Facebook allows everyone and anyone to be Big Brother. However, unlike in 1984, we are agreeing to let Big Brother watch us. We even participate in the constant surveillance. With status updates, people know every bit of information regarding our lives. We publicly state where we are going to college, what was the best part of our day, how much we don’t want to study for tomorrow’s test. However, the status update isn’t even a reflection of ourselves, it is the self we want everyone to see. In this way, we can be whomever we want, and only our close friends will know the difference. Facebook allows us to create the ideal self instead of embracing who we really are. Perhaps this makes the constant search for ourselves so much more time consuming. We spend all life trying to figure out who we are while we are creating a completely different image online. No wonder it takes so long to fully understand the essence of us since we are constantly hiding it.
Also contributing to Big Brother’s information is the new ability to “check in.” This gives the public information about where we are at all times. It’s dangerous, and also allows for surveillance in the real world if people want to go to extremes to follow us around. Checking in is optional, but many of us chose to do it. Why does it matter where we are? We have this need to let people know about every aspect of our life, and in doing this, we enable Big Brother to become our friends, those people we don’t know but are friends with, parents, teachers, anyone. However, we don’t usually realize the fact that everyone is watching us because we are doing it to them too. Facebook is not Big Brother, the people who use it are.
Facebook is justified stalking. It is the creepiest website ever, yet we want more! The ultimate stalking is what we yearn for. We know what we sign up for and know it's the creepiest thing ever. We put our privacy on the line for lack of knowing how much this will help or harm us in the future. I have to agree with Bronte on the check in subject. Although it is optional it is by far an easy way to know what everyone us doing and where they are doing it. Sorry, but I am not okay with you knowing my every move. I occasionally check in somewhere but never consistency. What if a stalker can hack in though? They can see your every move. Right now, since I live in the safety of my parents home I feel okay mentioning if I am with someone somewhere, but when I move out on my own I think I will opt out of checking in for safety reasons.
Facebook is a hindrance and a helpful tool. For safety reasons, future jobs, and things that can be viewed by others at all times forever and a day, it is very frightening. I also worry what prospective employers and my children will one day say about pictures and posts I've done at age 13, but I do like documenting my younger years. Where do we draw the line?
Facebook shows that our society is nosy and lazy. The fact that people are so addicted, including myself, should be a red flag that says they need to slow down and re evaluate what is truly important in their life. People should not be so consumed with what other people are doing, wearing, saying, or thinking. However, and unfortunately, our society has become so lazy which has caused them sit at home on their computers all day which has enabled them to only be concerned with how to be better than others, how to look better than others, and how to know news before others. Technology has become prevalent in today’s age instead of books. It has influenced education because people don’t focus on their academics as much as they used to. People take notes on laptops instead of notebooks, and people type papers instead of write papers. I have friends who don’t even remember how to write in cursive. Facebook also influences bad educational habits because it encourages slang writing, similar to how people write on text messages. It’s simple laziness, and I’m guilty of it myself. Furthermore, I have seen Facebook used for hurtful purposes through statuses and pictures. People post pictures making fun of someone, and sometimes, people’s statuses are jokes making fun of other people. Even worse, people post things that are personal that shouldn’t be made public. When people can read your status and know how you are feeling, it gives other people, people who may or may not know you, power over you that they do not need to have. Especially statuses that people post involving depressing thoughts…it’s just weird. I hate to admit that I enjoy Facebook because I do. I would feel so out of the loop if I didn’t have it because Facebook is the way that people keep in touch and stay updated. However, I still realize the extent of it’s stupidity and how it can really just be a bad thing.
Oh Facebook, how attached I am to you. How much distress and creepiness you bring me. We’ve been so close for so long, I don’t know what I would do without you. It’s a tragedy. But since tragedies always end with death, does this mean our relationship is in for it? Will it hit the wall? Will it end? As much as I do love you, I feel that sooner or later we may hit our breaking point.
Facebook= the ultimate social networking. It is everything you could want to know about a person-without really knowing them at all. You can see pictures, interests, profiles, location, and status updates following one’s every move. So if you’re networking, whom are you really networking with?
