Maybe I'm just odd, but social networks don't really bring me any value. I have a few close friends who I stay in touch with no matter where we are, and I do it on a medium that is a little more personal than the digital equivalent of an announcement to all your friends. I thought maybe I just didn't like Facebook, but I saw the same thing with Google+. Sometimes I wonder how many people on HN are the same way.
Likewise. I don't have a million friends, just a few that really matter to me.
The friends that I really care about require no electronic mediums for meaningful interaction. If I didnt hear from them for a year, it would only take 60 seconds to get back into the comfort zone.
Given the number of people who don't have or don't use Facebook, I think there are a lot of people who don't derive social value from social networking.
seems to me people who use facebook a lot do it bec it's a status thing: they have to be in on the latest trend, they have to be in on the latest tech. just the same with people who just have to have the latest gadgets... it's all very superficial
or a lot of people using other social networks. Or a lot of people that don't know they "need" social networks. Or a lot of people that can't use social networks (eg grammas and grandpas, 12-year-olds, people in countries where FB is blocked...)