• by Rashieta , September 13, 2010

Due to the convenience of social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace, it has become all too easy to make 1,000 friends. All you have to do is browse online, search through profiles, and send a request. You can pretty much expect to be accepted even if the person doesn’t know you, and usually doesn’t have any real intentions on getting to know you, unless you are of some interest to them or have mutual friends. You don't need to have a personality that “pops” or a vibe that could brighten up a dark room to be someone's friend. All you have to do is be able to sit behind a screen and type or click. You don’t even have to use your own face to display! You can simply upload a picture from the web - or worse yet, use someone else's picture!

At this specific moment, I’m primarily frustrated by how social networking has handicapped the human ability to communicate with others face to face. I can’t count how many people I have met through Facebook and could have great conversations online through chat or inbox messages, but once I saw them in person they had nothing to say. In even worse cases, I may see them around campus and say hello and they act as if they don’t even know me!

At first I gave them the benefit of the doubt that they didn’t recognize me. But when I received a message on my phone five minutes later saying, ”Hey! I think I just saw you! Have a good day!” I was confused and irritated. Social networking is convenient, but it’s important that as human beings we remain personable and hold on to our value for the appreciation of other human beings.

Yes, let’s embrace technology and all of its benefits. However, we should be careful not to abuse them and still hold on to the traditional greeting face-to-face, “Hello.”