Social Networking has been around in my life since I started using the computer. I remember using chat rooms and icq along with aim. This was when I was probably around 6th grade. Then it turned to aim, msn, myspace, some chatboxes along with voice to voice transmissions such as ventrilo. I mostly still use the same as that except instead of myspace there is Facebook and Twitter. Twitter is not used much though, I just use it to follow certain people and tv shows to be caught up in updates. Facebook on the other hand is used quite a lot. I'm not that bad with it now though compared to before. I just go on to check my Facebook and write on someone's wall. Once I am done then I just sign off. I have a Facebook app on my iPhone but I don't really use it. I have mail connected so unless I need to respond or upload something then I just look at the mail and see what was posted on my wall. The Twitter App is also downloaded but as I said before, I mostly use it to check updates maybe twice to three times a day. Texting is what takes up most of my time. It really depends on the day to determine if I will text a lot or not. Usually on weekdays I might text more because I have school but it really varies. I use my computer a to surf the web more than to use Facebook.
I think the cultural move toward social networking, constant access, and the loss of privacy sometimes brings about a positive and negative trend on the whole society because it does make it more convenient for people to keep in touch but sometimes people get so caught up in it that they do not pay attention to the real life surroundings they are in. For example, I have a friend who texts so much that it gets kind of annoying because she does it even when we are eating and I'm not just talking about one text or two. It is a full on conversation with her and her phone in hand. It bugs me but I let it go because I don't eat with her alone so it doesn't feel so bad. I don't do that because I am more focused on my food. The most I do is maybe two-three texts depending on the content. If it is something that I really need to respond to then I will but usually I try not to. That is, especially if I am with my parents because they get annoyed and believe that it is rude to do that. I believe that remembering where you are and living in the surrounding environments instead of focusing too much on your phone is better for your personal life. I don't think I have ever "over-shared" anything because I do not post or say much stuff about myself to anyone that is too personal unless it is through texts and to certain people. I'm very careful about what to say because of rumors and some people cannot keep things to themselves and their mouth shut. I am mostly worried about Facebook because people can look at "friendships" now and see wall to wall but I have upped my privacy. I'm not sure that will help or not because I know that there are issues with the privacy and if someone really wants to see they can probably hack it.
The part of your post regarding your friend who texts while having a meal piqued my interest in particular. While social technology becomes more popular, it's 'place' in various social contexts is still ambiguous. Some people would say it's inappropriate to text while you are eating with someone. I know many people who would disagree. A similar question is whether it's appropriate to use technology in the classroom while a professor is speaking, even as a teaching aid for oneself. Perhaps in the next few years the appropriateness of technology use will be more overtly prescribed, similar to other forms of etiquette.
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