I am a very active user of the social network website Facebook, using it predominantly to keep in touch with friends and family I am unable to keep in touch with as much as I would like.
However, if I were to consider how my relationships are mediated by social networking websites like Facebook, Facebook firstly requires that you send a friend request which can either be accepted or declined. In this way, you are able to pick and choose who you want to become friends with. In addition to this, you can become friends with someone and delete them as a friend at any point you may wish. Yet, if someone's Facebook privacy settings aren't on, anyone can gain access to the information and photos on display, which can potentially cause problems. These are just some of the ways Facebook is able to mediate our relationships.
I have now joined LinkedIn and Twitter and have accounts with both social networking websites. As I have only recently joined both I do not have many connections/friends. However, on Twitter, I am following people I have never met and do not know personally. For example, I follow Henry Winter and Andy Dunn, both football writers at national newspapers, and people whom I have not met. I follow people like this to keep up-to-date with the latest football headlines. I do not consider following these people to be dangerous as they are both trusted and respected people. I find Twitter in particular, to be a good source for information I am interested in. However, it is worth mentioning that I would not follow people on Twitter who I was skeptical of, and wary of.
As for whether I would consider taking on Internet friendships, I do not think I would be. I know that I have 439 friends currently on Facebook, and probably of those, am only close, and see about 20 of those friends. However, I do not become friends with people on Facebook unless I have met them in person before. Therefore, I would not be receptive to taking on Internet friendships. I would not feel safe about the information I was sharing and what it might be used for, if used at all. I still prefer to make friends in public first.
Lastly, with regards to the phenomenal rise in online dating websites, I have to say I am quite surprised by how much they have taken off over the past several decades. However, with many people living busy, globe trotting lifestyles revolving around their work, making it increasingly hard for singles to meet other compatible mates, I suppose it shouldn't really come as a surprise.
In recent years, online dating has developed tremendously, growing to include media components such as free personals, video elements, audio/phone capabilities, and other technologically advanced programs that allow people to interact in a very personal and accurate way. Before online dating services were developed, many people feared to use their service because they didn't know who they were talking to, or if the correspondence was with a real person and not just a computer. While there are still some risks and cautions to consider, online dating has become much more personal and interactive over the years, creating a higher sense of trust in the online dating community.
Having said this, there is no doubt online dating has become an extremely popular way to look for a companion and that the online dating service will continue to be a dominant force in the dating scene for many years to come.
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