On Facebook you are able to create and put forward your ideal person. You can delete the negatives and add whatever you prefer to put forward your best self. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to present your best self. Heck, when I enter the job search-there’s no way I want everyone to have access to some of the things I’ve shouted when I stubbed my toe. But there comes a point when Facebook turns into a competition. Society often revolves around competition- ‘one upping one another’. When the blue welcome screen pops up and my newsfeed flows down the page I often feel inadequate. I scroll through pictures of people having fun, and thoughtful quotes set as statuses. And it leaves a gap, an empty feeling. But why must we spend so much time advertising, stalking, and comparing what one another are doing with our lives? Instead, how about using our time to enjoy each other?
Facebook isn’t a bad thing, it just gets taken to the extreme. And in the end, although I definitely do leave satisfied when I get to see the entire school’s prom happenings, it’s a little creepy, and a little too easy to collect info.
While Facebook is fun and gives us an easy way to keep in contact, it can be a little scary, as Abby said, with so many people able to access all our information. But what's really interesting to me is the information people focus on. The profile page focuses on who is commenting and what the are saying about your pictures, status, and the occasional relationship. It is almost sad how much we focus on what other people are saying about us or how many friends we have. Shouldn't we be more worried about the great friends we have instead of idolizing and "stalking" other, random people? Stalking turns normal people into idols against whom we compare ourselves . This is unhealthy. We should be happy with who we are. Yes, we are imperfect, but that does not mean we should want someone else's life. Our idols have flaws, weird interests, and embarrassing moments too. Speaking of interests, why are they not at the top of our profile page? What we like and who we are should be more important than the number of friends we have. I've never understood why it matters who has more friends, especially when you don't really know everyone on your list. Everyone has friended that random person who was at the same college information session last summer. Twenty years from now, who friended me and which people forgot to wish me happy birthday is not going to matter. However, Facebook is useful for exchanging those prom and graduation pictures. And the pictures might be helpful for remembering "the good old days" when I hit seventy. So, maybe we just need to alter our focus and learn to balance admiring other people with being satisfied with ourselves.
Facebook is a website known for its stalking qualities. The words "stalker" and "creeping" have been added to our everyday vocabulary because of this social networking website. While on Facebook, you have the ability to look at all of the pictures of people and their status updates and who they are dating and friends with and what they are talking to their friends about and what games they play their religion their political and sexual beliefs and where they even are at the moment. However, I do not think this is necessarily like Big Brother. There are many things that I don't want people to know that I do not put on Facebook and people don't know them. When people want to keep something secret, they don't have to put it on Facebook. It is as easy as that. Facebook is also a great way to keep up with people. All the time I talk to old friends because of Facebook. I am friends with many of the people that I once knew in Elementary school because of Facebook. For example, my best friend in 8th and 9th grade was named Michelle Kelley and she now attends Signal Mountain high school. Just this weekend she asked me about prom and graduation and this is because she was reminded of me because of the prom pictures and graduation status I had placed on Facebook. However, my Great Uncle also just went to Emory to get his pancreas removed and most of his stomach and his gall bladder because he found out that he had pancreatic cancer about three weeks ago. He also had 4 strokes and developed a hole in his heart because they had to take him off of his blood thinners in order to do the surgery. I didn't post this on Facebook because I don't want people to talk to me about it or feel sorry for me or anything and so now, people don't know about it. In the future I may regret the time I have spent on Facebook instead of with my family or something but it is not something that I let control my life. With anything you cannot get too attached. Facebook is not something to center your life around and also as with anything, you can get addicted. It can be a dangerous tool if you put things on it that could ruin your reputation or make people angry at you or get you in trouble. But so could running through the halls screaming your personal life secrets out. You need to know the line of Facebook and how much is too much and as long as you do that, then Facebook can be a useful tool.
When I log on to Facebook, I am immediately bombarded with the lives of 770 people. Between news feed and stalking potential, there is no way for me to avoid knowing about when What’s-her-face got her nose pierced or who the newest relationship – or breakup – involves. We have a lot of opportunities to see everything about someone based on their profile. But we only see what they post.
The power lies with the person who created the profile. You can choose to post as little or as much as you want, and you are free to choose your privacy settings as well as your friends. So people could be freaked out about Facebook and people stalking them but in reality it’s all up to them.
