So.... I have been giving this some thought... not nearly as much as it needs really...
Facebook is quite the sociological phenomenon when you give the concept a moment or two...
the majority of people find it quite addictive... and when you back away from it... if you can...
you wonder why... this is not real interaction is it? It is in some ways... as there a real people
typing things to you and exchanging thoughts and ideas and views... but it is not real world...
face to face interaction... yet people... including me are dying to check their facebook... see
who is doing what? who has which friends? who has found whom? etc.
I remember one time taking some kids to the bank. They were amazed!!! you can go into a bank?????? they thought that the bank machine was it. The amount of time spent interacting on a person to person basis is so dramatically different from when we were younger and it is decreasing exponentially. If that is an appropriate phrase...? of which I am uncertain.
With internet shopping and banking and facebook and msn, our kids perceive these interactions as the norm. This boggles my mind. No wonder resumes I recieve are vague and cover letters non-existent. No wonder phone call styles have changed to abrupt verbal exchanges. No wonder when you interact in an actual store, not a cyber one, clerks stare vacantly at you when you ask for assistance.
Further to this... I also notice that facebook can cause depression. As you see people's exciting lives and you type your status update... you may ponder how you might make your life more exciting or should you live vicariously via facebook....
or perhaps facebook validates you... as you find friends and connections from afar... they affirm that they are proud of you and miss you and think your life is great and congratulate you.
It gives you a new way to ponder the definition of "friend"... such and such wants me to accept them as a friend... are they a friend? do I know them at all? didn't they hate me in high school? who is that... is that the person I gave a coupon to once in a grocery store?
It gives people too much time pondering the word "poke"...
It can provide an opportunity to cyber congregate in support of great causes and ideas such as charities or to cyber congregate for free cyber gifts. Or perhaps the valiant cause of news anchorperson tattoos....
It also has begun a new level of cyber bullying that can hurt people in whole new ways. New means of graffiti. It has lead to real world violence as facebook fights have spilled over into real world altercations.
It has added more words to our seriously messed up language.... "hey, catch ya later... I'll facebook ya!"
Now don't get me wrong! I love it! I am without doubt addicted and I have 121 friends to prove it. wink wink ..... but it really begs some serious consideration... but unfortunately we do not have a serious society to reflect upon this.
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