I hate to say that I sort of pride myself on not being part of Facebook, but I do. I just got into the game too late and now I just don’t care enough to start one up. Even my Mom and Dad have Facebook accounts and actively stock my cousins and other family members. I am lucky, in the sense that I am able to stay in contact with the people I really want to know, but even with them I still miss out on their “Facebook life”. I is hard holding tight and staying unconnected, in a world where social networking is so trendy and praised. I do understand the value of social networking and when Facebook and MySpace were first invented networking was the intention. To create a community for college kids, or to pull musicians and promoters together; the idea was to help people stay connected without all the back stabbing information selling and complete obsessiveness that kids today have with their online persona. In the essay, Why Youth (heart) Social Networking Sites by Danah Boyd, (an American media researcher for Microsoft) the truth comes to light about the new generation of youth growing up with social networking. She has some really insightful points about how stressful if can be for kids to always be under the spotlight and always being connected and competing with other kids. Now not only do you have to dress cool and worry about school, but you need to keep up your online social persona, in order to truly standout and be cool. In your youth, fitting in is important, so following trends is part of the deal. Besides, I guess for some, it is fun and reassuring to always have someone to talk with or interact with. I don’t have a problem with social networking, I’m just not going to get involved.

SouthPark/Facebook (video)