Facebook quenches our desire for information. It does not matter what kind of information you are seeking, the odds are you can find it on facebook. The site covers a diverse amount of information through its different features. Information about events can be found under “Events”, information about a person’s weekend can be found in their photos or on their wall, even information about your future classmates can be found under the respective university’s group page. All this information reduces the need for human contact. I don’t need to call my friend to see if she is available tonight because her facebook status has already told me she’s babysitting. I don’t need to ask my friend about what her prom dress looks like because she has already uploaded a photo from the store to her page. It seems that the phrase “Oh yeah, I saw that on facebook” is becoming more and more common due to the vast amount of information given to us. This excessive amount of information is simply displayed on our newsfeed, eliminating the need for our own curiosity.
Last night, I was using Facebook to find potential roommates for next year. This is how I spent about two hours: Christie seems cool. Her favorite TV shows are Friends and Freaks and Geeks. We would probably get along really well. Jen has a really cute profile picture. She looks like a lot of fun. Oh no, Gabrielle only listens to country music, so I definitely cannot room with her. Okay, you get the picture. After I did this for a while, I kind of realized how superficial Facebook really is. Your favorite TV shows, music, books, and hobbies do say a lot about you, but they do not necessarily tell someone who you really are. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between knowing things about someone and really knowing that person. I received an email from a girl about rooming together next year, and in the email she said she didn’t have a Facebook. After I read this email to my sister, she jokingly said, “Seriously? No Facebook? Well as far as the world is concerned, this girl doesn’t even exist.” I laughed, but then I realized how true that actually was. People are defined by what is on their Facebook profile. I know I base a lot of what I think about people off of their profile, which is not exactly a good thing. Don’t get me wrong I think Facebook can be really awesome and even helpful, but I think it is important to remember that Facebook only shows who people are on the surface.
The one thing that constantly amazes me about facebook is how much time I can waste on it. Whether it’s using facebook chat, or stalking other people’s statuses and pictures, I definitely spend a lot of valuable homework time on facebook. But why? Why can I spend over an hour on facebook without even realizing that I’m wasting the time? I think the answer is the organization of the site. When looking at my newsfeed, the fact that new statuses, updates, and pictures pop up without me even refreshing the page adds to “facebook stalking.” The “top news” option allows people to see what the most popular updates are and again, because they are constantly updated, there are always new updates to see. The simplicity of the simple white background allows people to not get distracted by unnecessary detail; this brings more focus to the updates and pictures. Similarly, the small font is only black or blue, keeping the sizing compact and keeping the colors from looking too busy.
Whether facebook is bad for society or good for it, everybody still uses it. Why? The easiness of being able to constantly see new updates and the simplicity of facebook’s website organization allows people to search through their friends’ updates and statuses without getting distracted by unnecessary color, detail, and large fonts.
Facebook. The good news? I can find anyone. The bad news? They can find me. On Facebook, all the information you are willing to disclose is made available to anyone who wants to click “Search”, and it’s just as easy to find other people. However, the problems with Facebook come not when the social networking site is used, but misused. We all have somebody from our past we’ve gotten in touch with through Facebook. Just last week, I got in touch with my best friend from elementary school, and I’m friends with a girl who was my neighbor when I was little. Most of my family has Facebook, and we use it as a means of communication through pictures and emails.
But what about those do the wrong thing on Facebook? We all have that one friend who is constantly annoying us through statuses, pictures, and videos. According to an article from the Huffington Post, Facebook is cited in one in five divorces, and a group of divorce lawyers said that “Social media is the new affair hotbed” (Chansanchai). Everybody has heard from their parents to be careful what to put on Facebook, because colleges, teachers, and potential bosses could see it. Facebook is as good or as bad as you want to make it. If you are just using it for communication with friends, fine, but if you’re making a spectacle of yourself on Facebook, don’t be surprised when you get in trouble.
Chansanchai, Athima. “Facebook: Marriage Killer?” Huffington Post. 2 May 2011. Web. 8 May 2011.
