First - Social Networking is a relatively new phenomena as compared to the World Wide Web. 2nd: Now, think of making friends in the 'Real World'? Social Networking is all about making friends or contacts in the Online World. Social Networking is the digital form of 'Real World' socializing, done through websites, microblogs & Social Networks. Not only friends, you can initiate contact with fellow professionals & strike a relationship with them. So, in a sense, Social Networking is seeking & making an online relationship with friends or people of your own age or gender or same interests, hobbies or from your own profession. So, if you like Jazz, you cansent tentative feelers online or join a group of Jazz lovers anywhere in the world. Then, you can exchange daily notes or tips or whatever. Similarly, if you are an aircraft maintenance engineer, you can join a network of AMEs & get to meet like-minded professionals. There are several Social Networking Sites available for such purposes. Take a look at this link. Users can choose from 1 or more online services that specialize in groupwide-communications. There are sites like the extremely famous Facebook to microblog Twitter where you can become a member & then either start looking for new friends or catch up with old ones. The trick is to find out how many of your old friends are also members on Facebook & so on; only then can you link up with 'em.
Although not the same as face-to-face communication, social networking is immensely popular because it is easy, open & without any hangups. Hence, it is also very, very popular with the young, rather than the old. There are accusations raised often that Social Networking is destroying the social fabric of the world as it could be that 2 "friends" who are in daily touch with each other may have never met each other.
