Social Networking: Please Link Responsibly

So, I used to consider myself a fairly old-fashioned guy. I like paper books as opposed to E-readers, I play acoustic guitar, I follow Taoist philosophy, I wear a pretty straightforward style, I like to play games like Go... You know, pretty simple, right?

Well, I also make use of Facebook. And Twitter. And Formspring. And, obviously, Blogger. Social networking is, well... Big. Very big. Multibillion-dollar big. (Firefox spellcheck knows the word "multimillion" but not "multibillion". Inflation in action.) So, what do I do with these?

I socialize, obviously. What I mean is, I interact with hundreds of people simultaneously. For example, on my Facebook account, almost half of my friends are not from America or speak English as a second (sometimes third) language. On Formspring, I receive questions from people in Vietnam, Russia, Korea, California, and the US. On Twitter, I'm receiving information from famous people OR average joes, or anywhere in between! Anyone from Keith Olbermann to Weird Al Yankovic to Bill Maher to Nathan Fillion to the Dalai Lama to... You can see where I'm going with this.

As much as I would like to think that this means my sphere of influence is growing, looking mindfully into it reveals that the world is getting smaller. Anyone can share anything with almost anyone.I mean, hell-- News of the Libyan and Egyptian revolutions started ON FACEBOOK. Everything is turning to the Global rather than the Local now-- Even Pokemon!

I'm not kidding. In the newest games released in the franchise, a new feature was unveiled: The C-Gear, presumably short for Communications Gear. Upon activating the C-Gear, the Nintendo DS's wireless capabilities will automatically fire up. The interface has three options: Wireless, Wi-Fi, and Infrared.

The Japanese down below is a player's name.

Using the C-Gear, you can trade Pokemon with your friends, battle opponents from across oceans, and (if you are lucky enough to have a DSi or 3DS, which have cameras) Video-chat using the camera and microphones. Yup, that's right, Skype. On Pokemon.

All this has me thinking... In a world where information is everything, and everything is on the internet, how do we use this responsibly? What is the right way to use this global worldview? When everything is said and done, how do we reconcile the global with the local? Will everyone simply Tweet news, and forsake the newspaper? Will we stay indoors on sunny days for Formspring? Will we forget about Block parties and turn our heads toward mass online gatherings? Will we sacrifice face time for Facebook? 

Have we already?

Aside from that, if entire political upheavals can start on Facebook, what else can be sparked? What else will be sparked? Will information, already a form of currency, become a weapon (if it hasn't already)? If politicians have the power to deny access to the internet, and if we allow them to have it, what else will we freely give up?

As much as I am scared of these social networks, I'm going to keep using them (primarily Facebook and Twitter) because I am curious to a fault. I love being able to get information from all the way across the seas in seconds. However, when (and I say WHEN instead of IF on purpose) the day comes that the Social Network becomes too powerful for its own good, I'm going to cancel my accounts and I encourage you to do the same. For now, you can follow me on Twitter if you are so inclined.