For - Kate Daley I admit it; I am a social networking butterfly. I have a Facebook profile, a Bebo page, and a blog. I throw my life out on the internet and do it with gusto.

Now that Facebook is the largest social networking site in the world with more than 50m users, if you're not on it, you're out of the loop.

My self-righteous friends who stubbornly refuse to join such online communities are constantly missing party invites, important notices about work and school, and the good old-fashioned entertainment of pure voyeurism that comes with these online platforms, just so they can claim they are above such nonsense.

Clearly they are just stuck in a Neolithic state of technology-denial, perhaps preferring to keep in contact via messenger pigeons or telegram. Or maybe they are just afraid that their lives simply aren't fantastic enough to parade about online, or that their list of friends would peak at five, including their sister and dog.

Yes, these sites can be blatantly self-promotional, filled with hilarious glamour shots of people who you know in real life actually look nothing like the pictures they post online, but it's also a great way to keep in touch with friends, distant relatives and people you'd never really bother picking up the phone to call.

Putting your life online is also a marvellous way to let people know how freaking fabulous your life has become since you last met, how thin and gorgeous you now look, and how you're on the road to a successful career.

Besides, even if your life isn't that interesting, you can browse through the profiles of others and watch everything from friends' changing musical interests to their changing marital status.

For those who argue that social networking sites create hermit-like behaviour, where people no longer communicate in person and resort only to computers, I would argue that if anything, the likes of Facebook encourage socialising. You can see who is going to which party on what day and decide which soiree will be most fitting for an entertaining weekend.

All you anti-social non- joiners can enjoy your Friday nights alone with a bottle of whiskey and soap reruns.

Granted, there are occasionally creepy moments when someone you've never met manages to bypass your privacy settings to send you an unsolicited pervy message, but, on the whole, if you censor the important aspects of your life, social networking sites can be just that: places to network.

You can message a friend you haven't spoken to in years who now works in a firm you'd like to join, or you can message someone who posted beautiful pictures of Africa for advice on backpacking through the Sahara desert.

It's not just for teenagers either. I know people who signed up in their 40s, and know others who even have their mother or boss as 'friends', though I admit that takes some of the fun out of it.

You don't really want your employer (or parents, God forbid) to see a picture of you getting fall-down drunk, but if you keep your wits about you, posting party and vacation pics can be a fun way to re-live a good time and share it with the people who were there. Besides what's more entertaining that watching other people make fools of themselves?

Personally, I can't think of a better way to spend a lazy Sunday.

So all of you negative Nellys who think I'm a self-promoting social climber, I say give yourself a few more months and you'll be scrambling to get out of your lonely hovel and find some friends online.

Against - John Meagher

One of my best friends is a talented businessman, a charismatic doer who makes a success at most things he puts his mind to. But he's got a flaw: he's a devotee of that ridiculous waste of time, Facebook.

I met him recently -- the occasion was his birthday and he and his thirtysomething buddies spent a good chunk of the evening chatting about how much they enjoyed conversing with each other through their Facebook pages.

Their wittering reminded me of the sort of helium-tinged chatter common to southside Dublin teenage girls. I had to check under the table to ensure that they weren't all wearing Juicy Couture trackie bottoms tucked into Ugg Boots.

I don't have a Facebook account and have not signed up to any of the other so-called social networking sites. As soon as a colleague gushingly suggested a year ago that Facebook was "a Bebo for adults", I strengthened my resolve never to have one.

It's not necessarily a question of feeling too old for what is essentially a teenage pursuit, it's this very modern desire to unveil every aspect of your life for the edification of others that's so objectionable.

The same people who will slag off the likes of Kerry Katona for detailing every aspect of her existence in the media, often think nothing of sharing with their "friends" the most intimate of confessions.

The inverted commas are there for a reason. Most of the people listed as friends aren't anything of the sort -- they're often vague, equally vain acquaintances who also share a passion for self-aggrandisement. I don't call somebody a friend unless I really mean it, so I've been happy to decline email offers to add me to such-and-such's Facebook friends list.

The ugliest thing about Facebook is the fact that it encourages a disturbing competitiveness around friendship: it seems that with friends today, quality counts for nothing and quantity is king.

