Reading about how sites like Myspace, LiveJournal, and now Facebook allow people the freedom to posts any aspect of their lives and share it with anyone who comes across their page made me think about the type of society that is forming. The United States is noted for being an individualistic society with an emphasis on personal space and private life. Yet as social media on the internet blurs the lines between personal and private lives it becomes harder to put a label on this new type of hybrid society. I believe it is a hybrid society because even though social networking has brought about a more collective mindset there are still many things that remain personal and somewhat private. This can be seen when people post pictures and stories that depict intimate aspects of their lives but fiddle with security settings so that only certain people can access the information. There is also an interesting dynamic with social networking sites where everyone is sharing information with everyone else yet there is a tendency to try and be an individual, seen most notably in Myspace with their different page layouts. As social networking becomes further integrated into people's lives it will be interesting to see how this tension between collective and individual plays out.
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