Yo Girl, What's Your Myspace URL?

Today, it is more common to exchange website addresses than phone numbers. Meeting people has been revolutionized by the advent of online networking websites. Internet sites like Myspace, Facebook, and Friendster have become commonplace for anyone to join and become an active member. It is almost more uncommon for younger people to not have an online profile. But has this surge in online networking done away with good, old fashioned face-to-face talks?

Myspace, an online networking service, allows all types of people to come together and meet, without actually ever meeting. Members of the website browse through millions of profiles, or search for someone specific they know. They are then allowed to add these people as "friends," which enables them to communicate and send messages to one another, a great way to keep in contact with old friends or meet new ones.

Bands have their own section of the website that allows them to not only add friends but to post bulletins about up coming shows and promotions for their music. These band profiles also allow them to post songs, so that their friends can log on and listen. The website has given opportunity to a multitude of bands that normally would have had a much harder time garnering attention for themselves by actually getting out on the road and touring.

So what's the big deal?

For starters, communication through the internet completely removes the excitement from our lives. Kids don't go out to meet people at school basketball games or movies anymore. Individuals are becoming sorely deficient in their people skills due to lack of practice with face-to-face contact, or an actual conversation with someone. Teenagers would rather give and receive impersonal messages on the internet than have a heart-to-heart on the phone.

The dating scene has become a joke. Try meeting someone outside of the internet; it's a lot harder than it used to be. Remember the old cliche of walks on the beach? Well, the beaches are empty because everyone is glued to their computers, accepting the hundreds of friend requests that they get each day.

Humans, by nature, are social creatures. To deny ourselves the basic right of communication is ridiculous. No one will ever get to see facial expressions, or hear reactions about what was said if the internet keeps up. No one can deny that online websites have changed the way we live our lives. But has it changed our lives for the better?

Myspace is a hundred-million-dollar business. Other online websites are worth practically as much as well. They are funded directly by the number of users they get to visit their sites. This heavy traffic on their web domains allows for companies to advertise their products, as a way to influence and promote. If the entire world got off these networking sites for one day, several hundred businesses would lose money. But the chances of meeting a real-live friend would rise dramatically.