Today's instances of connecting using social media tools simply facilitate behaviors since the dawn of man. For example:

CONNECTING ON SOCIAL NETWORK SITES
Now: Create a profile on Facebook/LinkedIn/MySpace, link to friends, share updates and thoughts by posting on friends' profile pages.
Before: Joining a club (Rotary, Moose Lodge, hobby-oriented, etc); Who's Who Among American High School Students (Did anyone ever get any value from this?).
Past: Associations of guilds of like-minded or like-skilled individuals (Free Masons).
Earlier: Tribes gather to share stories and traditions; hunter-gatherer groups ban together to hunt and pass down hunting knowledge.

People have always (and will always) connect with one another. Today's technologies make it easier and broader reaching than the past.