Is social networking shrinking the world?

“Did you know Mark and Olivia are going out?!”
“No way! Who told you that?!”
“Facebook.”

Is this conversation familiar to you? If so, then you are a social networking fiend. Don’t worry though, you’re not alone. The majority of people log on at least once a day to sites such as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter to share their thoughts, daily activities and even emotions, to the world. I am no exception, and it has come to the point where I think of it as a guilty pleasure. I know that I should be spending less time on Facebook, yet I find myself “liking” an undesirable amount of statuses, updating my own page or just generally gazing at the screen to pass the time. We all use social networking sites, far too much in many cases, but really how much have they changed our lives?

Let’s start with the facts. Facebook for instance, has 500 million users worldwide, which equates to one in 14 people in the world. To put that into perspective, the next biggest site, Twitter, “only” has just over 100 million users. Facebook has taken social networking to another level, as anything seems possible on there. You can build your own farm, become a fan of Anne Widdecombe and if you’re feeling extra cheeky, you can even ask your mum what’s for dinner. This has led to us spending copious amounts on the site, while Myspace and Bebo recede slowly into our memories as a 13 year old.

I feel Facebook has also broken new ground, as a lot of the older generation have signed up, even if it is just to see what the fuss is all about. Nowadays whole families can be linked across the world of Facebook, like some sort of crazy cyber family tree. Don’t fret though, even if you aren’t blood related your best friend could easily turn into your sister, or worse still, your husband.

Maybe some parents have got Facebook so they can keep a closer eye on their children, but I believe they have discovered that Facebook is extremely easy for catching up with old relatives, and seeing what people get up to when they can’t see them as much as they’d like. Or maybe I’m totally wrong and they’re all just vying for the highest score on Bejeweled.

Facebook serves as a sort of “halfway house”, a third party where you can create events, speak to friends, check out the photos of their latest holiday and do much more. This can be rather handy, knowing that you can learn someone’s life story through several clicks of a button. However, I find it extremely disheartening, recognising the fact that you don’t actually have to see someone in person to be friends with them. Although social networking will never eradicate people meeting up with their friends, it has made people contacting others through the internet far more comfortable than it’s ever been.

Facebook has also bulldozed it’s way into modern culture and the everyday language we use. Phrases such as “Facebook me as soon as you get in” and “Did you find that out on Facebook?” proves how much of a social community it has become, where people can discover things about distant friends that they would not normally know. From that respect, the amount of information and emotions that are plastered all over Facebook is rather scary, but we have all accepted it as normal.

Is this worrying? Even though we never think about it, it probably is, as people who we don’t even know could be looking at our profile information without us knowing in the slightest. It especially is with reports in the past of paedophiles and thieves accessing people’s profiles to discover their whereabouts, with disastrous consequences. Facebook is tightening it’s security measures all the time, so there is less of a chance of this happening now, but there will always be cause for concern.

Even Twitter is making the global community far more local, but what is unique about Twitter is that it’s bridging the gap between celebrities and their fans. People can discover what their idols get up to on a daily basis, and while Dizzee Rascal might not be too keen on the idea of a female fan purring over the thought of him just having “a bangin’ shower”, I think celebrities enjoy the opportunity to be normal people. If you’re really lucky, your favourite popstar could “follow” you back, effectively letting Lady Gaga know when you’ve got a massive hangover, or telling Wayne Rooney to concentrate on his skills with a football, and not any other type of balls.

Social networking sites will continue to grow in popularity, especially as there is a film released this month about Facebook, entitled ‘The Social Network’. How ironic then that people could be organising a trip to the cinema to see a film about the very site that they’re planning it on.

As a result of their success, Facebook and Twitter have compressed the worldwide community into several manageable, easy to roam websites. Although they have made it far easier for friends to connect and contact each other, it is slightly worrying that Joe Bloggs from the Cook Islands could be looking at your photos from the night before right now.

Social networking is fast becoming a part of modern culture, growing synonymously with the internet, and even though we could easily live without it, it’s hard to see past it.