Never Say Ain't 'cause Ain't Ain't a Word

In his blog, Tony mentions how social networking is in fact, good for our society.

"It keeps everyone connected. Through kaisers website http://mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org/ncal/youngadulthealth/get_care/connectwithyourdoctor.jsp patients can talk to doctors, or if they have an account patients can change appointments, read all the messages the doctors send to each other, and also face to face chat with the doctor."

Wow. This is an excellent point. A lot of people think that social networking is a poison spreading through out our society, taking up our time, being essentially pointless. I agree with Tony that social networking is important, though not essential. It keeps us in contact with people all around the world, and without the time and effort required by snail-mail. And in regards to important or urgent news, it works a LOT better than post-mail.

Social networking using computers is an amazing advancement from the days of lets say, the civil war, where you'd hear of a battle that needed your aid a week after it had been fought. As computers developed, so did our mail system. Logically, social networking fits into this chain.
It’s interesting that so many people see social networking as a time-consuming nuisance, because, as Tony’s response shows, social networking can even help people schedule their lives more efficiently.
Also, how can you say that things like Facebook and MySpace are bad for society, when one of the most common forms of communication these days is email? Email is very closely related to social networking, actually, its predecessor! Email came before social networking, and social networking usually includes some form of email-like communication, usually called private messages or “PM’s”
But, that brings up the question of whether or not sites that include Personal Messages are to be considered Social Networking. In this instance, I would say yes, and conclude that most sites are “social networking” sites. That game you play online with thousands of other players – social networking. Wikipedia, which you go to for your facts, can be altered by almost anyone – social networking. Google, which links you to most, if not all websites that exist – social networking.
In a society based almost entirely on how we interact with each other, be it through social networking, or phone, or email, can anyone seriously oppose social networking sites?