6 reasons Social networking is bad for society

[Vault101]

http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-scientific-reasons-social-networks-are-bad-society/

another cracked article I want to get the escapisists opinion on....

also I have a question...would you define the escapist or the forums here as some kind of social networking site? do the same rules/problems mentioned in the article apply here?

EDIT: one thing that kinda worrys me is the whole sexism thing...I mean if the internet in anythign to go buy sexism is stil kind of a big thing and I mean beside the "doing it for the LUL'Z" aspect of it (you'd think people would know better..)

 

[Alon Shechter]

This is either an unfunny joke or a very silly article..

 

[Sarah Frazier]

The funny thing is that it's kind of true. The few examples I have of different people and how they use social networking sites was enough to show that those who spent a lot of time playing the cruddy games and sharing gossip were generally the kinds of people who were bad at face-to-face interactions, while those who used the sites less were a bit more mentally and emotionally balanced. It's even something I can see in myself...

 

[Alon Shechter]

This is either an unfunny joke or a very silly article..

...have you ever read Cracked before?

Nope.
Am I missing something?

 

[Trippy Turtle]

I hate them, they are going to fade as fast as they come up. Remember Myspace? They are a massive waste of time and Farmville is the worst excuse for a game I have ever seen.

 

[Crazy_Dude]

While they do have a few good points with the article you should never take Cracked too seriously.

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

I don't think The Escapist counts as a social network, no.

I've seen few (very few) people who send out mass friend requests randomly. And beyond our shared love of geek and gaming culture....what do we really know about our Escapist "friends"?

It's just a way of acknowledging each other as opposed to actually "knowing" them, which is what "friending" is supposed to be in the first place....I think....

 

[Artina89]

I really wouldn't take Cracked too seriously. I wouldn't consider The escapist a social networking site as such, as beyond that you probably like games/movies/whatever, I don't know you. However, I intensely dislike social networking sites, because most of my friends on Facebook like to mention what type of yoghurt they are currently eating as a status, which is why I don't use Facebook that often.

 

[THE_NAMSU]

#6,2 and 1 are absolutely correct, especially #2.
FFS why won't people just stfu and mtfu, I hate these stupid whining people who post some stupid message about their cat dying or something and then when someone tries to talk to them (obviously not me, I enjoy their pain) they tell that person to F off. Some of the most arrogant, slaggy, bitchy too social binge drinker bastards are on Facebook and what not all day.
For example, there's this one slut I know who just recently posted something about her puppy being sold by her parents (when she has like 5 others), and when my friend tried talking to her, she and her other bitches piled on him =/.

 

[fusion_cell]

I don't use social networks at all. I think they are stupid, if my friends want to know how I am or what I'm doing they can ring, visit or email. I am not self important enough to post what I am doing every second of every day. I tried Facebook for a while but after so many posts of 'buying loo rolls lol' or 'getting drunk' I just don't care about other people that much.

I really don't get the point in social networkings sites.

I have friends that are on Facebook 24:7. While out they are constantly on their phone checking Facebook. It drives me crazy, it stops them being actually social. I haven't look at the article yet but I will asap

 

[Sarah Frazier]

A little bit off topic: The only time I even bother to check Facebook is to keep in touch with family members out of state and coordinate with people in my D&D group. Emails and phone calls can work just fine when you're dealing with one person at a time, but it turns into a mess of email spam when you're trying to work with six people at once who may not all be online at the same time or even use compatible instant messengers.

That's when a social network becomes very handy and how it should have been used... To help make socializing easier, rather than replacing it by broadcasting everything you're doing, as you're doing it. And those games where you need X-many friends who also play don't help despite forcing people to 'network' and find people who will also play, or at least put up with the flood of requests for stuff.