As a teenager,I can't help but notice how social networking is gradually taking over the lives of my peers,and to a degree,myself. Every day teens log hours of their time playing games,or chatting with friends on sites such as Facebook. It's become an obsession with the majority of the teenagers (and many older people too!)and I believe it's affecting how people act in Real Life. Slowly social skills are going down the drain,you can say things online that you would never say in real life, and relate to people through a computer screen ten times better than you ever will be able to face to face. Teens are choosing to sit inside and fiddle around on the computer,rather than going out with friends,or exercising. Some people also post EVERY little detail of their lives, no one has privacy any longer. One of the saddest things that I've witnessed is the death of imagination,half the people I know are about as creative as a rock. The nasty thing is that people KNOW what this is doing to them,they admit it,but they don't care! This will certainly affect them later in life,when going in for job interviews,or trying to make friends in a new city. It's also effecting us physically. More kids are gaining weight from zoning out in front of a computer screen all day long,and mindlessly eating. I am proud to say that the maximum amount of time I spend on social networking sites is a half an hour a day, which is quite reasonable,considering everything. I can only imagine the hell that would break loose if any of the big sites out there crashed,it would be disturbingly catastrophic. That's not all I have to say about this topic, I could really go on for days,however I think this is adequate. So next time you log into Facebook,check the clock and see how much time you're REALLY putting into this virtual life.