In an online essay, Richard Renneboog argues that:
Social Networking Sites (SNS) have become "the next big thing." They provide an unlimited potential for people to interact with others they will never meet in person as though they were close friends and confidants. While they offer the promise to greatly advance communications and tolerance in the world, they also harbour the potential for great harm through online gossip, bullying, and misinformation delivered from the safety of concealed identities. Advertisers and marketers are also poised to exploit the nature of online social networking in order to profit from their popularity. These sites have become arguably the most visited sites on the World Wide Web in the early twenty-first century,
Social Networking Sites (SNS) have become "the next big thing." They provide an unlimited potential for people to interact with others they will never meet in person as though they were close friends and confidants. While they offer the promise to greatly advance communications and tolerance in the world, they also harbour the potential for great harm through online gossip, bullying, and misinformation delivered from the safety of concealed identities. Advertisers and marketers are also poised to exploit the nature of online social networking in order to profit from their popularity. These sites have become arguably the most visited sites on the World Wide Web in the early twenty-first century,