Has social networking been a net-positive for the world?

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

Mild no, for now. But once we adjust and develop mechanisms to counterbalance the bad effects, it should be unequivocally positive overall.

[President Punxsutawney Phil]

I'd say it's a net positive, it lets you keep up relationships over time better. There are definitely negative consequences too, but I think by and large it's a positive thing.

The scale to which social media has changed things dwarfs the scale to which those changes are a net good or bad, more generally.
Overall, society needs balancing mechanisms regardless.