7. Social Networking

Social networking, though possible in person, is popular over the internet because people from all over the world can share information based on similar interests.  People use what are known as social networking websites (online communities) so that they can communicate with others who share similar interests, and maybe even meet in real life.  This is useful because you can share information with people all over the world, and maybe learn about someone from another culture; organizations also use these websites for the same reasons.  Most of these sites are free and anybody can become a member (i.e. Facebook, Myspace, Twitter). 

There can be some risk in using these networking sites, such as information theft, identity fraud, and sexual and social abuse, so they must be used with precautions.  You should not put too much information on your web page for people to access, like a telephone number, IM address, email address, or home address.  You should be careful as to what pictures of yourself (if any) you choose to post online, because they can be accessed by the public and made use of by anyone who chooses to do so.  Jobs may also check to see if you use a site like Facebook, so you may not want to put any incriminating or nonprofessional pictures or information on these websites.

http://www.whatissocialnetworking.com/