Twin Speak...Social Networking Etiquette

With the explosion of all these social networking sights, with the accessibility of knowing how your friends are and know what they are doing almost at any given time, I have began to question..."What is the appropriate social networking etiquette?"

Frankie: I like having the conveniences of modern technology but lately I have began to find it somewhat inconvenient. I have facebook, myspace and most recently twitter. Most of my friends and workmates are all added on facebook and when I log onto facebook I find that I have close to 20 friends at any given time also logged on. What is the polite thing to do?? Do I say 'Hi' to all these 20 friends.

In the real world, if we saw our friends strolling down the street, of course you would say Hello to them. However, now with all these conveniences and friends at reach at the tap of a key, should you say 'Hello' to your online friends also?? Isn't it rude not to acknowledge someone when they are within your 'virtual' space?? Has it become acceptable to pick the people you feel like talking to?? Has this virtual snubbing become the same thing as when you see a friend in public and casually turn the opposite direction to avoid saying Hello?? And lets not lie...we've all done it :)

I still struggle to ignore friends online and sometimes find myself spending close to an hour chatting to people when all I wanted to do was check my messages. It's gotten to the point now that I sometimes leave myself logged off, just so I don't feel the guilt of social snubbing??

Has the social networking conveniences changed the way we interact with friends and acquaintances so much that we've become complacent of our friends?? What is the etiquette here??