Facebook. Most of us have an account. We use it as a way to stalk, procrastinate, keep up old friends and much more. But what is the true purpose of this website? Why do we spend countless hours of our precious time just surfing this particular website? After spending another hour on Facebook trying to find answers, I think I finally have it. Human nature is very nosy. We want to know what is going on in everyone’s lives—not just our own. We want to feel included. And with Facebook, we can do all this within the matter of seconds. Status updates allow any Facebook user to say anything they want to this Facebook world. Why bother? Why can’t you just message your close friends that you have no motivation to study? Why do you have to post it as a status and announce it to the whole world? Well there’s the catch. You want to post it as a status because you do want everyone to know. You want everyone in the Facebook world to know that you don’t have any motivation to study. You want to pop up on their news feed. You don’t want to just go ignored. You want to feel included. And by posting a status, you basically force everyone to notice you. So now we know why we post statuses. But what about everyone else? Why do we read their statuses? The answer is simple. We are nosy. I am nosy. You are nosy. We all are nosy. Sometimes we get so bored in our own lives that we want to know what is going on with everyone else. Reading statements like “Oh, she is coming home next week!” or “Oh my gosh, she is going to [so and so] college!!” fill up the boredom in our lives. Sooner or later, when it is time to do homework, you start to wonder where all the time went. Oh yeah, you (we all) spent it on Facebook. So that’s Facebook. It can make you feel included. People will notice what you put up. And, you’ll always be in the loop! You can always keep up with everything.
For many years, there have been photography websites such as Flickr. But Facebook changed the way photography can be presented on the internet. Formerly, people you did not know were the ones viewing your work. On Flickr, pictures can be posted to groups, then the people in those groups can see your photographs. There is the ability to add your friends on such sites, but unless all your friends are photographers they most likely don't have accounts.
But on Facebook any of your friends, not just other photographers, can see your photographs. Granted, most people just post pictures they took from prom or fun events they attended. But some photographers actually use Facebook to their advantage. It gives friends the ability to "like" your photographs, actually know the people tagged in the pictures, and comment on them. Since most of the people who would want photographs taken for certain events, such as senior portraits, aren't photographers themselves, Facebook gives them the opportunity to see someone's previous work to help them decide whether or not they would like to hire that person to take pictures for them. Facebook has even recognized that this has occurred, which inspired them to give people posting photographs the ability to post higher quality images if they are willing to wait what is, on average, about ten times longer. Even though this is a significant amount of time, it is an important step for photographers who would actually care about the quality of the images they are presenting to their Facebook friends.
Facebook allows everyone and anyone to be Big Brother. However, unlike in 1984, we are agreeing to let Big Brother watch us. We even participate in the constant surveillance. With status updates, people know every bit of information regarding our lives. We publicly state where we are going to college, what was the best part of our day, how much we don’t want to study for tomorrow’s test. However, the status update isn’t even a reflection of ourselves, it is the self we want everyone to see. In this way, we can be whomever we want, and only our close friends will know the difference. Facebook allows us to create the ideal self instead of embracing who we really are. Perhaps this makes the constant search for ourselves so much more time consuming. We spend all life trying to figure out who we are while we are creating a completely different image online. No wonder it takes so long to fully understand the essence of us since we are constantly hiding it.
ReplyDeleteAlso contributing to Big Brother’s information is the new ability to “check in.” This gives the public information about where we are at all times. It’s dangerous, and also allows for surveillance in the real world if people want to go to extremes to follow us around. Checking in is optional, but many of us chose to do it. Why does it matter where we are? We have this need to let people know about every aspect of our life, and in doing this, we enable Big Brother to become our friends, those people we don’t know but are friends with, parents, teachers, anyone. However, we don’t usually realize the fact that everyone is watching us because we are doing it to them too. Facebook is not Big Brother, the people who use it are.
Facebook is justified stalking. It is the creepiest website ever, yet we want more! The ultimate stalking is what we yearn for. We know what we sign up for and know it's the creepiest thing ever. We put our privacy on the line for lack of knowing how much this will help or harm us in the future. I have to agree with Bronte on the check in subject. Although it is optional it is by far an easy way to know what everyone us doing and where they are doing it. Sorry, but I am not okay with you knowing my every move. I occasionally check in somewhere but never consistency. What if a stalker can hack in though? They can see your every move. Right now, since I live in the safety of my parents home I feel okay mentioning if I am with someone somewhere, but when I move out on my own I think I will opt out of checking in for safety reasons.
ReplyDeleteFacebook is a hindrance and a helpful tool. For safety reasons, future jobs, and things that can be viewed by others at all times forever and a day, it is very frightening. I also worry what prospective employers and my children will one day say about pictures and posts I've done at age 13, but I do like documenting my younger years. Where do we draw the line?
