I think it’s time to start re-evaluating what "social networking" really means. A friend sent me the Coleman commercial and it really got me thinking. When did we stop sitting around the campfire and start hiding behind a computer screen? I get it, social networking has evolved, but can we really say it’s for the better?
Growing up I belonged to a ton of social networks, as did most kids. We started young, first in our preschool playgroups and Gymboree. As we entered Elementary School we joined sports teams (or karate, whatever), took dance classes, made friends, and went to day camp. As we started getting older we ventured further from the nest, attending sleep away camp, teen travel programs, camp outs, and summer college programs. Soon enough, we all went away to our respective colleges, made more friends, traveled abroad and wound up back in the place where it all began.
We’re back in the city that never sleeps and we’ve abandoned our tried and true social networks. We’ve joined Facebook and Twitter and we expect that by belonging to these networks our social lives will be taken care of. Boy meets girl is a scenario that rarely happens anymore. When did 7 minutes in heaven turn into a Facebook message reading, “Hi, I stumbled across your picture and love your smile. Wanna get dinner sometime?” Ew, no, a bit of advice gentleman, no one wants to be asked out via Facebook message. Pick up the phone and give a girl a call.
All of that aside, what about the people we left in the past for a reason? The extended-extended friend re-appears requesting your Facebook friendship. This request is most likely followed up by a wall post saying, “Hey, it’s been too long…let’s get dinner soon.” The truth is, you have absolutely no interest re-establishing your 3 day friendship that occurred during spring break in Acapulco. We all know, what happens in Acapulco stays in Acapulco!
Just like you don’t want to meet your future husband/wife via Facebook, you also don’t want to rekindle a friendship that died out years ago. Like the old saying goes,"Make new friends, and keep the old," but let's not rely on Facebook to keep our friendships strong. Let’s get back to basics, a telephone call to your college roommate, even an email to a friend from High School. If you really want to make a strong social network for yourself then get out there and create your own wolf pack. If Allen can do it, so can you.
