Social Networking : Gift or Curse?

We all know what they are, and we all probably have a profile at some site or the other. But do we really get any use out of these online hangouts?

It's just that I've been getting these "[Idiot] Has Tagged You!" messages quite frequently, even after I told them I don't want to be notified if some fool friend of mine thinks I'll be interested in some site which has about as much potential as a dead rabbit to improve my quality of life. And to top it off, The e-mail says "Please reply or [Idiot] will think you are not friends". Or something along the lines of that... Anyway, the point is, Who benefits from all this "networkedness"? What advantage do I get from having all the people I know in real life, who are just a phone call, or even better a text, away, On my friend list? So I can look at their profiles?

And the profiles. Oh! The profiles! Ye gods! Such a collection of pages with poor colour coordination and lack of attention to visitors' eyesight I have nevereverneverever seen in my short but net exposed lifetime. You will not believe the sheer idiocy of people who get a blackish background, dark red text, garish yellow headings and then tell you to visit their profile. Because it looks "cool", I'm told. Usually, they're about as slick as a Hippo in a ballet costume. Or Mahinda singing "SexyBack".

Okay, say the world was suddenly gifted with common sense and people improved their profiles. Make them more viewable. Great! Now I can find out all about the people I already know! How fantastically fantabulous! It's like, like, ice cream on a stick! Or paperclips! ... Other than all the teenage girls who pour over every detail of each other's profiles(And some teenage "boys" who do so), I don't really see any use in it.

Okay, some of you may argue that it's something you can do when you're bored online. Well, firstly, Social Networking will make you even more bored, and poses a potential health risk, due to the fact that updating your profile every other day will drive you insane, or render your reproductive organs useless(Trust me on that, I know people.... ;-) ).

Well, anyway, if we get past the treagic profile design and the moron updaters, What have we got on a social networking site? Well, I could think of one use - Stalker Heaven! Ohmygosh! Stalkers? Yes. Stalkers. You have pretty much everything you need to become a full time stalker in these sites don't you? You just need a baseball cap and an IQ of about 15 (Which most compulsive updaters should easily fall into) to complete the requrements.

---------------------------- End of poinless rant--------------------------------

Anyway, I found something more interesting you can do with your time - anti social networking!
http://www.isolatr.com/ - Doesn't work, still interesting though.
http://www.snubster.com/ - Works!

Apperently there are many more such sites.

P.S. - All you people who are going to say "But Jester, you yourslef are on Hi5 are'nt you? lol!". Open mouth. Insert foot. Close mouth.

Yeah yeah it's sort of like maddox's line, but whatever...