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Facebook is a social networking service and website. Facebook was created by Mark Zuckerberg, launched in February 2004 and was initially called Thefacebook.com. Thefacebook.com soon became Facebook.com and was created initially for Harvard students. Over the years, Mark Zuckerberg expanded the website to include other Ivy League colleges, then less elite colleges, then high schools and finally ordinary grown-ups. Currently, anyone 13 years or older can create a Facebook account. Facebook’s purpose is to display as much information as the user designates. Content varies based on the reason a user signs up for an account. My reasons for a Facebook account are to catch up with old friends, keep up on current friends, and to keep both updated of my life. I have learned more about a person through Facebook then through in-person conversations.
The cultural significance of online social networks is the opportunities to interact with people of similar or different backgrounds. People with internet access are no longer limited to their demographics’ values and customs. People also have the ability to meet others who share similar beliefs.
Online social networking has reinforced people connection. If you are looking to find your soul mate, there is a website that will aid you. If you are looking to find your twice removed cousin, there is a website that will help you. If you are looking to find your classmate Jenny from the second grade, there is a website that will assist you. Whatever connection you are searching for, there will be an online social network to support you.
The social effects of online social networks are the way we meet people and the information we provide them. Strangers can become “friends” and business connections through online social networks.
The potential effect online social networking sites have on face-to-face interaction is

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