Social Networking - Benefits

Today, a lot of people complain about how social networking is destructive to the mind and how it creates more drama than in real life. I, however, find social networking to be something that is of much need in today’s society. Though it may not seem as such with all the bad talk about social networking websites such as Facebook or Twitter, social networking plays a huge role in our lives that we do not necessarily recognize. From a psychological point of view, you can see how helpful social networking is to those who are mentally troubled. Social websites are places that allow you to reach out and ask for help, comfort, or even just a smile. It allows people to open up a little bit more because we are not put under that mindset that we normally do in front of others in public terms. A better way to say this is that social networking sites act as our “third place” allowing us to sit down and open up to the world and express how we truly feel about certain situations. It allows us to exercise who we are outside of the real world which I believe is truly who we are in general. The way I see it, when people act polite and formal in public, it does not show who they really are. I believe the websites help in this case because even though you express yourself to those close to you, it gives you a sense of comfort knowing you do not have to be in front of some of the people reading your text.

The main reason I believe social networking is an important instrument for those who are mentally troubled is simple. People with emotional problems are hard to pick out of a crowd, chances are they hide it from society because they think it makes them look bad or that they do not wish to act as if they need help. What makes social networking good is that you can pick out these people by how they talk about things on social websites. Since people feel more comfortable on these websites talking about their life, they tend to open up much easier and tell a more detailed story about themselves which is a way of sending messages to others that you need help.

Where did it all begin?

It was first conceived in 1979 by Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis who called it a Usenet. “Usenets have no centralized server or dedicated administrator, setting them apart from most BBSs and forums” (Chapman). BBSs “Bulletin Board System” was developed in 1979 by Ward Christensen and were small servers powered by personal computers that had been attached to a telephone modem (Borders). These BBSs held discussions, community conferences, and played games. So the social networking has been around for 30 years and we are now starting to use all of this stuff as not only more frequently, but rather a part of our lives today, why is that?