How many times have you thought twice about pictures or comments you post on the internet?

Remember that girl in the U.S. who posted a comment about hating her job (and her boss) on Facebook, forgetting she’d actually befriended him a few weeks prior? The scathing reply from her boss – and her online sacking – quickly flew around email boxes all over the world.

You’ve probably heard (or used) the term “Stalkbook” - and no doubt you know someone who has discovered something fascinating about a partner, an ex, or a friend, online.

According to Nielsen Online NetView in March 2009, social media sites are flourishing. There are 4,979,000 unique users on Facebook, 2,79,000 on MySpace, 679,000 on Twitter, 543,000 on Bebo, and 258,000 on LinkedIn.

Considering most of these brands and websites have only existed for 5 or so years, these numbers are incredible.

So how has the internet - and social media in particular- changed our real life relationships?

Here are 5 key ways:

1. We’re more global - These days, the whole world is connected – regardless of where we are, or what time zone we exist in. We can share content, photos or stories with people on the other side of the world, virtually overnight. Innovations such as Skype also mean that our international interactions have transcended voice or email – and have a new dimension to what they did several years ago.

2. We have broader networks – as well as narrower networks. Tools like Facebook, MySpace and Bebo have reconnected us with people that we wouldn’t necessarily see in real life. We can find out what’s happening in the lives of people we went to school or university with, or with whom we once shared an office. Yet ironically, social tools have also made our networks more defined in many ways. Often, we’re asked to put our connections into certain categories (“friend”, “colleague”, “employer”, “school friend”, etc). We have our “favourites” and we can easily set up exclusive groups or invite lists. Social media tools have made it easier to categorise and segment our friends – especially by suggesting people we may know, and highlighting shared friends.

3. Everything’s faster. These days, the speed by which we get to know someone – or at least what they look like, where they work, who their friends are, what movies or books they like, and where they choose to holiday – is rapid. Before going on a date, we can Google someone to get their vital statistics. We can follow them on Twitter to find out what they have to say, or (if connected), view their pics on Facebook to see where they hang out and who they hang with. Much of the “getting to know you” legwork is done for us. Whether or not this means more meaningful – or shallower relationships – in the long term is a big question – and subject for extensive debate.

4. We’re mobile. Thanks to mobile technology – iPhones, Blackberries and SmartPhones, our online relationships cross-over more frequently into “real life”. How often have you been sitting at dinner with a friend, and checked your email or Facebook account when he or she goes to the bathroom? Mobile technology means we’re connected to our online friends anywhere, and any time – even when we’re seeing them face to face.

5. Cross-generational - Importantly, social media tools are connecting generations in new ways. You may have seen the recent Optus TVC which shows a woman in the hairdresser with her daughter. Mum asks daughter how her party went the previous night – and when the daughter gives a nonchalant reply, Mum utters the very knowing line: “Hmm, that’s not what it said on Facebook.” With both parents and children now connected online, new levels of openness and transparency are established.

Got any questions about this article? Want to know more?
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