Musings on Facebook

I was never very enthusiastic about signing up for facebook. I was previously a part of a social networking site called Friendster, and I quickly learned the benefits and detriments of these sites through that experience. Social networking sites allow you efficient and widespread access to people’s daily lives. However, these sites expose users to an incredible amount of information, most of which (I feel) is unimportant or unrelated to the specific relationship. Eventually I relented to peer pressure and created a face book account. My own personal communication preferences generally tend towards phone calls and emails, rather than text messaging or online messaging. I am what you would call a low frequency user of facebook, I reluctantly log in for very short periods of time to check essential sections (like the inbox).

One of the most interesting areas of facebook is the photo section. It provides a quick and easy way to checkup on what’s going on in the lives of my friends. Additionally, the tagging system allows people to connect photos with facebook users. I normally am aware of what photos I am being tagged, and which ones I am not. Like most people, I am sensitive to how I am portrayed in public. If I do not like a photo of me, I will generally un tag it. Conversely, if there is a good photo and I am not tagged, I will add the tag if I wish to share it. The photo section of facebook is an ideal example of what is referred to as “telepresence” (Wood and Smith p.54). Not only does it provide additional sensory information, but the leveling of interactivity contributes to the feelings of connectedness.

I generally do not post general message or “shoutouts”, as I find this information boring and attention seeking. I mostly withhold the minute by minute posts, and do not generally share intimate, sensitive, or family only details. One of my facebook friends was going to give birth to twins, and one of the twins looked as If it wouldn’t survive. She posted every detail, every trial, and every tribulation of the ordeal on her facebook page. Through this emotional roller coaster her friends commiserated and gave her support. While I understand the need for a support system, I draw a line between a more intimate family oriented support system able of coping with difficult issues, to a more public inclusion of mostly acquaintances and school friends. I found myself wondering why she felt the need to constantly update us of every little progression to people who hardly knew her. When creating identities online, each of us uses the social network for possibly different purposes. Our intended purpose can affect what type of identity we form, and what information we consequently share. In Wood and Smith, the authors claim that “some people feel relationships formed online are more qualitative and real than those formed in real life” (p.78).

In culture at large, facebook, and other sites like it, have become a global cross cultural phenomenon. This continually expanding network as a byproduct of the internet has permeated our lives so fully that now that many feel it is required to participate in order to function within society. Increasingly it is becoming bizarre to encounter someone with no email address. The hilarious south park episode, “you have 0 friends” explores how the characters struggle with this permeation of social networking, and makes a funny yet spot on commentary on the identities, communication, and relationships formed through social networking sites.