With the digital age now in full swing, nearly everybody — from small businesses to college professors — is adding an online entity to whatever goods or services they provide. It's no wonder that online networking is taking over the World Wide Web. Though different people will have different reasons for being a part of these sites, there's no doubt about it: Networking has definitely gone digital.

Millions of people worldwide are part of an online community; often people are part of multiple communities, with links that allow them to jump from one profile to the next with just a click of the mouse. So, it's not a question of whether or not these sites are popular; it's the question of why these sites are popular.

Katherine Stovel, an associate professor of sociology at the UW, said that it may be due to the way that they present themselves to current and potential users.

"These sites combine a fun and easy-to-use technology with a great opportunity for self-expression," she said. "Adolescence and young adulthood are periods of life when many people try out different identities, and these sites offer a relatively easy way to make statements about who you are and what you care about."

Stovel also suggested that the popularity of online communities can be attributed to the fact that users have the opportunity to connect with both people they know and don't know. This can offer adolescents and young adults — with whom these sites are most popular — the prospect of finding other like-minded people, no matter where they are geographically. If a person is feeling out of place within their school or local community, this can be a real comfort. On the other hand, for those who do find comfort in their surrounding environment, these sites are just one more way to have contact with their friends when meeting face-to-face is not an option.

Senior David Ou has a profile on Facebook but said he rarely uses it, only logging on when he receives a friend request or new message. He said for the most part, he sees it as an annoyance; whenever he receives invitations to events, he'll generally ignore them because usually, he doesn't really care for them. However, he doesn't feel he's out of the loop or missing out on anything because if something important is going on, he'll usually receive a phone call or text message about it.

Ou, a computer science and math major, understands, though, how online networking has made it very convenient for people, especially those with busy lifestyles, to communicate.

"Not everyone has time to sit down and chat over the phone, so a quick message or invite to an event makes it extremely easy to get information across," he said.

Senior Aaron Graham utilizes online networking sites such as Facebook to stay connected with people he normally otherwise wouldn't have contact with.

"I go on to get updated about my friends' lives," the communication major said.

Not only is he a part of a few of these sites, he also works at one. Since spring quarter last year, he has either worked or interned at Zoodango.com. Started by The Apprentice finalist and UW alum James Sun, Zoodango is a networking site that is geared toward professionals. One of its main focuses, Graham said, is to have professionals utilize the site to set up face-to-face meetings with other professionals. The site tries to set up meetings according to what people are interested in first and then, hopefully, a business connection will be made.

The reasoning behind this is that it's easier to make that connection with someone when there are common extracurricular activities.

It's difficult to just ask a person cold, Graham said, but once you've established a rapport with them based on a common interest, you can ease into a business venture much more easily.

Although many are now using online networking to find work, others are losing potential work because of it. This is one of the downsides in sites like Facebook, where professional networking is not the main focus.

"At the moment there seems to be plenty of cases where someone's job prospects are ruined because of something they've posted on one of these sites, and this is a deterrent to using them for job-related purposes," Stovel said.

Graham said that employers checking their employees' and potential hires' profiles is unfair because they shouldn't be relating a person's social life with their professional life, and also because there are some people who are not on Facebook or MySpace. During an interviewing and application process, it should be an equal and level playing field.

Ou also pointed out the safety issues that come from these sites.

"Online networks make people vulnerable to unwanted predators who wouldn't otherwise be able to communicate with them," he said.

Don't always believe what you see. This is another reason to be careful about what is posted about yourself online.

"What people put on Facebook is a skewed representation of their life," Graham said.

Time consumption is another potential disadvantage to online communities. Students can often be heard saying phrases such as, "Last night I spent four hours on Facebook before I even started my homework," or "I couldn't study because I was distracted by MySpace all night."

From this, many would think that these sites are just a waste of time and completely unnecessary. Are they? Graham doesn't think so.

"I would lose a lot of my connections," he said about a world without online communities.

To Graham, networking sites aren't meant to show how popular you are or how many friends you have; it's more to show how many acquaintances you have whom you can call on if needed.

People might not feel as comfortable contacting someone they met a few years ago, but with these sites, the connection is always there. This can also be useful due to the fact that phone numbers and email addresses can get lost or forgotten.

Stovel said balance is very important. These sites are meant to complement naturally occurring friendship patterns, she said. This is evidenced in the fact that most people's friends online are also their friends in the real world. Problems occur when people replace the face-to-face interaction with online contact. This is when they become isolated from their local world.

As online communities become a more central platform for networking, the key is to keep it all in perspective. While online networking creates new ways to connect with others, it can put a negative and sometimes damaging strain on communication. Remember that just as you can choose how you want others to see you, they can also do the same and choose how they want you to see them.

[Reach reporter Samantha Pak at features@thedaily.washington.edu.]