

Posted by supermn on Tuesday, June 13, 2006 at 4:13 PM | Permalink