Social Networking sites have been on the rise for the past decade. People have undoubtedly used sites like Facebook and Twitter much more over the past few years, and the statistics now prove it. Social networking sites are used 23 percent of the time by Internet users, the most by any type of website. Social games, such as Farmville, jumped all the way up to the number two spot, which was previously held by e-mail use.
Websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace have changed the way people communicate with each. Instead of having to make an e-mail account and wait for back-and-forth e-mail messages, people can just as easily log on to their Facebooks and write on each other’s walls. Another cause of the rise in usage compared to e-mail is the ability to look at photos of yourself and friends. With Facebook, people can click and view hundreds upon hundreds of photos of things they or friends have done. This cannot be done as easily via e-mail.
Social gaming has also increased rapidly. Games like Farmville and Family Feud have become much more popular applications for users of Social Networking sites. These games allow friends to compete against each other and communicate in a different way, leading to their rise in popularity. They are also a big alternative to doing work, causing a large increase in procrastination, especially amongst college students.
People no longer have to use portals to find the latest news. They do not have to go to Bing or Google or Yahoo! to search for stories about their favorite celebrities, sports teams, or even political issues. They can join groups on Facebook or join a Twit List and find out information from their peers and voice their opinion on the issues at hand. This way, they are able to participate in current events, instead of simply reading about them in a browser. People want to do things with people they know, and get to know more people, instead of being restricted to the text-only e-mails with picture attachments.
The main idea is that Social Networking websites have become very popular for computer use. It is not saying that Portals and e-mail sites have decreased in total usage. In fact, it is almost as if the e-mail industry is morphing in to the mobile communication industry. People spent 42 percent of their time on mobile devices using e-mail; the most used application for mobile devices. The second most used application for mobile devices was portals like Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo!. The use of e-mail for mobile devices has become increasingly popular. Many companies require their workers to have smart phones with e-mail capability so that they can e-mail from wherever they are and get the job done.
The rise of Social Network sites was quite drastic, rising 16 percent from last year, the biggest increase in any sort of Internet usage. Social Games rose 10 percent, the second largest jump. Portal usage decreased 1.1 percent from last year, and e-mail declined 3.7 percent from last year. Video streaming stayed relatively the same, only rising .4 percent.
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1 comment:
Social networking sites have become increasingly popular and have changed the internet usage. They have provided an easy way to keep in touch with distant relatives and old friends through sites, like Facebook and Myspace, and users can even follow celebrities with Twitter. Although many of these new sites have time-saving benefits on their side, overall, they are taking away from human interaction and people are becoming more reclusive because of it.
I can’t even tell you how many people I know who were obsessed with Farmville when it first launched. My godmother would make sure she was home in time to harvest her farm. People actually become addicted to these sites. I’m not innocent, however, because I am one of those people constantly checking my Facebook and writing on my friend’s walls. Even though social networking sites keep us in contact with people we would have lost touch with otherwise, at the same time, they are distancing us from the real world.
I understand that compared to email, Facebook and sites similar seem quicker. But are they? These days, people have both their email and social networking site accounts synced with their cell phones, so I must argue that it is just as quick to answer an email then to get a notification email from Facebook and to respond, if not quicker. The internet has been changing and new programs are available to users. Unfortunately, it seems as though we have begun to take advantage of all of these resources in such a way that we are separating ourselves from the real world. Newspapers were replaced by Yahoo! And now yahoo is being replaced by different Facebook groups. Social networking sites have become extremely popular for computer use. Email sand portal sites are decreasing in total usage as well, while things like social gaming have drastically increased rapidly (1). All of these new advancements seem like they may be making individuals more interactive, but some may argue that although they are changing internet usage as a whole, they are diminishing “real” human interaction.
As a society, we must look at the bigger picture. It’s scary to think that we have gone from face-to-face interaction, to the use of the telephone, to email and now to Facebook as a means to communicate with those around us. Our relationships have seemed to become more and more impersonal as the world changes and new advancements in technology give way.
1. http://www.businessweek.com
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