SHUFFLING about the park or shiftily hibernating under bus shelters are the places one might expect to find teenagers of today.

A favourite pastime for these modern vermin is hanging around'.

A bus shelter is all very well but times are changing and this generation of adolescents are not always entirely satisfied with a cold bench and a fag anymore.

We have upgraded every possible form of communication so much in the last 50 years that even hanging around' has become digital.

MySpace, Bebo and other social networking sites are the new craze for many Western teenagers - so much so that friendships are built on personal profiles and communication is more accessible than ever before.

Just as youths in a hunting society play with bows and arrows, youths in an information society play with information and social networks.

These websites are designed to express oneself and to be able to learn about others in the way others would like you to.

As a Bebo and MySpace member I find building relationships in this way fun and easy - almost too easy.

These websites provide cold facts about individuals and yes, there are ways to correspond with one another, but in getting to know someone I want to pick up on their good and bad habits, their unique characteristics and their funny little ways which cannot be expressed on a computer screen.

Profile sites may provide a fertile ground for identity development and cultural integration but for individuals who are not able to access the internet could feel cut off from their peers.

Modern technology is incredible as long as we do not rely on it and find ourselves lost in a world lifeless and disconnected from emotions and reality.