Social Networking Sites

It's impossible to deny the fact that society uses the internet as an important source of communication. Because I've had both a Facebook and Twitter for a few years now and have always looked at it as sort of   its "own world" for just students, it's pretty weird to see it so quickly turn from a place to keep in touch with friends into an outlet for businesses, organizations, and people of all ages to communicate.
Although Twitter is more of a fast-update site (and seems like a perfect tool for those with a quick wit and short attention span) and is quite different from Facebook, Facebook has definitely become the most popular social networking website.

Both sites have a live feed of the people you are either friends with or following, yet all Twitter updates are the same- just people tweeting; whereas with Facebook, the feed could be any updates of different forms of activity. Facebook overall is a lot more interactive because of the ability to access people's photos, videos, and posts on their wall. Twitter is much more organized and simple- your profile is just the things you post (like a blog), instead of people posting on your profile, like Facebook.

Although I used to be an avid Facebook user, but lately I've been a bit turned off from it. I do really love the networking aspect of it, though. I think it's a smart tool for businesses, local artists, bands, etc. to use to get their name out there and heard, but for me it's starting to seem like a contest. And ignore me if I come off a little cynical or naive, but I see as a place for teenagers to post about their lives simply because they want everyone's feedback and gratitude. When I'm on my Facebook newsfeed I get too caught up in other people's lives, especially ones that I don't even need to be (for instance, a random acquaintance that I had French class with my freshman year of high school). I see that in a lot of my friends, as well, who admit that they barely even know a large chunk of the people they're friends with on Facebook. I think that sometimes it's easy to get yourself caught up in those lives that are around you, rather than focusing on those you love and especially yourself and your own happiness rather than happiness of your ex-roommate's friend's girlfriend during her trip to Cabo.

Yes, Facebook is a great tool for networking just about the entire world to, well, the rest of the fast-paced world, and being a Communications major I 100% see the many positives it comes with. But me? I feel less stressed without Facebook, which is why I deactivated it. It started to turn into an impulse to check every single time I connected to the internet, and since I have such an addictive personality, it became a negative thing. I like staying in touch with my family and friends through other means of communication.

...I still love Twitter though. Hehe.