Believe it or not, social networking services - not to be confused with the science of social networking in which scientists study how people network with each other while in a social environment - have existed long before My Space and Face Book were even thought about. Before My Space and Face Book there were Usenet newsgroups and traditional bulletin board systems - both of which are now considered to be for geeks and losers according to the latest technology poll on CNN.com. It appears that all hackers have since moved away from Usenet newsgroups and bulletin board systems and have migrated over to either My Space of Face Book in order to blend in with the rest of society and avoid the risk of being called a "geek" or a "loser".
Before the advent of My Space and Face Book, the practice of social networking was rather cumbersome, as there was no fancy GUI (Which means "Graphical User Interface" for those of you ultra-hip non-geeks reading this) to make things quicker, thus vast social networks were not created up until My Space and Face Book came around in mid 2003. Before this time, social networks consisted of only a few people that stuck together and didn't change their user names each time they logged in unlike today's social networks which consist of hundreds and sometimes even thousands of individuals who have never even met one another that insist on changing their My Space URL every time that they login because they are in a different mood than they were before.
Social networking is great because it allows people to stay in touch with each other no matter where they may have moved to - even jail. However, today's modern social networking websites do come with a lot of side effects, some of which may be unwanted:
Accessibility and reliability:
First up is the issue pertaining to accessibility and reliability. My Space is probably the worst with this since My Space gives its users the ability to customize their pages by allowing users to input their own HTML, CSS, and Java Script into their pages. For those of us geeks, we know this is an issue since the majority of the users on My Space can't turn on their computer, let alone insert a link or an image into a web page with basic HTML coding.
Some users get a little carried away with their pictures and wind up embedding nearly 25 megabytes worth of images directly on their My Space homepage since they didn't bother resizing their images. Others, however, don't get carried away with pictures, but instead get carried away by embedding a never-ending techno song into their page since it reminds them of the time that they were in a coma after jumping out their second floor window while having a bad acid trip. Needless to say, these profiles are your web browser's worst nightmare, and should be avoided at all costs. (Don't go on My Space at all to avoid them)
Party Gate Crashers:
Before there were social networking sites it was almost impossible to organize a spur-of-the-moment party when you found out your parents were leaving town for the day. Now since everyone is connected by social networking sites, the task of telling everyone about your party is a lot easier. Before you know it everyone in your senior class will be at your house while your parents are away. And so will every other high school senior that's within an hour's driving time from you.
Though it may seem like a good idea to simply post up the details of your party on your My Space profile, some users don't realize that unwanted guests maybe able to view the invitation and invite themselves, along with all their friends. Look on the bright side; you might become an internet legend overnight like the Numa Numa guy Gary Brolsma or Corey Delaney, the official 16-year-old party liaison of Australia.
Pedophiles and other things that go bump in the night (Literally):
Perhaps one of the biggest fears that parents have nowadays is the fear of their child being stolen by someone they met on My Space and then later sold on eBay or Craigslist to someone in a third world country looking to find a young child who can work 18 hours a day for just one dollar.
Back in the days of newsgroups this was not a worry because pedophiles did not exist then. They were simply known as horny middle-aged men looking for a nice young girl or boy to "hang out" with. Digital cameras were also not embedded in every object in those days either. In today's society it's very easy for you're 12-year-old to post pictures of themselves doing obscene things on the internet for deviants to drool over without your knowledge since you most likely let your 12-year-old stay up till 12am on school nights so as long as they are able to wake up and get ready on time the next morning.
If you're worried that your child may fall victim to The Predator, I recommend that you take a sharp knife and immediately cut the cable going from your modem to your computer. This will stop pedophiles in their tracks as they cannot talk to your child anywhere else but online and in public places where children usually hang out.
If you do take a knife to the cable linking your modem to your computer, make sure to cut away from yourself and from others. This may seem like common knowledge, but not everyone knows these things.
Censorship, China, and Soviet Russia:
In Soviet Russia, the internet censors you!
[ The rest of this section was deleted as per request of the Chinese and Russian Governments to avoid the risk of World War III breaking out]
I'd like to point out that Vito Whitlach now has his very own blog. After submitting one of his journal entries to me I could not resist wanting to read more about his transformation from a tub-of-lard to a normal-sized human being. It's ok. He calls himself a tub-of-lard from time to time, so he's cool with that.
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