MarCom Professional

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Your response to "Social networks....":

1. 1. At 2 Oct 2007 12:34, Philip Sheldrake wrote:

   We have undertaken some informal research, mostly consisting asking all our relatives and neighbours and neighbours' relatives! Overwhelmingly, the main response comes back that they participate in social networks because they can. As simple as that. We believe this is underpinned by the facts that they are easy to use (compared to websites / forums / chat rooms of old), and offer genuine content from people you know, and other people who share your outlook.
   
   I guess it simply appeals to everyone's inherent desire to be sociable, to interact with others.
   
   Whilst the following did not get reflected in our research at all, I have read other pundits posit that youngsters aren't allowed out and about as much now as in previous years. They go on to suggest a paranoia, partly fed by the media, that there are too many threats out there in the big bad world, so the kids are trying to socialise in new ways because going out playing football, riding bikes and climbing trees is no longer on the agenda.
   
   Anyway. Asking your question on a social network, albeit a social professional network, seems like the best place to ask it. Maybe the Internet Psychologist (https://www.marcomprofessional.com/people/graham.jones) can throw some more light on it?
   
   

   This comment refers to a later version of the text.

2. 2. At 21 Oct 2007 13:24, Graham Jones wrote:

   I've been looking at the psychology of online social networks and my initial findings show they are very similar to offline social networks. Offline, people perceive recommendations from friends as more trustworthy than advertising. It may be that the online world has been so dominated by advertising and "selling" that people gravitate to social networking to get the benefit of "word of mouth" and find out which products and services are really worthwhile.
   
   

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