You might have been in the ‘cool group’ at school and you might even think you are ‘cool’ right now. Are you? Doesn’t matter, either way, it’s only fair if you give some credit to your social guidance counsellor – Facebook – for helping your coolness vibe resonate onto others. A study says so.

Yes, it’s true, from a reputable study too. S. Craig Watkins and H. Erin Lee (I’m also confused by the abbreviations) of the University of Texas, Austin conducted research with 900 generation Facebook-ers that were either currently at college or recently graduated.

The study sought to examine the impact that Facebook has on its users’ social lives, concluding that “social media afford opportunities for new expressions of friendship, intimacy and community.”

Sherry Turkle, a well renowned academic within the behavioural science field of discipline, commented that that the study allowed Facebook to define what made for social behaviour. This is true, we are dictated to by the Facebook brass, but her point is that the reach of your circle of trust is much bigger than it was a few years ago. She also took the opportunity to remind us that the internet is an infant and it will change too, just as socialising has.

[Source: NY Times]