More Studies on Social Networking

During "the largest social network studies ever released" conducted by Facebook, found out that you can connect to any user faster than ever. "The average distance in 2008 was 5.28 hops, while now it is 4.74," Facebook says. These hops are different clicks and being connected to other people's friends and you can breeze through different people's lives just by a couple of clicks. "We are close, in a sense, to people who don't necessarily like us, sympathize with us or have anything in common with us," Jon Kleinberg, from Cornell University, told the New York Times. "It's the weak ties that make the world small." )

This study can help us come to many conclusions, one being that out computers are awesome to help connect the world and Facebook is shrinking the world in a better way. One Facebook user wrote on the company's post "Ultimate proof that our world is getting smaller and smaller." Another user said: "Awesome study! As a Milgram fan, I have been waiting years to see this analysis and it was worth the wait. Beyond any commercial purpose, Facebook data can help us understand how human society is organized, how ideas spread, and how we are connected to each other. Very cool." Another conclusion may be that this social networking problem is getting out of hand, but this case only shows the problems on the top and not going in depth. Over the next few years we will watch our cyber world grow and people will be delusional to the fact that our growth online may be unhealthy.

A study conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project concluded, 55% of American youths from ages 12-17 have a Facebook. Girls are generally more likely to use these sites, and they usually use these sites to stay in contact with existing friends. Boys, according to the study, sometimes use the sites to flirt, as well as find new friends.