It has never been easier to make friends than it is right now, mainly thanks to social networking sites. Just a few decades ago it was pretty tough to connect with people, unless you were the overly outgoing type able to make conversation with anyone at a party. The rise of mobile phones helped change this, connecting people in a new way, but then social networks sprang up and the whole idea of friendship changed once more and for ever.
By all of us sharing our experiences, both good and bad, on social networking sites, we're able to empathize with each other. A friend may have gone through a similar ordeal that you now are, and they will be able to inform you how they got through it. You'll also be able to see for yourself that they made it out the other side, that this issue did't derail them, and they're perhaps better for the experience.
Our time is being stretched thinner and thinner by work and family commitments, but social networking sites offer a chance to communicate in a speedy and efficient manner. Writing an update for Twitter takes all of 20 seconds, and with cross-posting over other social networks switched on, that update reaches everyone you want it to reach (and probably more besides) in an instant.
