Social Networking...a blessing or a deadly weapon...

NOW i only had the internet since last november, so all in all the world of social networking is still pretty new for me...but from what i have experienced from it, i can find it a very useful tool to talk to friends you won't otherwise see in real life anymore, meet and chill with your online mates and so on...but...i also found the more deadlier side of it...the side of which that can rip friendships apart, put lives at risk and ruin relationships at the same time...
I cast back to before i had the internet at my home ( i obviously had the internet in school, but for obvious reasons , social networking sites were banned) , i kept reading and hearing stories on the news about sites like myspace , facebook, bebo, attracting pedos, helping abductions and bla...but the one thing that stood out is what happened 1 or two years ago...This was where Welsh teens one by one, apparently used social networking to spread the word about something apparently cool (and this was all of them committing suicide one after the after) (link here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/117749 )...i also read where this kid was dared to kill himself live on webcam...and he did...You see, although it is a troubled minority, this i feel, while people can manipulate and abuse the internet and social networking in particular into brainwashing people into doin things which...i feel would be more easily controlled if there wasn't any...But yet...you gotta look at the other point of view...the other side of the argument...social networking can be a great thing, and something that can make new friendships and help guide people closer together in a relationship...and so on...
I can name sooo many examples which this is the case...if it weren't for social networking (I use facebook by the way) I wouldn't have hanged out great people that has helped shape my life in a new and happier light (examples are: my mates Amy, Lottie, Celeste, Umar, Gemma and MORE AND MORE PEOPLE) that without facebook, i wouldn't have hanged out and get to know them, or re-meet them again...and i am eternally grateful because of it!
And i guess one of the most important things about social networking is that you can check out what the person is "sorta like" or "hints about the person" that implies their sense of character and such before considering them as a good friend and maybe even hang out with one another in the real world...Furthermore, i feel that as we, the internet and technological generation are the ones that feel that the internet is part of our lives, something that is definitely needed to satisfy ourselves to keep in contact with the people we care for...this is especially since, alot of the friends i used to hang out with in the past have moved on far away, either due to gap years, university and so on...

So, from my personal experience, it has been mainly good for the most part, but i have seen the ugly side of things, where people can get infuriated by what people can do to them online...This is since that it is in the public domain, it may invade their privacysomewhat, and that people can get edgy over information leaked about them gets filtered through...Which could lead to their reputations being tarnished, destroyed and ripped to shreds....

So in summary, i feel that for themost part, socal networking is a good thing, as...of course the vast majority doesn't use it for derogratory means...but, however, it is always important to note that there are always dark corners of social networking, and that, you never know, you can get easily manipulated...if you are not careful

thank you for reading xx

Much Love :) Umor