Rambling About The Problem with Social Networks

There are good things about social networks. With ones like Facebook you can keep in touch with friends, twitter can help you keep up with the goings on of your favourite artists, actors, writers, or even those celebrities that are famous for just being famous if that's who you like to follow. Dailybooth and Formspring can cure boredom and gives a field day for psychologists.

Now, I'm not going to say they're all terrible even though they are, at times, a little pointless. If they were totally terrible, why would I have them at all? However, one of the main things I don't like about them is how easily you can post anything. It's one thing posting a little update or a nice comment that spurs a 222 comment long discussion on Doctor Who but it's also so easy to post about something that's made you angry and vent it out on the world. There are some people who use Facebook, Dailybooth or twitter as a place to share or vent something overly personal. You know, the sort of things that really should be told to a best friend or someone else close. I know people need to share how they feel but there are some things where sharing it on a platform where anyone and everyone can see isn't necessarily a good idea. I mean, what do you say to someone you don't know very well who has posted something to do with their depression or something related? I'm trying to be careful and I don't mean that we shouldn't be aware that these sorts of problems exist but it's the public nature of such Facebook, Twitter and Dailybooth outbursts that is the issue. Even if you know them it still doesn't always seem right commenting and replying so publicly and what about the idiots who see and give rubbish advice?

I don't know if I'm making any sort of sense and I'm not moaning as such at the people who post these things. When you feel like that you don't really think about the consequences but I'm more moaning at the system that allow us to post so easily. The system that allows us to post before we have a chance to think over what we're posting and then the thing is online for the world to see.

It's the paradox of the internet. The ability to share like this can be great. Being able to share anything means we can find out so much more, talk to more people, discover so many more cultures and opinions, to be part of a wider community such as Nerdfighteria but with this wider opportunity comes a greater responsibility. It's so easy to share things that we could regret, so easy to share things in a wrong way before thinking about what's been said.

On the other side of the equation, it's also so easy to comment. People can comment and help but it's also so easy for people to comment something idiotic and make the situation worse with their not very well thought out advice or even short comment that's meant to be funny but really don't fit with the situation.

Now, this isn't a very clearly stated opinion because , if I'm honest, I'm not sure quite where I sit with things like Facebook, Twitter, Dailybooth... While I have my issues with them there are also reason I like them. Reasons that mean, for now, I'm keeping my accounts.


DFTBA

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·         Latest book read: Still reading "Friends Like These" I should really finish it.

·         Latest film/TV/ watched: The Return of Tracy Beaker - Episode 2 embarrassingly enough

·         Latest music listened to: Hum the Tune by EddPlant currently playing.

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·         Programs and web pages currently open: In Google Chrome:

Alien President, Snails: Brothers in shells, Cylinder and Miserable, Fort Paradox, The application page for a Doctor Who exhibition pilot, Matt's Blog, (the usual offenders! lol), Blogger in draft: new post,  Windows Live Mail,  Windows Media Player.