Facebook shows that our society is nosy and lazy. The fact that people are so addicted, including myself, should be a red flag that says they need to slow down and re evaluate what is truly important in their life. People should not be so consumed with what other people are doing, wearing, saying, or thinking. However, and unfortunately, our society has become so lazy which has caused them sit at home on their computers all day which has enabled them to only be concerned with how to be better than others, how to look better than others, and how to know news before others. Technology has become prevalent in today’s age instead of books. It has influenced education because people don’t focus on their academics as much as they used to. People take notes on laptops instead of notebooks, and people type papers instead of write papers. I have friends who don’t even remember how to write in cursive. Facebook also influences bad educational habits because it encourages slang writing, similar to how people write on text messages. It’s simple laziness, and I’m guilty of it myself. Furthermore, I have seen Facebook used for hurtful purposes through statuses and pictures. People post pictures making fun of someone, and sometimes, people’s statuses are jokes making fun of other people. Even worse, people post things that are personal that shouldn’t be made public. When people can read your status and know how you are feeling, it gives other people, people who may or may not know you, power over you that they do not need to have. Especially statuses that people post involving depressing thoughts…it’s just weird.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit that I enjoy Facebook because I do. I would feel so out of the loop if I didn’t have it because Facebook is the way that people keep in touch and stay updated. However, I still realize the extent of it’s stupidity and how it can really just be a bad thing.
Oh Facebook, how attached I am to you. How much distress and creepiness you bring me. We’ve been so close for so long, I don’t know what I would do without you. It’s a tragedy. But since tragedies always end with death, does this mean our relationship is in for it? Will it hit the wall? Will it end? As much as I do love you, I feel that sooner or later we may hit our breaking point.
ReplyDeleteFacebook= the ultimate social networking. It is everything you could want to know about a person-without really knowing them at all. You can see pictures, interests, profiles, location, and status updates following one’s every move. So if you’re networking, whom are you really networking with?
On Facebook you are able to create and put forward your ideal person. You can delete the negatives and add whatever you prefer to put forward your best self. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to present your best self. Heck, when I enter the job search-there’s no way I want everyone to have access to some of the things I’ve shouted when I stubbed my toe. But there comes a point when Facebook turns into a competition. Society often revolves around competition- ‘one upping one another’. When the blue welcome screen pops up and my newsfeed flows down the page I often feel inadequate. I scroll through pictures of people having fun, and thoughtful quotes set as statuses. And it leaves a gap, an empty feeling. But why must we spend so much time advertising, stalking, and comparing what one another are doing with our lives? Instead, how about using our time to enjoy each other?
Facebook isn’t a bad thing, it just gets taken to the extreme. And in the end, although I definitely do leave satisfied when I get to see the entire school’s prom happenings, it’s a little creepy, and a little too easy to collect info.
While Facebook is fun and gives us an easy way to keep in contact, it can be a little scary, as Abby said, with so many people able to access all our information. But what's really interesting to me is the information people focus on. The profile page focuses on who is commenting and what the are saying about your pictures, status, and the occasional relationship. It is almost sad how much we focus on what other people are saying about us or how many friends we have. Shouldn't we be more worried about the great friends we have instead of idolizing and "stalking" other, random people? Stalking turns normal people into idols against whom we compare ourselves . This is unhealthy. We should be happy with who we are. Yes, we are imperfect, but that does not mean we should want someone else's life. Our idols have flaws, weird interests, and embarrassing moments too. Speaking of interests, why are they not at the top of our profile page? What we like and who we are should be more important than the number of friends we have. I've never understood why it matters who has more friends, especially when you don't really know everyone on your list. Everyone has friended that random person who was at the same college information session last summer. Twenty years from now, who friended me and which people forgot to wish me happy birthday is not going to matter. However, Facebook is useful for exchanging those prom and graduation pictures. And the pictures might be helpful for remembering "the good old days" when I hit seventy. So, maybe we just need to alter our focus and learn to balance admiring other people with being satisfied with ourselves.
ReplyDeleteFacebook is a website known for its stalking qualities. The words "stalker" and "creeping" have been added to our everyday vocabulary because of this social networking website. While on Facebook, you have the ability to look at all of the pictures of people and their status updates and who they are dating and friends with and what they are talking to their friends about and what games they play their religion their political and sexual beliefs and where they even are at the moment. However, I do not think this is necessarily like Big Brother. There are many things that I don't want people to know that I do not put on Facebook and people don't know them. When people want to keep something secret, they don't have to put it on Facebook. It is as easy as that.
