Mark Zuckerberg, in a post on his Facebook blog, states that "when we started Facebook in 2004, it was just a basic directory with some names, interests, contact information and a profile picture." Fast forward to 2009, we now have "the wall" and "live feeds" that put all of our "friends" right in our face.
On the other hand, Clive Thompson, recounts the differences between real-world social networks and virtual ones through the study of reality mining. Apparently, scientists are tracking people using location-aware devices like mobile phones or electronic badges to figure out how social networks function in the real wold. Really?? Am I in a lab and don't know it?? Not surprisingly, results show that the real world often works very differently than the virtual world thanks to that old tradition of face-to-face interaction.
Here's my problem: FB isn't just a basic directory anymore. I don't want the power to share EVERYTHING and I don't want to connect with EVERYONE. (baby announcements, the exact street address of where you will be at from 5-7 pm tonight, how you feel about Obama being left-handed, etc.)
Improving my ability to share and connect online also means improving security and privacy measures that allow us to do so in our own terms. Whether it's live feeds on FB or reality mining in the real world, why do I want others gathering so much data about me and vice versa? What's left to talk about if we know everything about everyone? (clients, bosses, love interests, etc.) We might as well just become robots. Wait for it...
I love spontaneity and so should you, it's what keeps us on our toes and makes life interesting. While FB (and YouTube, etc.) has proven to be many great things, like mapping our social network, it has also negatively altered our real world expectations. In the real world, you don't just earn someone's trust and friendship because your FB status is the same or you follow the same people. A firm handshake, eye contact, and credibility will always triumph in the world I live, which makes me wonder: am I the only one still living here? I guess the term "double life" changed from personal/professional to real/virtual.
Long Hairstyles For Oval Face Shape Women
-
*Title:* Long Hairstyles for Oval Face Shape Women
*Introduction:*
Oval face shapes are considered to be the most versatile, as they can
essentially pul...
1 year ago
Amen to the FB comments. How about adding some pictures or something next time, though?
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this. I believe in face to face interactions. I think those are the ones that tell you the REAL personality of a person.
ReplyDeleteI love FB- but if I genuinely need help I won't put it up as my status; I'll call my BFF!
I am positive that FB will never fully substitute real life and real friendship(at least for normal people). Words (even spoken, let along written) are so imperfect. When two people say "blue" and then choose the "blue" they meant from different shades of blue, their choice can be quite different. Also, we only convey 20% of what we want to say by words, other 80% of the information is transmitted through body language.
ReplyDeleteAs for your "Am I the only one still living here?" - not at all. I live here too :)