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Is it healthy to go to a ten year reunion? Is it healthy to stay in the same town as you grew up in? I don't really feel like there is any question here. There was a time when many people didn't leave their home towns very often, in which case they miss out on experiences outside their comfortable environment. There are still many people who stay close to the home they grew up in. Just because we have the ability to move far away and cut the cord so to speak, doesn't mean we should be disconnected. And with the long history of high school class reunions, nobody questions catching up with old pals, so why should there be a question about staying in touch from time to time with those same old pals via the Internet? Is it simply the fact that its new, or technologically advanced, or seemingly complicated, that makes it a concern?

The Internet is an amazing tool, and it enables us to do things that we weren't able to before. While in the past, you might recall old friends and sadly wonder what happened to them, now we can reconnect to a number of those friends. While we may not become best friends again, that simple connection can help when you need a friend, can give you insight into opportunities, and can be an interesting reminder of how people raised in similar environments can do many different things with their lives.

I think there's a therapeutic benefit to social networking as well as being a function of satisfying curiosity. Many young adults are privately tortured by unresolved issues from their high school lives, and moving on can be done more easily with a few years of maturity and a few exchanges on such a social networking site.

While the Internet has opened up more sources of information than ever possible before, I think there are also valuable resources in your old friends. They can share memories and stories, and unlock secrets you may not have caught the first time around. They can also share with you experiences that you may have not had the opportunity to learn about otherwise. Let's say I had been thinking about getting my MBA at a University of Chicago. Since I live in Arizona, most of my current friends know little to nothing about University of Chicago. However, since I went to high school in the suburbs of Chicago, I may have ten friends on Facebook that went to University of Chicago, half of them obtaining an MBA. Alternatively, let's say a co-worker's daughter is considering the Army. The only people I talk to regularly that have ever been in the military are men, and they may not have a good perspective about women in the military. But by browsing my connections on the social networking sites, I can discover a few old girl friends that went into the Army after high school, and I can get insight that I can share with an otherwise unsure young woman.

As with all good things, there will be people that have issues or are seriously disturbed that will abuse social networking; using the sites to stalk old crushes, or pick on old victims, or brag about how happy they are, etc. But the exception never makes the rule, and so long as it is not endangering life or health, rules should not be made around exceptions. I would always caution people to be safe about their identity, and only share identifying information with people that can be trusted.

We've always reconnected with old friends in some way or another, the Internet just makes it easier, and in many ways, a lot more fun. Healthy? Absolutely.

Learn more about this author, Laura Lee Winger.
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