Amber Kelly, mathematics senior, didn't set out to become part of a close circle of friends when she started posting on Sooner Information Network's message boards.

"At first, I went to the boards to amuse myself when I was bored, but now that I've gotten to know a lot of the other people who post there, I stick around because it's like hanging out with friends," Kelly said.

Hanging out online led to in-person meetings, Kelly said. She said there are typically two groups of "SINners," or regular SIN posters: one that meets in the Oklahoma Memorial Union weekly and one that meets periodically off campus.

"Sometimes we'll throw parties, sit around and watch movies or even go someplace like the drive-in," Kelly said.

SIN, along with other message boards and connection sites like Facebook.com and Xanga.com, have changed the way people relate to one another. These online social directories have become this generation's worldwide singles bar and gossip hot spot all on one computer screen. Young people can meet each other and monitor their friends' relationships, moods and activities with the click of a mouse.

Meeting and greeting

Facebook.com, an online college directory, connects thousands of students from various colleges in the United States.

"You always know when people break up because they will immediately change their status on The Facebook to 'single,'" said Lacy Edwards, physical therapy junior.

Facebook.com has become so pervasive on college campuses that if two students begin dating, their "coupledom" is considered official only once they post it the site.

"One of my friends had been dating someone for a while, and then one day I went on Facebook, and it said they were together," said Kellie Foster, public relations junior. "And then I was like, wait a second, this is serious."

Thomas J. Burns, OU sociology professor, said online directories can sometimes cause people to package themselves in a certain way.

"Online dating might reward and emphasize different characteristics than in the here and now," he said.

He said sites like Facebook.com open up new dating possibilities for young people.

"It's a nice way to meet people other than a party. Students in fraternities and sororities have opportunities to meet people at different functions, but many students don't have that opportunity," he said.

Burns said he suspects people use them as more of a screening device.

"They can ... see how it works out and see if they hit if off, and then move on to real life," Burns said.

Finding friends

Genevieve Rice, SIN content manager and professional writing senior, said some message board users post frequently on the site.

"I think it's great that they found a place online," Rice said.

Carlos "Curly" De La Cruz, political science and pre-nursing junior, said he typically posts 10 to 20 times a day, sometimes 60 times a day.

Kelly said frequent posting doesn't equate to a lack of a social life.

"Some people who don't post often or aren't familiar with message boards go online and tell those of us with high post counts that we have no life, but they don't really get how little time it takes to post that much," Kelly said. "I only go on about twice a day, read interesting threads and post a few times. It doesn't take more than 15 or 20 minutes out of my entire day."

Even though the Internet has provided endless options for connecting with people, Burns said he hopes people still remember the days before chat rooms.

"No one wants to get reduced down to a profile," he said.

--additional reporting by James Nghiem
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