Social networking sites have become extremely popular in our country and around the world. Psychologists have created two hypotheses as to how Social Networking (ie Facebook, Myspace) is related to real life relationships and interactions.
The first hypothesis is that people with a lot of friends etc will also have a lot of friends in real life, one represents the other almost exactly between the two.
The second hypothesis is that people who do not have a lot of friends in real life will use social networking sites to "make up" for that, making a lot of friends that they know only on these social networking sites.
Which hypothesis do you believe applies to people in general or yourself?
10 comments:
I believe that the first hypothesis applies to people in general becuase social networking is used to be in contact and stay in toush with friends from different towns, states and countries. Although in some cases such as facebook there are people who friend requset people they dont really know and are not friends with so therefore they could be making up for lack of friends. But i dont necessarily think that is in all cases.
I believe in the second hypothesis which says that people in real life who didn't have much friends will have a lot of friends in social networking sites. There are a lot of people who go to sites such as myspace and facebook to meet people. People could be really talkative when they are writing because they are not facing others when they are writing. They don't have to make up conversations and they won't feel nervous. They will have a lot of time to talk. They will be different in real life. They are more comfortable in writing.
People who dont have many friends would definitely cling to a social networking site as a way to make friends. however their friends list is most likely entirely unrepresentative of that fact as they might not care about the number of friends they have. They might send requests to everyone or be reluctant to send large numbers of friend requests. This debunks both hypotheses.
Most people really dont care about their friends list, and accept any request they get. They few that do care are an anomaly and care for reasons different than that of both hypotheses.
I believe that both hypotheses are true but in different situations. For one, someone on facebook can have many friends but not have them in real life because all they do is care about their facebook friends and not their real on friends. On the other hand, this person can be popular and have many freinds on facebokk in real life. I personally dont have too many friends on facebook but that is because i prefer to keep my closest friends on facebook. I have an average amount but not compared to those who have thousands of friends.
-Kevin Pelkowski
My opinion is very central due to the fact that yes there are people with a lot of friends that get their way of contacting others through social network but there are also people who in real life aren't very social or talkative either they are to shy or just is their way, and when it comes to social networks it gives them a boost but it also can create havoc. When it comes to social networking and people who just press the accept button on Facebook without even knowing who the person is they could just be at risk or just ehh nothing. In the first hypothesis yes social networking helps to contact people even if they aren't in the same area or your just to lazy to meet them but it does develop that way.
I believe the most suitable hypothesis for me would be the first hypothesis because i do tend to have lots of friends but not much in Connecticut i have more out of country, out of state than in state. I manage to keep close contact through social network but wouldn't i just be also part of hypothesis 2 because yeah i may be shy at first to talk to people but in person i'm just like hey hey pause -awkward silence - and then just something random but same things with facebook if you just meet someone. Like when i add people on facebook i have to know them before i add them but sometimes my friends add them for me and so i make it into my own part that i get to know them and in person to person we do meet so basically it's a half and half situation for me.
-Alba Sotomayor
i believe in the second hypothesis. People who dont have a lot of friends in real life will use social networks to be friends with other people. It would be easier for them because they dont have to worry about feeling nervous when they try to conversate. They wont be face to face they use typing. they will find peple who have the same interests as them so it will be easy to find people on social networks.
-Colleen G
I believe that the second hypothesis is more accurate. I also think that social networks are a place to meet people. but at the same time I do not believe that all of the friends that you have online are your friends in the "real world". I believe that some people have a lot of friends on social networks but I also think that some of the people are just acquaintances and not actually friends.
-Carlie B
I believe that both the first and second hypothesis vary directly and indirectly to people depending on their nature, personality, and other factors. Some people tend to add random people on sites like facebook and myspace because they want to experience the feeling of having a lot of friends. Others however, add many of their own friends, and since they have so many, they also have many friends on their page. This depends on their personality and degree of acceptance of ones own social acceptance as they mature. Age is also a factor as many teenagers would like to have many friends, and as they grow older, might want to add those and only those they stay in contact with.
- Farah Yaqoob
Both hypotheses seem logical because a person can meet alot of people at work, school, etc. which can result as friend requests on whatever social network they have. Then again, someone can meet a lot of people, but a friendship may not come out of meeting them so the person may feel that accepting them as a friend on a network can make up for that.
-elena
I believe that the first hypothesis related to people in general and in myself. I know that since I know many people within a ride range of ages, social networking sites make it a very simple way to stay in touch people you don't see too often. Also people in general I think just have more outgoing personalities when they have numerous friends from many different networks. Usually people request friends they know but something people may request a friend of a friend but you'll always have some connection to each other.
-Toni Minelli
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