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Essay Online Social Networking

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Online Social Networking sites have been rapidly emerging over the past decade. They are changing the way people interact, make and break friendships, gossip and communicate. This essay will explore the extent to which social networking has re-defined social relationships and consider whether or not the impact of social networking is generationally specific. Online social networking could be defined in many ways depending on which book, article or journal you are reading. One way social networking is defined is; an online service or website that focuses on reflecting the social networks or social relationships among young people who may share the same interests or activities. The encyclopedia of management (2009) stated that geographic …show more content…

Life’s most important social interactions no longer rely on face-to-face exchanges. Brown’s research tells us that “the internet has drastically re-shaped our individual social lives over the distance of just a couple of decades, luring us into a virtual world where traditional interactions such as living, loving, belonging and separating require new protocols” (Brown, A, 2011 p 29). For many in the future, the path followed when falling in love may be via an online website. Dating sites, which we have once thought of as an “uncool” way to meet and connect with new people, have grown in popularity. They may perhaps be seen to have taken on the role that was once filled by family and friends. ‘Facilitating and managing relationships online is projected to become close to a billion dollar industry in the United States in 2011’, (Brown, A, 2011 p30). Changes in online social relationships have increased rapidly, particularly over the past 30 years. ‘Generational differences increase as the pace of social change increase’, Shapiro said, (Salman, J, 2009). Several different generations, for example the baby boomer generation, generation Y and generation X, have embraced online social networking. As of 2009, 73% of teenagers between the ages of 12-17 use online networking sites. This is an increase from 58% in 2007. Specifically, 82% of teenagers between the ages of 14 & 17 and 55% of youth between 12 & 13 year olds have a social networking profile

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