Stealth Socialization

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Definition

The opposite of social networking - one seeks to view content without leaving a social trail or engaging in social interaction. Antisocial networking undermines the feedback loop of information by not leaving an information trail that other parties can view, and is in this sense a "shadow socialization". Sometimes this dynamic can be ideal, such as Facebook's system that does not allow users to see who has been visiting their site. This encourages a type of social voyeurism where users can anonymously view other profiles, in comparison with Okcupid's interface of allowing users to see who has been viewing their profile. Shadow networking has its uses for encouraging social interaction, as Facebook has made abundantly clear, but should be used as a means to encourage active and overtly social networking.

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