The good:
1. Develop relationships with more people. Social networking sites allow you to meet and connect with more people. Instead of a ten minute phone conversation, you can post on someone's wall, get your thoughts out, and see what they are thinking. You can chat, send pictures, etc. So, it allows you to get to know people better on your time, and in snippets.

2. Reconnect. There are sure to be some friends from your past that you have not seen or spoken to in sometime. Social networking sites allows you to catch up quick by browsing a few photos, and reading their bio. It means reconnecting with past friends.

3. Find connections with people that you would not have time, or ability to in the past. We only have so many hours in the day, but social networking allows you to get to know new people, faster.

4. Fast, easy, sharing. You can upload your pics and share them with 500 people in a matter of seconds, which means that your relationships develop with more people in less time.

5. Fun. Social networking is a fun platform to develop relationships, and relationships need those happy feelings surrounding them in order for them to grow.

The bad:
1. Can be addictive. Relationships take time, but social networking can be addictive, and lead to playing games, browsing people's profiles you really do not want to get to know, etc.

2. Often takes the place of one on one connection. With the ease of use, people tend to turn to it instead of having real conversations, connections, and interactions. Instead of a phone call to wish someone a happy birthday, you post a note on their wall. While this is good, it is also somewhat impersonal.

3. TMI. You can get to know people a little too well on here, see too many pictures, or hear too much of what they are thinking. So, be careful you do not get to know someone "too well" without ever actually seeing them.

4. Get lazy. People get lazy with their friendships because they feel as though they have made efforts or connected because they saw pictures or know what is going on through posts.

Social networking will impact your relationships whether you want it to or not, even if it is just your home relationships. Wives may get frustrated with husbands because of how much time spent on the computer instead of with them, and vice versa. So, be careful that the impact your social networking has on you is what you want it to be, and that the relationships that mean the most to you are not sacrificed while you build your online "friends" list.