I can still remember pretty clearly when I was introduced to Facebook; it was just a few years ago, after all. My friends had been trying to convince me to join for a while, but their arguments weren't very strong. Their description of it came down to something like "you have a wall, and people can write on it or post pictures and stuff", to which I made a sarcastic (and unoriginal) joke about graffiti. At the time, I found it pretty pointless. If somebody really wanted to talk to me, why couldn't they just call or text? Or even better, actually talk in person?
However, once I finally gave into the friendly peer pressure, I found it amazing. The idea of having a singular hub to connect to my peers easily was pretty cool. Throughout the end of junior high and early high school, I used Facebook moderately. I wrote a status update from time to time, and made an effort to like and comment when I felt another status was worthy. I wasn't on it nearly as much as some people, but I definitely checked at least once a day.
Eventually (this was within the last year or two), I began to realize the inherent inanity of Facebook. A vast majority of the posts on my news feed were from people I hardly ever talked to. It's not the fault of these people, but the simple matter is that most of my close friends either don't use it or use it very rarely. One day I stopped and noticed that I really didn't care about what I was reading. There were certainly some people who posted quality content, but there is only so much of "omg worst day everrrrr" from others that I can take. This prompted me to think about how other people viewed my content. I (and I assume most people) wrote updates with a certain audience in mind, usually friends, close acquaintances, or people who I communicated regularly with on Facebook. In reality, those people only made up a small percentage of the "audience". Going through your friends list and imagining some of those people reading your posts is a slightly mortifying experience. Sorta like this video.
With all this negativity towards Facebook, one may wonder why my account isn't deactivated, or why it is still on my bookmark bar. I even liked a couple posts on the course group's page within the last couple weeks. The answer is that Facebook, for all it's faults, is still an effective communication skill. Facebook is so thoroughly ingrained in our social circles that it is nearly impossible to function without it. It provides a convenient medium level of communication--a speedy and somewhat reliable way to convey a message directly, but does not require the same kind of personal contact as a phone call or text. I don't like Facebook as a whole, but the connectivity it provides is too useful to ever pass up.
Our in-class discussions provided some technical basing for my opinion of Facebook. My personal dislike stems mostly from the warped social aspect of it, while the article and video mostly addressed the problem in a wider scope of Facebook's responsibility to the Internet. The information was interesting, and I'm glad to have learned it, but I doubt it will change how I use Facebook currently.
As a side note, I hope I don't come off as overly judgmental or haughty, particular when talking about the "inanity" of Facebook. A quick and embarrassing tour through my own posts reveals I am just as guilty as others ("Why would I even think that's clever?"). I was just pointing out that Facebook doesn't provide an accurate picture of offline social contact.
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