Reflective Blogging Assignment #5

Describe how using social networking technologies changes how you communicate with your family and friends.

I started using social media technologies to communicate with family and friends when I was in middle school.  It first started with MSN Hotmail, then to Myspace, and now I use Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.  When I first started using social media, I basically used it to have short conversations with friends.  As I started using social media more, it turned into a way to stay in touch with many of my friends and family.  Social media is also a nice way to be more open and outgoing, since everyone has the privacy of being behind a computer screen.

Other than my parents and siblings, most of my family lives a few hours away.  Therefore, I use Facebook to stay in touch with many of my cousins and aunts.  Most of the communication is small talk, however with the progression of social media, I am now able to see many pictures of them and their families.  Social media has been a nice way to stay in touch with my family since I am unable to see them very frequently.

I also use social media to stay in touch and meet new friends.  Most of my interaction with my friends is done on Facebook and Twitter.  I have recently started using LinkedIn, which is a professional social networking site that allows me to network and build new connections.  This will hopefully be beneficial in my future when I am looking for a full time career.

As a general theme, social networking technologies have allowed me to stay in touch with family and friends, and it has also allowed me to meet new people.  I plan on continuing to use social media technologies for these same reasons, and I am excited to see some of the new features that will be coming out in the future.  (I like have the ability to use Skype software of Facebook...more friends and much more convenient).