Beware of Social Networks

Social networking has proven to be a great way to meet friends. Through the Rosary Army Forums, great connections blessed us when my husband-to-be (at the time) lost his job and when we needed find an inn during our honeymoon. But there is also another, more ugly side of social networks.

Facebook and other social networks tend to create unnecessary drama amongst family members and even the best of friends. People may be more incline to say things that they wouldn't normally say to someone's face. It is as if one does not realize that the person they are speaking of is on their friends list and can see the post.

Lasting friendships can be found through social networking, but other relationships can be destroyed through the dialog exchanged publicly without concern for the people targeted. Small disagreements are blown out of proportion as outsiders get in the middle of misunderstandings. Even as I have kept my friends list on Facebook to a minimum and do not post anything too personal, there have been times where words were unleashed and resulted in hurt feelings. I have my privacy settings in place and mostly use Facebook for coupons and to reply to events, but I have to continually remind myself to beware of social networks. Good and evil can be found online and we have to be aware of that.