The more friends you have, the better you are. You are "popular", in the sense much loved in American high schools. Witness the cover line on Dennis Publishing's new Facebook magazine: "How To Double Your Friends List".

Facebook describes itself as "a social utility that connects you with the people around you". What on earth is wrong with the pub? Or chatting to your workmates occasionally? Or hanging out with members of your family?

Why not share your drunken photos with your mates when you call over to their house -- what is the appeal in letting strangers, potential stalkers and future employers see you at your most inebriated?

It was invented in California's silicon valley and the whole sorry enterprise has all the hallmarks of the geeks taking over the world.

One can just imagine its earliest exponents -- socially awkward types sporting an indoor pallor and revelling in the idea that they could have a plethora of virtual friends. Now, there's a sense that it has become mainstream that people are afraid not to have one, that you're a non-human if you haven't signed up to Facebook et al. It's almost like the situation of a decade ago, when not having a mobile phone seemed to mark you out as a misfit.

Sadly, some seem keen to join the herd in case they are construed as being old or a luddite or both. It's like they're in second year at school all over again.

But this is no revolution. The emperor, in the guise of Facebook and Bebo, has no clothes.

Which is something that can literally be said about many of the people who turn up in the My Pictures file.

Enough said.

Ten rules of social networking sites

1. Never post pictures of yourself doing anything illegal. If you feel the need to photograph your drug habit, don't post it online, or you'll have the gardai at your door and a P45 in your mailbox.

2. In case the first rule didn't scare you off, never post pictures of yourself nude -- no matter how great a time you were having. The hilarity will wear off when your naked bottom appears on your wanted posters or the paper.

3. Add friends, teachers, bosses, etc but don't forget that when you humorously put your status as "stealing staplers from my crappy job" that everyone can read what you're doing.

4. Keep your privacy settings high just in case. That weirdo you ignored in chemistry class 10 years ago can find you with the click of a mouse, so fend off any online stalkers before they find out your favourite colour and where you work.

5. Use social networking sites to their full advantage when planning events. If you're looking to promote something, put it up there so millions can check it out.

6. Think over messages before you post them publicly. It can be rude and full of profanity but maybe don't insult a mutual friend on someone's 'wall', because it will get back to them -- unless of course that's your aim.

7. Do not put your address on your profile to avoid any means of identity theft and the creepiness factor of hundreds of people knowing where you sleep at night.

8. Don't allow your kids or anyone younger than 12 on these sites -- you should never let children or young teens socialise online.

9. Change your settings so people can't see when you're online. It will give you excuses to avoid messages or tiresome postings.

10. Block people who you don't know or who are suspect. Saves you from worrying, and it's less awkward to reject someone online than in person.

Famous people who use social networking sites

- Lily Allen, Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse, Rihanna, Madonna and countless other musicians have MySpace sites

- Barack Obama has a Facebook profile and a MySpace site

- While there is a “Get rid of Bertie Ahern because he’s an ass” Facebook group, it doesn’t appear that the Taoiseach has a profile himself, nor does Mary McAleese

- David Beckham, Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, and even William Shatner are some celebs with MySpace pages

- There are many profile pages for the Pope but it’s hard to say if the 80-year-old could really be that hip

A brief history of social networking websites

- Social networking sites are places where you can post a profile and personal information, with applications ranging from photos albums to videos

- They began emerging in 1995 but exploded in popularity in 2005 with the advent of MySpace

- The most popular sites are MySpace, Bebo, and Facebook in the English-speaking world, while Friendster is widely used in Asia

- Facebook, started in 2004 by Harvard students Mark Zuckerberg, Dustin Moskovitz and Chris Hughes, had a million users by the end of its first year

- It was created to work within universities and colleges, then added high schools and workplaces– now anyone can join Facebook

- Last year Microsoft paid more than US$240m for a 1.6pc stake in Facebook, which is valued at US$15bn.

- MySpace, founded by Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe, was bought for US$580 million two years ago by News Corp and subsequently Rupert Murdoch

- Most recently sites like Facebook and Bebo can now be accessed via mobile phone

- Founded in 2005 by husband and wife Xochi and Michael Birch, Bebo was one of the most popular websites in Ireland last year and Murdoch is believed to be looking to acquire the site

- Kate Daley/ John Meagher