Who's networking now?

Social networking is growing fast and just about everyone over the age of 12 seems to belong to one or another of the social networking sites. Even children younger than that sign into Penguin Club or other social sites designed for children. The Communications Office in the U.K. (OfCom) issued a report detailing which people tend to use social networking and what they use it for. Although the data was gathered in Britain, many of the patterns are surely similar to those in other countries. It is illuminating for librarians and teachers to be aware of why the children and teens they deal with are so fond of being online and contacting their friends through these sites. While adults may not approve of all of the sharing of private data and pictures that occurs on Social Networking sites, we should at least try to understand the attraction and perhaps help youngsters learn to use the sites appropriately.