"The growth of ambient intimacy can seem like modern narcissism taken to a new, supermetabolic extreme — the ultimate expression of a generation of celebrity-addled youths who believe their every utterance is fascinating and ought to be shared with the world" (www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html?pagewanted=2).
Facebook, launched in February of 2004, is a social network that was originally created exclusively for Harvard students. It was such an immense hit that other local colleges began to demand acces to the Facebook network. After just four months, Facebook had added over thirty college networks. By September of 2005, Facebook was opened to high school students at which time photo sharing became very popular. It wasn't until September of 2006 that Facebook finally opened to anyone with an email address (www.cruchbase.com/company/facebook).
I have to admit that I log on to Facebook every day, and in fact, I am logged on to Facebook at this very moment. It's addicting to say the least. I think it's incredible how much information people reveal about themselves on this website. There are over 100 million users on Facebook today! That's a lot of people who have access to personal information. Not to mention the news feed feature allows friends to see your status at any given time. I don't update my status very frequently because I don't think it's necessary for my "friends" to know what I am doing at all times. Who cares anyway? Maybe it's my age.
Teenagers, on the other hand, tend to be somewhat self-absorbed. Everything they do should be shared with everyone because everything they do is important. Facebook has become quite popular among teenagers because of the very fact that they can constantly update their "friends" on their minute-by-minute activities. If you think about it, isn't that what being a teenager is all about? Socializing is a major part of the teenage years. Advances in technology have given today's youth even more opportunities to communicate with each other and will continue to provide different outlets for socializing.
Facebook is a convenient way to socialize without really socializing. You can send and receive messages from people you might have been close to at one time without really talking to them. Does that sound antisocial? I just think it's awkward when you run into someone you haven't seen in awhile. There are many times I turn my head the other way, pretending not to see someone. Facebook, in a way, allows you that same freedom. You don't have to talk to anyone just because they talk to you, and you get to pick and choose who you "run into".
References:
www.crunchbook.com/company/facebook
www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07awareness-t.html?pagewanted=2
3 comments:
A will say Facebook is a nice feature and I have my own profile however keep it to a minimum. Currently, I am to busy to log on to the site and keep up with the updates. In addition, I receive comments into my e-mail account so I can review notes from my friends there too without visiting two different sites. It is simply overwhelming for me and I rather meet up with my friends in person, at least the once that live close to me. I prefer to enjoy my life outside the cyberspace. This way I can look back and reflect on the locations I have visited and the great time I had on my walk or hike.
AH
As a 30-something year old male, I am a bit reluctant to admit that I still have a facebook account. However, facebook is (somewhat) more secure and mature than other social networking sites... I’m looking at you myspace!! I usually check my page at least once a day, and do not update my status all that often. Quite honestly, who cares what I am doing?!? However, I am at the point in my life where my friends and family are starting to have children of their own, and facebook allows me to see updated pictures of new family members and friends’ children.
It is absolutely true that facebook is socializing without actually socializing. I have added “friends” that I haven’t seen since high school (or earlier) and have yet to actually communicate with them. I am basically spying on them with their consent.
I too have a MySpace page however, I don't keep it updated often, this is probably due to my age. However, I have tried to think of "productive" ways in which to use MySpace as far as a networking tool for my new small company, unfortunately this does not work well for me do the the number of people that just want to "chat" or have a new friend. I have often felt as though I have let go of my personal space and now its all in cyberspace. I think that MySpace and Facebook are great when they are used only for what they were designed for. Unfortunately some members of our world do not always have our best interest at heart and use personal information against us in more ways that one.
Thanks, TMM
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