Social Networking: All About Teen Social Networking
by Ainuddin Mohamad

Well, in order to understand teen social networking, you need to understand that teenagers aren’t all the same. Adolescence is the stage when a person first gets an idea about social interaction; it is that stage when they discover what kind...

Teens nowadays face a world so much smaller than what generations before them have experienced. Today, you can make a friend from halfway around the world, without even leaving your bedroom.

The culprit: teen social networking.

“How does teen social networking work, and what forms does it take?” is the question many adults nowadays ask themselves. This is due to the belief that if they know their children’s friends, then they might get an insight of what kind of persons their offspring are.

Well, in order to understand teen social networking, you need to understand that teenagers aren’t all the same. Adolescence is the stage when a person first gets an idea about social interaction; it is that stage when they discover what kind of person they are and who they will eventually become.

Teen social networking revolves around these two contradicting but very much true facts: every teen is different, some teens are the same.

This paradox, this contradiction is at the heart of teen social networking. The fact that every teen is different makes teens want to meet other people and to see if they can find someone to relate with.

The fact that some teens are the same, at least in some aspects, encourages teens to bond and form their own little core groups. This can now expand to become a network.

Teen social networking works on the premise that we are all connected. You know him and he knows her and she knows someone else… etc.

The fact that everyone is connected can fascinate people, especially teenagers. The world has certainly gotten small enough that, if you talk to the right people, you can get in touch with anyone in the world.

There is a theory that a person is connected to every other person in the world through no less than six degrees of separation. However, the emergence of technology is rapidly cutting down this "theory". No one would actually be surprised nowadays if he or she found out that they are connected to everyone within one degree.

What forms does teen social networking take? Well, there are, of course, the usual manifestations of little cliques or groups in school. These core groups often form a teen’s first real network. Through the years, this network often expands, ever growing stronger with each additional member.

There are also the different clubs that a teen joins. These clubs are a type of teen social networking in the sense that they let teenagers meet people with the same interests as theirs.

Lately, of course, we have seen the emergence of chat rooms and the ever-popular Friendster and MySpace. These incorporate the use of the technology of internet into interacting socially with other people.

This makes teen social networking especially interesting since they have the opportunity to meet people whose locations are very far from them. This introduces teenagers to whole new worlds where the rules and norms they are used to do not apply.

This then leads them to the belief that what they do does affect other people and that, no matter how different, people should be respected, in order for them to respect you.

As with other good things, however, too much social networking can be bad. And, as always, moderation is the key to a successful social network.

About the Author

Ainuddin Mohamad is the Webmaster of http://www.BestWebsites.com.my which is a Directory of Best websites. Since 1998 BestWebsites.com.my has featured thousands of best websites in many categories of interest with descriptions/reviews given by leading publications and webmasters.

Related Articles:

Social Networking: A Blog For Your Social Networking Web Site Will Attract More Visitors 

Social Networking: All About Teen Social Networking

Social Networking: Christian Social Networking

Social Networking: Friendster Social Networking Site: is it Slowly Dying?

Social Networking: How Safe is Online Social Networking?

Social Networking: Mobile Social Networking: Making a Small World, Even Smaller

Social Networking: Myspace.Com Social Networking: Is it The Newest And Hottest 
Meeting Place of Today?

Social Networking: Myspace is a Social Networking Site Which Can Help Your Band!

Social Networking: Online Social Networking Web Site – Catering To Different 
Individuals’ Needs

Social Networking: Social Networking Blog Sites: The Power of the Written Word

Social Networking: Social Networking Blog: Use It Not Only To Express Your Idea 
But Also For Advertising Purposes 

Social Networking: Social Networking Groups: Geared Towards Business Efficiency

Social Networking: Social Networking: Is There Really an Existing Threat?

Social Networking: Social Networking Site: A Good Way of Searching Business Partners

Social Networking: Social Networking Web Site – What It Can Give To A Teen?

Social Networking: Social Networking Websites: How They Work for Maximum 
Business Opportunity

Social Networking: Some Things You Might Want to Know About Social 
Networking Services

Social Networking: Teen Social Networking Web Sites and the Effects They Have on 
Today’s Youth

Social Networking: The Benefits of Internet Social Networking

Social Networking: The Brilliance of Using Networking as a Social Tool

Social Networking: The Impacts of CRM Social Networking on the Business Community

Social Networking: The Proliferation of Online Social Networking Software

Social Networking: Tips on How to be an Effective Member of the Top Social 
Networking Sites

Social Networking: What You Ought to Know About Adult Social Networking

Social Networking: What should you be looking for in a social networking expert?

MSN Search Related News:

Live Search: social networking site:msnbc.msn.com
Search results

Online social networks go to work - - MSNBC.com
Are online social networking services, popular for their personal connections, gaining ground as business-oriented building blocks? To separate hype from possibility, we asked ...
What evolutionary psychology says about social networking - The ...
It?s dangerous to rely on the enthusiasms of the blogosphere to determine the longevity of any new Web phenomenon.  But social networking may be in a class by itself ? for ...
Social-networking sites a 'hotbed' for spyware - BusinessWeek Online ...
Spyware's threat is getting nastier. Infection rates are on the rise, in part thanks to the surging popularity of social-networking sites like MySpace.com.
Add social-networking apps, forget privacy - Internet- msnbc.com
People often think Facebook profiles and sometimes MySpace pages, if they're set as private, are only available to friends or specific groups, such as a university, workplace, or ...
Social networking comes to casual games - Games - msnbc.com
Big Fish Games Inc., a developer and publisher of casual games, has launched a service that lets users create their own Web site to write and share reviews and earn rewards in a ...
Beware of social networking overload - Careers- msnbc.com
There?s a bit of desperation in the air because of the tough economy, and everyone wants to have lots of connections just in case layoffs are looming. But you can?t be in every ...
FTC fines Xanga for violating kids' privacy - Technology & science ...
Social networking Web site Xanga.com will pay $1 million ? the largest penalty for violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ? for allowing kids under 13 to ...
Job candidates get tripped up by Facebook - School Inc.- msnbc.com
As part of his due diligence check, Allen looked her up in Facebook, a popular social networking Web site, and found things that made him think twice.
Doggyspace is social networking for dog people - Internet- msnbc.com
Cici confesses on her Web page that she likes to greet everyone by licking their feet. Dolce admits to being a mamma's boy. And Jake and Tycho posted a video that chronicles their ...
Microsoft spinoff tests social networking site - Gadgets- msnbc.com
Wallop, a startup spun out of Microsoft Corp.'s research lab, is launching the test version of an online social networking site with the premise that people will want to pay extra ...

Newsfeed display by CaRP