Ever since humans walked the earth, we have always been a social animal, and were inventing ways to network. So, it won't be wrong to state that social networking was very much in place from the very beginning. Only the channels of networking have been changed or evolved.
Below is an infographic that shows the evolution of social networking throughout the ages:
Interesting it was, isn't it? There are endless possibilities with social networking these days, and it will truly be insightful to observe the future changes of the genre.