I think this is the last Facebook analysis I’m going to do for a while; five posts on one subject can make one feel as though they’ve left the real world and entered a world of ‘faces’. Facebook has had a huge impact on much of modern society in the Western world and there has been no shortage of News in relation to strange happenings within its ‘pages’.
For example, there was the Auschwitz Facebook site, which has subsequently closed down (just like the original ghetto – I can say this; I’m Jewish). There was the criminal who got busted after making the wrong friend request. Did you hear about the incident where car crash details including the name of a female teenager were posted on Facebook before her parents had been notified by authorities? The world’s richest man, Bill Gates, was forced to delete his Facebook account after being constantly asked to befriend people. I guess being that rich has its drawbacks…Taiwanese civil servants were told to cut down Facebook use, and it has been banned altogether at various times in China. These are but a fraction of the Facebook stories floating around the ‘Facialsphere’. Some of my Facebook opinions:
– Some people want as many friends at they can get, but never communicate to them. I’ve seen people with hundreds, and famous people have thousands of ‘friends’.
– Whenever someone you are connected with says anything about their lives, everyone they know has the option to add a comment or simply tick the box that says, ‘I like this.’ Everyone comments on one another’s lives without actually interacting personally.
– There’s an online chat aspect to Facebook; here you can have short instant messenger conversations with people you haven’t seen in years. Ask them for their phone number and see what they do…
– You can give virtual gifts to people; this takes hardly any effort at all, and usually feels like a waste of time. However, there was an instance where a friend’s husband passed away overseas and I sent her a ‘hug’ with a teddy bear praying for her. This actually did feel good, but it was much more real when I called her on the phone.
– Some people seem to ‘talk’ to everyone they’ve ever met, worked with, or gone to school with. If someone they’ve known comments on the News wall, they’ve always got something to say about it…Are they lonely, or sociopaths?
– There’s a multitude of whacky applications and groups to ‘join’. I have an acquaintance that is a ‘fan’ of Vicks Vapour Rub. Why does he think this is worth expressing? Is it comedy?
– I played the Facebook application called Texas Hold em’ Poker for a while. I made it from $1,000 up to $2.6 million, and then lost it all. Some people have billions of these virtual dollars and are so proud of their achievement, although it has no intrinsic value whatsoever. Still, it did feel sad to lose all that ