Social Networking...

I am compelled to write today about social networking.

According to a survey (2010) of The American Association of Matrimonial Lawyers, Face Book, MySpace and Twitter are a pernicious and increasingly common cause of relationship trouble and divorce.  Face Book is by far the market leader here at 80%, MySpace at 15% and Twitter at 5%.

Spokespeople for Face Book proclaim that it’s not Face Book’s issue, that it is people that cause relationship problems.  I couldn’t agree more.  The trouble is, that social networking appears to amplify the problem, perhaps by increasing access for people who are unsatisfied in relationships or who have inherent holes in their personality that are amplified electronically.  What’s more, as in every form of electronic textual media, there is no explanation of the motivation behind the prose.  The purposes of the posts are not transparent to the reader.  The aspects of trait jealousy and assumption as well as conjecture are all that is available to the reader.

In addition, it seems that some people use social networking sites to bolster their sense of self worth, to amass as many “friends” as possible, often not knowing many of the “friends” they have indeed collected.  Then, there's the whole issue of privacy, or what's left of it....

If you use Face Book or Twitter or even MySpace to communicate with family or friends, then, why not pick up your phone in this age of bundled cellular minutes and data.  Talk to those people and nurture them.  Speak to your family and kids…remember, over 85% of communication is non-verbal, whether you can see the other person or not.  If you are sitting in a Hospital ward or other institution, a voice call means more than a wall post.

If you are in a committed relationship, then by all means talk to your partner if you are not receiving what you want or need.  If you are a business owner, then more power to you.  Face Book and Twitter as well as MySpace are great no cost means of marketing your business.

Image Credit:  dubinandlee.com