With Social Networking becoming a larger part of many peoples daily lives we thought we'd look at whether it's a good or bad thing.
Some argue that spending too much time on social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace & Twitter are causing us to lose the ability to interact with people on a personal level, stopping us going out and meeting people, engaging in group activities or contacting friends or family for good old fashioned conversation.
Bill Gates himself set out a vision in his 1995 book "The Road Ahead", where he predicted that every office and every home in the world would have a PC on the desk and that we would all be connected via a global network thanks to the internet.
Whilst many argue against the benefits of social networking there is also a strong argument in it's favour.
We all live pretty hectic lives these days and the general pace we find ourselves in leaves little time or want for visiting relatives, phoning friends, writing letters or even finding the time to e-mail everyone in your address book to let them know your news and enquire about theirs.
Sites such as facebook are a way of keeping in touch with people and sharing news and are also a platform to re-connect with old friends or colleagues and catching up.
There are also a number of benefits to those who find themselves housebound for any length of time - allowing interaction with people and reducing boredom and loneliness.
Extended family members can become friends via such sites and gain greater relationships than annual Christmas cards can bring.
Businesses can gain huge benefits from social networking also, tapping into their customers' own networks of contacts and promoting their services to an audience not previously available to them.
What do you think?
