Sunday, December 12, 2010
Facebook: What has it Done to Me?
Being that I am on the internet now, I find it incredible that I am even able to write this blog post without constantly switching back to my other tab, which is of course on Facebook. Very rarely do I do my homework without going back every few minutes to refresh my News Feed, check my messages. And yet I find myself asking why? The very idea of having to see every personal detail in the lives of people I don't even know let alone like is one that I can't stand. So why do i keep on getting pulled back? My only answer is that I have been sucked into the cultural mainstream that is social networking. God forbid I should miss a funny status, or a wall post that starts a fight between friends. Ten years ago, people survived perfectly fine without Facebook, Twitter, and even cell phones! Within the last decade, however, there has been a major shift in how we communicate. Face to face interactions changed to cell phone conversations, and cell phone conversations changed to texting. Mail is now e-mail, or Facebook inbox. Sure, this has made communication a much easier feat. But at what cost? So called "social networking" has actually been detrimental to the development of social skills. People lose the will to interact face-to-face when they could instead do it online from the comfort of their living room. And don't even get me started on the affect on schoolwork. Assignments meant to last thirty minutes will often take hours when Facebook is open. Even this Blog is taking me longer than it should. I hope someone is able to find the antidote to the social networking disease. Before it's too late.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I can really relate to this post. I do the exact same thing that you described in your first few sentences; I'm constantly switching back and forth from what I should be doing online and Facebook. You brought up a great point about how before all of this existed people were just fine. Now, it is hard to imagine a world without all of the networking sites, cell phones, etc. If Facebook were down for a day or two, imagine what would happen. I bet there would be a whole lot of people that wouldn't know what to do with themselves. Society today is constantly plugged in. I don't know if we will ever be able to change this.
ReplyDeleteYour post was probably one of the most personal and the one I related with more (as does everyone else, most likely). I usually do the same thing as you: a few tabs open, one of them definitely being Facebook. All Mark Zuckerberg wanted was to unite everyone in one network to be able to communicate "better". Unfortunately, his own invention turned against him, as we saw him friend requesting Erica and refreshing the page over and over again. His idea is basically backfiring on everyone. Each person with a Facebook, myself included, is obsessed with checking whether a new notification is present, or a new message. I just checked again, and one of my friend's statuses was "______ hate how you don't get a notification when some1 comments on something you wrote on some1's wall :P". We thrive on these notifications, and when we don't have one, we feel forgotten. To us, a message or notification means that we have succeeded in communication with someone else, or maybe even become friends. However, if Facebook has become the basis of a friendship, I don't think I, or anyone, really knows what friendship actually is nowadays.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Vinny! I can defenitly relate this to my time on the computer too. But what I think this post brings up is: What is it about facebook that is so appealing to high schoolers like ourselves? What defect in our personality can not allow us to go 15 mintes without checking our statuses? Can it be compared to fitting in with the jones's in that you have to see what others are doing to appease yourself? Whatever it is, it is scary to see our society go through this phase.
ReplyDeleteI think we can all relate to this post. Facebook (and technology in general) is a complete distraction and I think that a lot of the blogs agree that Facebook cripples our abilities to communicate with one another by serving as a replacement for one-to-one interactions and, ultimately, it takes away from forming and/or continuing genuine relationships. Facebook hinders us from bringing out the necessary social skills to converse with people in this world. If anything, our relationships become less personal and more automated and like most posts address, what's it all for? And yes, I also got soo distracted doing this assignment, it's not even funny. I know I'm so much more productive when I don't have Facebook opened, a computer nearby or my phone with me. So what's the answer? Are we supposed to get rid of our accounts, phones and computers altogether?
ReplyDeleteI think we can all relate to this post. Facebook (and technology in general) is a complete distraction and I think that a lot of the blogs agree that Facebook cripples our abilities to communicate with one another by serving as a replacement for one-to-one interactions and, ultimately, it takes away from forming and/or continuing genuine relationships. Facebook hinders us from bringing out the necessary social skills to converse with people in this world. If anything, our relationships become less personal and more automated and like most posts address, what's it all for? And yes, I also got soo distracted doing this assignment, it's not even funny. I know I'm so much more productive when I don't have Facebook opened, a computer nearby or my phone with me. So what's the answer? Are we supposed to get rid of our accounts, phones and computers altogether?
ReplyDeleteI definitely relate to this post, as does everyone else it seems, for the obvious reason that it applies to almost everyone's life nowadays. I think the thing that resonates with me most about this post is that I, unlike many teenagers, prefer face-to-face conversations, or talking on the phone rather than texting. And yet I find myself talking to people on Facebook more than talking to them on the phone, and texting them much more than talking face-to-face. Where has the closeness of relationships gone? I miss the days when my friends would want to hear the sound of my voice and call me up on the phone, rather than taking the easy way out and texting me. I miss getting letters with someone's personalized handwriting and stationary, rather than just an email or a Facebook wall-post. Sure, it may be easier, but it's a hell of a lot less intimate.
ReplyDelete