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One of the 21st century's youthful social phenomena is probably rewriting all known sociology textbooks. The authors of those textbooks never would have even dreamed of such things like instant messaging, texting (or SMS in some areas), MySpace, Friendster and blogging. Put the sociologists of yesteryears in today's wired world and surely they would be left scratching their heads and wondering where the humanity in relationships has gone. "Dude, you don't get it!" For those of us who probably "don't get it", we should reach really far back and call up the idea of pen pals. If you were one of those who had a pen pal, remember how you used to look forward to receiving your pal's letter in the mail? Never mind if the letters came every other month, there was no other choice at the time. The main thing was that the pen pal cared enough to write and you enthusiastically wrote back. And what about the stories you shared in your letters? Detailed communication! Nowadays, there are text pals or text mates. A typical message would probably read: "C u l8r at 7". The reply would be a simple "K". Come to think of it, I suddenly feel sorry for K's one-time inseparable partner, O. This, I humbly submit, is where all humanity ends. I am not implying that the human race will end because of social networking, but rather what makes us humans. Life in the 21st century has introduced humanity to a lot of exciting, new technology and it is a wonderful thing. So many things that were once tedious are now incredibly convenient tasks. I have to admit that texting has been useful for me as well but the difference is my relationship with those who are dear and close to me does not revolve around it. I do not say this to admonish today's youth. The point is I still prefer the personal communication as far as my relatives and friends go. A web analyst once remarked that the popularity of sites like MySpace and Friendster is due to the immediacy of the members' personal information such as their hobbies, likes and dislikes, photos, as well as a level of anonymity for all the members. Up to this day, I still have a hard time reconciling how anonymity can be an ingredient in personal relationships. Does it not take away from real communication? "Chill dude, we're just having fun!" Fair enough. I am just worrying that today's teenagers' idea of communication is using words made up of consonants and numbers and no vowels. Maybe this is also part of the convenience that technology has afforded us. It would be a pity if some of today's youngsters become slaves of technology instead of putting it to good use for themselves. Picking up all these bad habits early will be harder for them to break later on. "Dude, you worry too much." Maybe. Maybe not. I am only thinking back to what some sociologists and psychologists once said--that effective communication is the basis of harmonious relationships. So my logic is simple--every society strives for harmonious relationships and since societies are made up of various networks, then social networking needs effective communication. So start using those vowels again. Now let's party, dude.
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-- Webmaster of www.emailantivirus.info and frustrated sociologist, but still happy to be of help.
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