Steven M.

Combs

Computer/Writing/ Lit.

Module 4 Discussion Rough Draft

11/1/2010

The Social Network

Internet services range from a wide variety including dating, gaming, networking,

chatting, shopping, etc. The only question we have to ask ourselves is will we become part of the

fad or wont we?

I will say this internet services such as MySpace and Face book have definitely allowed

us to keep in touch with our close friends and meet new people that we have never met before. It

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is a huge framework for networking and socializing. As well as a great means of keeping in

touch with long distance relatives. Other services such as Twitter, Yahoo, AOL, and several

other online chatting programs have allowed business to keep in touch with one another and have

provided a completely necessary service to the people. A website claims that Face book has, “65

billion page views per month”(Owyang), whether or not we want to realize it online social

networking has become a fad as well as a need. Unfortunately one major social networking need

that would be appreciated is for our soldiers to use it to communicate with family members. This

has been a debate that was brought up starting a three year ban that was recently lifted on

soldiers. The fear was, “after new rules determined it could lead to a breach in

security.”(DAILY). In cases such as this I disagree and think our soldiers deserve the right and it

is a necessity to keep up with family relatives as they are protecting our soil with their lives.

Soldiers are now allowed to socially network, “the U.S. military will now allow active duty

personnel to access Facebook, Tweet and other sites _ just not from military

computers”( Weller).

As technology evolves we will all become

more socially networked in easier ways than we can

imagine. What may pull us away as the web will one

day also unite us because of the speed in which

communication can travel. Our businesses can

increase because of the instant communication that

we can have with social networking. Where as

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previously days of travel and planning trips for conferences costs not only precious time but

money. Recently documented as the highest to lowest countries using social networking is as

follows, “85% of respondents in Malaysia use social networking at least occasionally followed

by India (83%), Singapore (81%), United States (75%), China (73%), Germany (52%), France

(50%) and Japan (28%)”(Accentures). Social Networking through online services is a definite

need in our lives, while some are able to still exist far from the online social networking theme.

Other people have a high demand for the service.

Personally, I have a great desire for networking

both social and online. Online services such as

MySpace, Face Book, and Online Gaming I have had

personal experience with. In regards to family I believe

that online networking services such as this can not

only be a huge waste of time but does make us the

ultimate couch potato in which we use the services. I have been addicted to online gaming both

computer and on a game console. The area in which you can socialize really doesn’t have a limit

when it comes to the web, because potentially everyone is connected. The online game World of

Warcraft in the year 2008 reach, “10 million players with Asia leading the way.” (Humphries).

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 An interesting side statistic from this same site is that WoW generates, “149,500,000

million dollars a month”( Humphries). Outstanding revenue all because of social networking.

Whether it be online gaming, dating, networking or any social networking on the side of that

through an online service I believe does separate family members. I know that I have spent less

time with my family and more time on a game with people I don’t know. It both saddens and

disgusts me to think about lost time that I could have had with family members. Especially

family members that are old now and don’t have that much time left. In my experience with

online services such as these I believe that without control and without proper constraint it is

very easy to lose yourself into this area of life. I have wasted whole days before probably

counting into the week on playing online multiplayer games. Time that could be spent improving

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myself both mentally and physically, relational improvement with friend’s family. There are so

many areas that we miss out on now in today’s world because of the high tech online industry.

But I think it all revolves around a choice. I believe that we all decide whether or not we want to

be family oriented or not family oriented. For most, online services are a way to detach from the

normal world and go experience another world for them. A lot of people that do social

networking online are looking to get away from the common world and common social norms

and escape for just a little bit. I have known people personally in online communities that these

services have sadly become their life. Because of depression or other social disorders they

regress into online communication because they don’t have to interact with people face to face.

I believe if I was to give recommendations or troubleshoot

this issue I would go back and focus on why we are turning

to online networking. I believe some of us just truly enjoy

social networking and it is a great aid / tool that we can use

to move on with our daily lives. However, in areas where

our whole lives revolve around online networking I believe

we need to re-examine ourselves. Some people may turn to an addictive life of online networking

because of depression or social relation issues. Whereas others may just see it as a useful tool

that also consumes them and have no social issues whatsoever. I believe in both situations it may

be good for us to try and let go of some online networking and get back to core values. I don’t

believe in this day and age we have enough core values. By core values I mean life values things

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that are truly relevant for our growth and potential in everyday life. I wish that families would

get back to what they used to be. I long for the times when families were built because of

relational communion. Leadership and self development were taught by both mother and father.

Growing up I had an excellent family and I could never have asked for a better one. But as time

went on I realized that I was never really taught any core values by my family. I was never

taught leadership, self development, respect it almost seemed as if it was just something that was

expected of me to pickup or learns myself. Gratefully I did learn all these things as time passed

and I grew, but I was never taught it from an early age, which is something I would have greatly

loved. Regardless of our rebellion as teenagers or the famous “things are so bad with young

people” quote that I hear constantly we truly want to be lead and taught. Most of our rebellion

lies in the fact that no one is willing to be foundational with us and teach us things that really

matter about life, family, and relationships. So my recommendation would be that families stop

the drama that kids are trying to get away from everyday and teach them about real life. And as

younger generations learn about real life I believe there will be less focus on online networking

and more focus on family.

However, that doesn’t mean that technology and online networking will be overlooked. I

mention this because the “problem” is that online services take up too much of our time and

seems to be separating the family more and more.

I believe that as humans and especially relatives we are all connected and we can feel the

distance of on another spreading apart more and more as we become separated. But if the

separation was lessened by giving us true values to live on technology and networking could

become a thing of the past.

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 The obvious revelation of online services becoming an issue has been because of the

separation of close relationships. As a people I think we are losing ground when it comes to

families. I don’t think I would blame all our problems on technology but more or less a lack of

commitment. And I think that is what truly the issue at hand is. We are committed to games,

MySpace, face book, twitter, texting, but rarely are we committed now to things such as a real

relationship, marriage, family, physical health.

All in all I think that social networking is

like drinking, ha. I know that is a funny example

but I think the saying; “drink in moderation”

applies to the context in which we need to think

about online networking. Moderation is important in any area of life we have to realize whats

important and what is not so important. Family time is definitely more important than time to

spend on a game. Hanging out with friends is a lot more important than chatting online getting

fat all day. So I believe that when it comes to online services moderation is whats important and

if we can adjust our lives to give less to the web and more to the family we can truly grow.

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 Works Cited

Humphries, M. (2008, January 24). World of warcraft passes 10 million players,

Weller, R. (2010, February 27). Military lifts three-year ban on some social

Owyang, J. (2008, January 9). Social network stats: facebook, myspace, reunion

Accentures, Initials. (2010, April 1).  Malaysia the most sn active country . Retrieved
from http://www.socialnetworkingwatch.com/2010/04/malaysia-the-most-sn-active-
country.htm

DAILY, MP. (2009, February 16). Soldiers banned from using myspace and
facebook... in case they breach national security read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1146167/soldiers-banned-using-myspace-
facebook--case-breach-national-security . Retrieved from
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1146167/Soldiers-banned-using-MySpace-
Facebook--case-breach-national-security.html

Image References

Social Networking Image.jpg - http://forum.belmont.edu

Internet – 1.jpg - http://en.kazete.com.tr

Girl8.png – http://gamerpaper.com

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