Facebook. I am sure most people are familiar with this term. I myself have a facebook account, and so do many of my friends.
I was asking one of my friends to sign up for a facebook account a few days ago and she asked me a simple question. What is it about facebook that made it so attractive to teenagers, and even adults? You can view photos of your friends, post messages on their page or even chat with them instantly if they are online at the moment. You can send them ‘gifts’ including flowers, food or even pets. You can keep track of their birthdays and even find out how many mutual friends you have. It is like a mini society which welcomes everyone.
But out of everything, I would think the most important factor is how we are able to keep track of each other’s life without the person knowing. I was just facebook-ing the other day and without having to talk to anyone, I managed to find out where my ex-classmates have gone to, what they are doing now. A friend of mine even went to facebook all her course-mates, and it’s amazing how she can know so much about everyone before she even meet them. We can see that it is indeed a useful spying device.
If you are a fan of the internet and facebook you would say that facebook has resulted in great convenience. You do not have to make any phone calls at the risk of disturbing your friend who might be mugging hard for his exam nor do you have to press your ex-classmate for information about this particular person. All you need is just to click and enter into the same network as this person and most probably (if he did not set his profile private) you would be able to find out all you need to know about him. It’s time saving and less energy consuming, and it draws people closer together.
But of course, if you are one of those who still believe in letter writing, you would say facebook is rubbish. It is even worse than email writing which is already insincere enough. It became an excuse not to contact your once close classmate. And you would think it is ridiculous expressing your concern through messages posted on the wall, and funny how people consider themselves social butterflies just became they have two hundred friends on facebook. It has pulled people apart further than ever. To get information about a person does not equate to being close to him/her. Facebook is merely a stalking device like any fan site!
Yes, it is ironic how people can think of it as two extremes. However no matter what, one cannot deny that facebook is a rising social trend, if it has not already become a trend. Even if you are not a facebook addict, one of your friends must be one. And for once, this is not just a trend among the teenagers. Surprisingly, the first time I heard of facebook was through my junior college teacher who is already in her thirties and a mother of two.
Facebook has changed the way people communicate with each other and is being use as a tool to socialize. Some many think that it has resulted in an invasion of privacy, but why sign up for a facebook account if you care so much about your privacy? But then again, when internet first started and globalization began, we have already lost our privacy. I would think facebook is just a fun application, perhaps to drop a hello when you are too busy or send a good luck plant during exams. Most would still be happy to see such messages, even if it’s in the virtual world, just don’t become addicted to it!
Facebook – The movie (They know)
<object width=”425″ height=”344″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/f0MC2lUl92A&hl=en&fs=1″></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/f0MC2lUl92A&hl=en&fs=1” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”425″ height=”344″></embed></object>
mcdull said,
November 4, 2008 @ 6:38 pm
heyo~!
regarding this talk on facebook, needless to say, it’s becoming THE most popular online social network. But as you’ve mentioned, this seemingly harmless internet device, could very well turn our world topsy-turvy if we aren’t careful enough.
On preventing one from being too “addicted” to it, as you suggested, that is through keeping ourselves to just simple uses of it, how do we really go about doing it? Will we be aware of ourselves becoming overly-addicted or reliant on this online system so much that we may forsake our “real lives” (which could really be a chore to lead, so an online identity may be much preferred). Could we be stopped? If we can’t, who can in turn stop us from becoming a person identified by his/her facebok account galore and not her true self?
In my opinion, facebook is just too hard to resist when everyone else seems hooked on it. Who will want to stop doing something that others are all doing? Sure there have been a few strong-headed (or stubborn,some may say) ones who have been resisting the temptation of facebook. But surely there have been those who gave in eventually.
Is this a mirror image of the society whereby people succumb easily to greater influences such as those exerted by peers?
Facebook is great, it does bring more excitement to life for many. But how much of this excitement would translate to real happiness is going to be a question.