ReplyDeleteFacebook is also a great way to keep up with people. All the time I talk to old friends because of Facebook. I am friends with many of the people that I once knew in Elementary school because of Facebook. For example, my best friend in 8th and 9th grade was named Michelle Kelley and she now attends Signal Mountain high school. Just this weekend she asked me about prom and graduation and this is because she was reminded of me because of the prom pictures and graduation status I had placed on Facebook. However, my Great Uncle also just went to Emory to get his pancreas removed and most of his stomach and his gall bladder because he found out that he had pancreatic cancer about three weeks ago. He also had 4 strokes and developed a hole in his heart because they had to take him off of his blood thinners in order to do the surgery. I didn't post this on Facebook because I don't want people to talk to me about it or feel sorry for me or anything and so now, people don't know about it.
In the future I may regret the time I have spent on Facebook instead of with my family or something but it is not something that I let control my life. With anything you cannot get too attached. Facebook is not something to center your life around and also as with anything, you can get addicted. It can be a dangerous tool if you put things on it that could ruin your reputation or make people angry at you or get you in trouble. But so could running through the halls screaming your personal life secrets out. You need to know the line of Facebook and how much is too much and as long as you do that, then Facebook can be a useful tool.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhen I log on to Facebook, I am immediately bombarded with the lives of 770 people. Between news feed and stalking potential, there is no way for me to avoid knowing about when What’s-her-face got her nose pierced or who the newest relationship – or breakup – involves. We have a lot of opportunities to see everything about someone based on their profile. But we only see what they post.
ReplyDeleteThe power lies with the person who created the profile. You can choose to post as little or as much as you want, and you are free to choose your privacy settings as well as your friends. So people could be freaked out about Facebook and people stalking them but in reality it’s all up to them.
Facebook quenches our desire for information. It does not matter what kind of information you are seeking, the odds are you can find it on facebook. The site covers a diverse amount of information through its different features. Information about events can be found under “Events”, information about a person’s weekend can be found in their photos or on their wall, even information about your future classmates can be found under the respective university’s group page. All this information reduces the need for human contact. I don’t need to call my friend to see if she is available tonight because her facebook status has already told me she’s babysitting. I don’t need to ask my friend about what her prom dress looks like because she has already uploaded a photo from the store to her page. It seems that the phrase “Oh yeah, I saw that on facebook” is becoming more and more common due to the vast amount of information given to us. This excessive amount of information is simply displayed on our newsfeed, eliminating the need for our own curiosity.
ReplyDeleteLast night, I was using Facebook to find potential roommates for next year. This is how I spent about two hours: Christie seems cool. Her favorite TV shows are Friends and Freaks and Geeks. We would probably get along really well. Jen has a really cute profile picture. She looks like a lot of fun. Oh no, Gabrielle only listens to country music, so I definitely cannot room with her. Okay, you get the picture. After I did this for a while, I kind of realized how superficial Facebook really is. Your favorite TV shows, music, books, and hobbies do say a lot about you, but they do not necessarily tell someone who you really are. Sometimes it is hard to distinguish between knowing things about someone and really knowing that person.
ReplyDeleteI received an email from a girl about rooming together next year, and in the email she said she didn’t have a Facebook. After I read this email to my sister, she jokingly said, “Seriously? No Facebook? Well as far as the world is concerned, this girl doesn’t even exist.” I laughed, but then I realized how true that actually was. People are defined by what is on their Facebook profile. I know I base a lot of what I think about people off of their profile, which is not exactly a good thing. Don’t get me wrong I think Facebook can be really awesome and even helpful, but I think it is important to remember that Facebook only shows who people are on the surface.
The one thing that constantly amazes me about facebook is how much time I can waste on it. Whether it’s using facebook chat, or stalking other people’s statuses and pictures, I definitely spend a lot of valuable homework time on facebook. But why? Why can I spend over an hour on facebook without even realizing that I’m wasting the time? I think the answer is the organization of the site. When looking at my newsfeed, the fact that new statuses, updates, and pictures pop up without me even refreshing the page adds to “facebook stalking.” The “top news” option allows people to see what the most popular updates are and again, because they are constantly updated, there are always new updates to see. The simplicity of the simple white background allows people to not get distracted by unnecessary detail; this brings more focus to the updates and pictures. Similarly, the small font is only black or blue, keeping the sizing compact and keeping the colors from looking too busy.
