Facebook, My Space, Twitter, Instant Messages, has taken over the world.
Literally! You can speak to a friend in Shanghai, China, and also keep up with another in Argentina at the same time.
Start a chat with the two and friends from other places can join in.
You can re-connect with people you have not talked to since high school or college; find lost loves; track down relatives you haven't heard from in ages.
You can make new friends who have the same interests that you do; play the same online games; are looking for the same people.
You won't have any difficulty in finding a social site to try.
Facebook seems to appeal to all ages and it is pretty easy to use.
Of course you need to take care of privacy concerns when you sign up.
You don't want someone taking your profile and using it to you detriment.
Social networking does not include dating sites.
These sites are for romance not re-connecting with old friends.
People can become addicted to social networking.
Especially if someone is at home with children all day and unable to connect with other adults, social networking provides a much needed outlet.
Unfortunately, some teens want to social network during school hours and in class.
This is not a good idea and you should tell your teen that there are specific places where texting is not a good thing to do.
Driving is an example of a place where you should not text.
You cannot give your driving your main attention if you are trying to have a conversation or text.
Facebook is already the most popular and most used social network in the world.
Facebook has taken it's site far past the other sites.
You and your friends may find yourself helping each other build a farm house or a log cabin.
Some people raise and sell imaginary fish (don't forget to feed them if you want them to grow big so you can sell them).
There are casinos, pet shops, flower shops, farms, and Heaven only knows what else.
You can also become a Mafioso, a vampire, or the head of some other make believe group of people whom you recruit and give orders to over the net.
What will they think of next? There are women's social networks, business social networks, networks for television, movies, gossip, Broadway, more gossip, books, gadgets, and any other thing you can think of.
The person who first called it "social networking" was J.
Barnes; in the 1950's he defined a social network as a group of people drawn together by a common interest.
Social networks affect those who use them in many ways.
It has been discovered that using these networks to re-connect with others or old friends lessens depression in people who have no daily friendship outlet.
Although this can be good, it can also be bad in that it can inhibit the person from having actual contact with others.
Remember not to just socialize online.
People are important, too.