My face, Friendbook, and TwatterBleeping.

Yes we all love the fantastic NZ iconic comedian Rhys Darby, especially in his new Two Degree adds, co-starring Jeff, the racist robot.

However if you manage to look past the flash advertising, or Rhys's fantastic humor, his suave and confident demeanour, or his big brown eyes... there lies the question of how reliant are people becoming on social networking sites to run their lives, and as a gauge of social acceptance.

Many of these websites began their lives as nothing more than a pointless plaything for pre-pubescent adolescents trying to make a name for themselves in the big wide world. Msn is an example of this, however it lacked the qualities to keep up with modern day demands and the ever-changing market of social networking needs.

Bebo is a massive online market that companies are now trying to tap into, such as telecom, which offers free Bebo messaging for two months with its new range of XT mobile phones.

Why is there such a reliance now days on these networking sites? is it a practical necessity? For politicians or charitable organisations it makes sense to tap into this market, offering the chance to gain more support from a different and unique target crowd.

This of course makes sense, but what about the average Joe or Joanne Bloggs who twats, bleeps or friendfaces to tell the world they are happy right now, or perhaps hungover from the big weekend, or is feeling a tad nostalgic this morning.

WHO GIVES A FLYING F@#*&.

Anyway, what do we gain from our constant updates? the chance for others to show their interest, or perhaps register support during a tough time, and vise versa.

It does raise the question of what people stand to loose. For younger users, its provides another opportunity to get picked on, as details are available for most people to see, and information is shared with the touch of a button. The term 'Cyber bullying' is cheesy and weak, but the amount of pain and abuse that can be inflicted on an individual is very real and very destructive.

Care needs to be taken for individuals to protect themselves from the ravages of those few cyber-bleeping-twats who think they rule the roost.

The growth of social networking sites is growing rapidly and their popularity is certainly not diminishing. As the Internet is playing a larger role in our lives so does it affect the way we interact with each other. It is providing new markets for companies and new ways for people to connect without that close contact.

But is it necessary?