Myspace, Facebook, Twitter.....does anyone really care? And when did it become more popular to hang out and chat on a site, then to hang out and chat in person? And if the idea of these sites is supposedly social networking, then why do you constantly hear people talking about never meeting anyone from the internet? It just seems like the ultimate purpose of sites like those, is to have an entire set of friends without ever leaving the comfort of your computer chair. Now, granted I am talking about all this from the comfort of my home, where I can choose what I wear, I can burp, I can lie, I can pretty much do anything and it's what you perceive based on what i choose to tell you about myself that you base your opinion or judgment of me on. The real goal of getting to know people without actually getting to know them has been accomplished and we all bought into it. Why intimately know someone from up close, when you can vaguely love from afar, right? I'm just sayin'...

I would love to hang out with friends more in RL than online, trouble is, i dont have the funds to go out as much as i would like to.

I started coming online about 5yrs ago, and it was initially cos i was a single parent and couldnt get out much, it gave me opportunities to meet new friends (which over 30 i have met in RL now).

Nowadays, and for the last 2 n half yrs, i have merely been coming on to keep up with my boyfriend whilst he is at work, because we live in diff countries, for now at least. Not everyone is online to meet ppl, some just wanna pass time, and some just wanna have fun/cyber socialise.

If u come online with honesty, likelihood is u will attract like minded ppl, not everyone is honest online, but u soon weed out the wheat from the chaff.

Pink_Lady....That was an honest synopsis of why you came out online, and p.s. you have just given me my new fav quote of the week, "weed out the wheat from the chaff"...lol. My intent is not receive any answers to my statements, but to invoke like-minded conversation or provoke thought about topics that come up constantly, but are never generally or fully addressed on an intellectual level. P.S. I hope you and your boyfriend get to be together soon!

all of the 'online' friends that i have don't necessarily know one another. hence, myspace makes it really easy to stay in touch with all of them at the same time.

same with mingle.

and some of these friends are better friends to me than some of the real life ones.

keep in mind, not everyone judges friendship in the manner that you do.

My boyfriend and I will be moving in together in 3 weeks! and theres ^^^ 1 of those great friends i have met in RL!

Just to add, i am a frequent visitor to facebook because a lot of my family and friends in rl r there. Its more of a local online place than here for me.

don't you ^^ look gorgeous today

Aw bless ya doll....i hate my teeth so i dont do open mouth pics very often lol!

awwwww silly rabbit

you have a brilliant smile

Im too lazy to put clothes on to go outside......

For the most part, I use Facebook to keep in touch with my friends from back east. A plane ticket is a bit beyond my financial abilities just now, and we have all moved on since college, so our schedules rarely match up for a phone call. With Facebook, we can exchange messages fairly regularly, or just keep tabs on each other, without worrying about timezones and schedules. I know we could do all that with regular email too, but you can do other things on Facebook too, like play games, and share photos.

For the most part, facebook and myspace are used to keep in touch with people I actually know. I'm sure others don't do it that way, but I don't use either of those sites to meet new people.

I also hate the saying "I'm just sayin."

i'm too lazy to care and just go out to visit and shop in my pajamas.

i de-activated my facebook account months ago, and rarely used it prior to that, because of the fact that i think it to be a rather superficial and juvenile way of conducting "friendships".

i've decided that if a friend wants to find out whats going on with me, they can either call me up, hit me up on messenger, or meet up with me in person. i'm not yelling into the wilderness of cyberspace on the off chance that one of hundreds of "friends" gives a damn about what's going on in my life. methinks if a "friend" doesn't put in the effort to know me, then they don't deserve to.

also, i hate the idea of staying in touch with people that i deliberately chose to fall out of touch with for one reason or another. i like a simple sort of existence... i don't need random acquaintances from elementary school cluttering up, and being privy to, my present life. "drifting apart" is a lot less messy than refusing "friendship requests".

the need to accumulate fans rather than actual emotionally intimate friendships is what's creating a society of self-promoting narcissists and attention-at-all-costs seekers rather than individuals who can look outside themselves at the world.

I don't use facebook to conduct friendships. Mostly, we use it as a way to contact everyone to plan events. Movie nights get scheduled and announced via facebook. And it lets the host or hostess know, in general, who to expect that week. We find if very useful. Some of use will post a general indicator if we have had a particularly bad day or something great happened. And we occassionally challenge each other at a game or two. But it is really great for planning gatherings.

ah, the freedom to interact with people (or not) on your own terms is simply marvelous isn't it?

I use facebook to give a hard time to my bro's that don't live around me. I can see whats going on in there life, maybe they had a party or wedding they attended with another friend that I could not attend, and they put pictures up. I get to see them and it's cool to stay in touch.


It could be done through email - that isn't the same layout or easy access to joking around with them as it is on facebook.

If I'm at work, I'm on the computer 80% of the time it seems like - its right there if I want to take a 10 minute break and see what Billy in Virginia did this last weekend - or see updated photos of his kids - whatever.



I do believe that twitter, myspace, facebook - it is like a pinball chaotic mess in "some" peoples brains. They need to know what is going on at all times, what are you doing now!? what are you doing now!/ what are you doing now!?


A lot of younger kids don't stop to relax and enjoy the moment - sit out on the lake and watch the water or watch the sun set. Too busy texting.

Those moments - people don't have time for anymore. Communication could be a problem face to face to a lot of kids in the future? maybe.


That's my quarrel with facebook or twitter or myspace.

I'm stuck at work too many hours---online just became the only way I am able to meet people....

AMEN!!!! BIG BIRD!

AMEN 2 TIMES Muscle Man!!!!!

On the one hand, people tend to be more open and honest in print, without someone apparently trying to "read" their eyes as they speak.
They may speak very passionately about subjects which concern them.
On the other hand...
We react subconsciously far more to body language than we realize.
Body language is dramatically reduced through the use of a "profile".
Three posted pics mean up to three of these subconscious impressions.
In a face-to-face, during the "loosening up" process...laughing, talking, etc., a multitude of subconscious impressions might be derived.
Misunderstandings may arise through "print conversation". The offended person may be too quick to cut off the conversation, to "punish" the other party so as to derive a momentary sense of power in their lives and how people treat them. Sadly, what may have been a great friendship was discouraged long before it had a chance to blossom.
The notion of "collecting" friends has always nauseated me.