Social Network: Past, Present, and Future.
Social Network. What pops up into your mind when you see this word? One would probably say Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, or Messenger. However, one should easily be able to find a common feature among these responses: They are all electronic form of social network. We live in the electronic age where we are able to form a social network easier than ever before. Hence, it is easy for people to lose sight of the fact that these are not the only types of social networks. There existed forms of social networks even in the stone age, and these types of social networks have progressed and developed in to more advanced forms as time progressed.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-30/cell-phone-burdens-backpack-of-self-discovery-commentary-by-dalton-conley.html
One of the notable progresses in a form of social network mentioned by the author of the article is transportation. Railroads and airplanes have made a long distance traveling easier, and therefore made the social network much bigger and wider. These advancement in transportation has made traveling between countries and cities quicker and easier to give people more chances to meet new people and according to the author, even, to chase “Many beautiful European women (unsuccessfully)”.
True. These advancement in technology, such as telephone, trains, and internet made it easier for people to form a wider social network. Developing technology and ideas will bring more innovative methods of social networks to us in the future. However, we must question if these new forms of social networks are all “good”. The author of the article introduces one of his personal experience. He found on his Facebook feed from a colleague who he had never met in person. It was about how the colleague was getting divorced, and the author, along with 368 of other the colleague’s “friends” had no choice but to be informed with this painful, but unnecessary personal information. New forms of social networks have brought many issues such as privacy along with their ease of information and forming networks.
All we learn in the class, such as graph theories and game theories, are applicable to social networks of past, present, and future. For example, graph theory, such as triadic closure, explains what features of social networks such as Facebook allow people to form wide social network through “friend suggestions”. These lessons will reveal much of positive aspects of social networks. However, it is my personal hope that lessons we learn in class help us better distinguish both negative and positive aspects of forms of social networks.