The Social media sites that are ever so prevalent this day are fast becoming the heart and soul of the internet. We all use them to upload images, catch-up with old friends, update current status, or just pass the time. Whatever reason you have for going on there, it seems like we all do it for one reason or another. But are social networks changing the way we live as a society?

15 years ago, the then big thing was chat rooms, email, and communication via the web. It had never been possible to talk to someone virtually. This revolutionised the way we communicated in certain situations as it meant that we were able to talk openly and frankly about our feelings and emotions, without feeling embarrassed or pressured. People who had little time for social interaction, for whatever reason, were able to chat and interact with people from all over the world. This gave users the confidence to develop relationships and form bonds that had never been possible before.

Parallel to this you have mobile phones that are equally revolutionary, more so in some ways as you can take your office pc around with you and never miss a trick. But with the prevalence of social communities, which you can use on both pc and mobile platforms, it is beginning to alter people attitudes towards interaction. For example, rather than call somebody to ask if they are ok or make an announcement you can create an announcement so that all you family and friends get to know about it. Features like this make real interaction and real communication few and far between as we are continually stressed at work and have little time to spend with our nearest and dearest. You can even search for friends from school. Previously, this was done the hard way on search engines. You can also have your own webpage and with a bit of SEO and Internet Marketing, get it to rank high in the search engines.

But love it or hate, it seems social communities are here to stay and they will become an intrinsic part of our live now and in the future.