Social networks often are thought of conduits to find, continue or strengthen friendships; but a new survey suggests that sites such as Facebook can cause friendships to break—largely because people tend to be more inconsiderate there. According to the survey (conducted by the corporate training company VitalSmarts), 78 percent of those polled said that people are getting ruder online; and 20 percent say they’ve either cut or reduced contact with someone based on interaction they’ve had with the person on a social network. “The world has changed and a significant proportion of relationships happen online but manners haven’t caught up with technology,” says Joseph Grenny co-chairman of VitalSmarts. “What really is surprising is that so many people disapprove of this behavior but people are still doing it. Why would you name call online but never to that person’s face?” (Reuters)

Paul Asay has covered religion for The Washington Post, Christianity Today, Beliefnet.com and The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. He writes about culture for Plugged In and wrote the Batman book God on the Streets of Gotham (Tyndale). He lives in Colorado Springs with wife, Wendy, and two children. Follow him on Twitter.