Technology is Becoming Too Much

            I recently read an article about new social networks that are gaining popularity. Facebook accounts are often open to more than one’s close friends. This can sometimes force users to filter what they post or the photos and information that they share.

I know that in many cases with teenagers or young adults, the user does not wish to share the personal information that they share with their friends with family members. There are new social networks that are coming about which take advantage of the privacy faults of Facebook and other similar networks.

            These newer networks, such as FamilyLeaf and Pair, vary in their privacy controls. FamilyLeaf is restricted to family members and allows the user to share family pictures and news in an easy to use forum. Pair is used with one other person and is available only on smartphones.

            I took interest in Pair. With Pair, users can send a text message, photograph or video. It also includes some settings that, in my opinion, are a little much. The couple sharing a Pair network can simultaneously create a drawing, share a to-do list, and “thumbkiss.” Thumbkissing is what it sounds like. Both users align their thumbs on the screen in order to cause their phones to vibrate in a “kiss.” There is another setting in which the user can find out their pair partner’s location. While this feature could come in handy in various situations, as in parent-child pairs, I am not sure that I consider it to be completely necessary. In my opinion technology is connecting us too much; there is a reason why we are not with someone at all times. Networks like Pair are taking advantage of today’s technological capabilities, which is great, but are beginning to cross the line of what really needs to be shared in cyberspace.

Some say that Pair is an easier way to stay connected to a special someone, like a girl/boyfriend or close friend, because there are no risks of accidently sharing information with the wrong person via text message. However, I believe that claim is made in order to justify Pair. It would be possible for someone to message or send photos to a friend through Facebook or e-mail.     

FamilyLeaf and Pair were created in order to make social networks more intimate. In my opinion they are becoming too intimate. While it is great that we are creating new methods to contact others and share information, I am beginning to become weary of how our privacy is going to be saved.

STROSS, RANDALL. "Path, FamilyLeaf and Pair, Small-by-Design Social Networks -            NYTimes.com." NY Times Advertisement. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2012.   <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/15/business/path-familyleaf-and-pair-small-by-      design-social-   networks.html?_r=1&ref=technology>.