ReplyDeleteWhether facebook is bad for society or good for it, everybody still uses it. Why? The easiness of being able to constantly see new updates and the simplicity of facebook’s website organization allows people to search through their friends’ updates and statuses without getting distracted by unnecessary color, detail, and large fonts.
Facebook. The good news? I can find anyone. The bad news? They can find me. On Facebook, all the information you are willing to disclose is made available to anyone who wants to click “Search”, and it’s just as easy to find other people. However, the problems with Facebook come not when the social networking site is used, but misused. We all have somebody from our past we’ve gotten in touch with through Facebook. Just last week, I got in touch with my best friend from elementary school, and I’m friends with a girl who was my neighbor when I was little. Most of my family has Facebook, and we use it as a means of communication through pictures and emails.
ReplyDeleteBut what about those do the wrong thing on Facebook? We all have that one friend who is constantly annoying us through statuses, pictures, and videos. According to an article from the Huffington Post, Facebook is cited in one in five divorces, and a group of divorce lawyers said that “Social media is the new affair hotbed” (Chansanchai). Everybody has heard from their parents to be careful what to put on Facebook, because colleges, teachers, and potential bosses could see it.
Facebook is as good or as bad as you want to make it. If you are just using it for communication with friends, fine, but if you’re making a spectacle of yourself on Facebook, don’t be surprised when you get in trouble.
Chansanchai, Athima. “Facebook: Marriage Killer?” Huffington Post. 2 May 2011. Web. 8 May 2011.
Facebook. Most of us have an account. We use it as a way to stalk, procrastinate, keep up old friends and much more. But what is the true purpose of this website? Why do we spend countless hours of our precious time just surfing this particular website? After spending another hour on Facebook trying to find answers, I think I finally have it. Human nature is very nosy. We want to know what is going on in everyone’s lives—not just our own. We want to feel included. And with Facebook, we can do all this within the matter of seconds.
ReplyDeleteStatus updates allow any Facebook user to say anything they want to this Facebook world. Why bother? Why can’t you just message your close friends that you have no motivation to study? Why do you have to post it as a status and announce it to the whole world? Well there’s the catch. You want to post it as a status because you do want everyone to know. You want everyone in the Facebook world to know that you don’t have any motivation to study. You want to pop up on their news feed. You don’t want to just go ignored. You want to feel included. And by posting a status, you basically force everyone to notice you.
So now we know why we post statuses. But what about everyone else? Why do we read their statuses? The answer is simple. We are nosy. I am nosy. You are nosy. We all are nosy. Sometimes we get so bored in our own lives that we want to know what is going on with everyone else. Reading statements like “Oh, she is coming home next week!” or “Oh my gosh, she is going to [so and so] college!!” fill up the boredom in our lives. Sooner or later, when it is time to do homework, you start to wonder where all the time went. Oh yeah, you (we all) spent it on Facebook.
So that’s Facebook. It can make you feel included. People will notice what you put up. And, you’ll always be in the loop! You can always keep up with everything.
For many years, there have been photography websites such as Flickr. But Facebook changed the way photography can be presented on the internet. Formerly, people you did not know were the ones viewing your work. On Flickr, pictures can be posted to groups, then the people in those groups can see your photographs. There is the ability to add your friends on such sites, but unless all your friends are photographers they most likely don't have accounts.
ReplyDeleteBut on Facebook any of your friends, not just other photographers, can see your photographs. Granted, most people just post pictures they took from prom or fun events they attended. But some photographers actually use Facebook to their advantage. It gives friends the ability to "like" your photographs, actually know the people tagged in the pictures, and comment on them. Since most of the people who would want photographs taken for certain events, such as senior portraits, aren't photographers themselves, Facebook gives them the opportunity to see someone's previous work to help them decide whether or not they would like to hire that person to take pictures for them. Facebook has even recognized that this has occurred, which inspired them to give people posting photographs the ability to post higher quality images if they are willing to wait what is, on average, about ten times longer. Even though this is a significant amount of time, it is an important step for photographers who would actually care about the quality of the images they are presenting to their Facebook friends.