Social networking or anti-social networking?

Although Facebook (just like any technology) has the potential of making positive contributions in our daily lives, it can also lead to disastrous consequences if we don't align its use to bonafide intentions. Martel Maxwell wrote a beautiful article about social networking (Facebook, in particular) and the influences it has on our social lives. The article, "Be wary of anti-social networking" appeared in  The Scottish Sun on Monday, the 24th of January 2011 and, with prior permission, I hereby reproduce (verbatim) Martel's article for your reading pleasure:
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Be wary of anti-social networking - Martel Maxwell

There I was one Sunday afternoon a few weeks back, peering at pictures of a bunch of slightly gormless looking people at a dinner party ... and it struck me.
I had become a Facebook imbecile.
What the hell was I doing? Three hours I'd been sat there mindlessly clicking away, peering into the lives of other people, when I could have been doing something with my own.
I'm better than this, God damn it, I said as I logged out and snapped shut my laptop.
There are two types of Facebook imbecile. First, the gossip merchants who have to get their fill from the lives, pictures and status updates of others.
And then those who think they're Archie* by posting every mind numbing bit of minutiae in the mistaken belief they're letting us see how exciting/funny/successful they are.
Danger
And yet, if they were any of these things, they wouldn't spend every waking moment on the site or thinking what to post on it.
Suddenly, I realised, I was in danger of becoming a fully-fledged member of both groups.
At first it seemed like a harmless way to keep in touch and catch up with friends but the dangers are increasingly evident - not least that flirtations on the site are now a major factor in marriage breakdowns.
One expert says that of the last 30 cases she had dealt with, Facebook had been implicated in them all. Another online law company said one in five of their divorce petitions in the past year contain references to Facebook. Not only can it destroy marriages, the constant need to tell the world what we are doing wrecks livelihoods and friendships too.  Just ask the employee who updated her status with a comment about her "pervy boss" - only to find a new post from him on her wall which said "I'll pop your P45 in the post and you can come in whenever you like to pick up any stuff you've left here. And, yes, I'm serious." Tweeters on Twitter are also increasingly eclipsed by their own egos. Like Labour candidate for Moray, Stuart MacLennan, who moaned about having to go "up north" to his constituency, branded elderly people "coffin dodgers" and locals "chavs", only to find his political career in tatters.
I am still using Facebook and Twitter and occasionally fighting the urge to turn into a saddo.
In truth, they are invaluable marketing tools for letting people know about something - in my case a book, for others their album, gigs, restaurants or charities. There is a wealth of users who are bright, articulate AND funny. But back to the imbeciles. Anyone who has to tell you they're full of pride watching their five-year-old play his first game of football, or that they've just arrived at the church, nervous as hell, about to walk down the aisle (both real tweets) need to have a word with themselves.
Step back and log out of the un-social network. come back after you've been present in the most important events of your life. Only then will your life become interesting.

* No one in the office had heard of the phrase 'think they're Archie' which surprised me - it's old school Scots for being way above your station.

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