Many would agree that facebook is a source of amusement or pleasure. Facebook has all kinds of amusing games and features like chat, messages, and the ability to post links to music, videos, and pictures. Facebook, in a sense, is a break through in entertainment and media, in what can be called an internet social network. Like every media, Facebook has its drawbacks. These drawbacks arise because Facebook is a nastily concocted mixture of entertainment, advertisement, and communication. Firstly, many people use facebook mainly as a tool to stay connected with important people in their lives. They come to facebook in order to chat with their friends, but then they end up being sucked up in the entertainment aspects of facebook, like its games and music. Through this manner people become addicted to both the entertainment and social aspects of facebook. As a result, many people use Facebook as a substitute to reality and do things that they can do in real life, but prefer to do on facebook, such as engage in conversations and manage a farm. But these are not real conversations, but are a string of short choppy text-message style messages which prevent the Facebook user from discussing anything real. Therefore, Facebook usually promotes shallow conversations or random comments. Facebook also promotes the public displaying of one’s information so people can feel that they are getting to know someone, when in reality, many people who talk to their “friends” are talking to a complete stranger. Facebook also displays advertisements along its borders, which are catered to the “interests”, further distracting the user and putting them in the sight of scams. Facebook has solutions to concerns that users might have, such as privacy and the overuse of facebook, but one thing it does not have is a motivator for people to return back to reality. With facebook becoming a dominant media (even over the television), it is becoming very likely that people will eventually talk facebook to facebook instead of face to face.
What would Huxley or Postman say to facebook?
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I have never used Facebook, or Myspace, or any such site. Which is a source of annoyance to a great many people and provides them with plenty to tease me about.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, Ben, your post reminds me of Hot Tub Time Machine. One of the characters asks a girl if he can text her, forgetting that in the 80's they didn't have texting. So he asks if he can find her online instead. Again, I think I'm correct in saying there wasn't internet back then. So, the character asks the girl how he can get a hold of her, to which she replies, "You have to come find me."
Flabbergasted, he states that that sounds.... "Exhausting."
Hmm. What a sad day it is when a movie makes fun of what technology has reduced us to.
Try to imagine, if anyone can, a world where, God Forbid, you have to talk to girls... face-to-face. Without the use of Facebook or Myspace to shield you. Call me old fashioned but that's how I do it. I may fail at it, but that's how I do it.
Raul! Check your email.
ReplyDeleteI see your point and I have to say that I agree. Facebook has brought privileges by helping people connect with one another around the world but it engage the user to the website with games, music, and advertisements that the user will probably don't want to leave the website. And users often send message to total strangers who they say are their "friends" because they have the power to. Website like these make personal communication fade away because people would rather send message to each other then talk because it is more interesting. Hopefully this won't get to serious that we will have no reason to talk face to face anymore.
ReplyDeleteALthough i would have to agree with this I dont find it quite as shocking as made out to be. it is often the case with much of the products from technology especially those of the iternet that they consume the lives of its users and replace reality.
ReplyDeleteI think that if Postman saw were to tell you what he felt about these sites he would be absolutely appalled! Over facebook no one actually has a deep conversation most things are irrelevent and just lead to pointless entertainment. Seeing how people are becoming more and more dependent on social networking sites like this I think that these sites will only keep gaining in popularity, and people will fall right into their trap. With this people can feel self important and make their own irrelevant news and force it upon everyone else. However I do not believe these sites will ever completely erase actual interaction but I will agree that many people you meet online offer the illusion of friendship despite the fact that you actually dont know anything about each other.
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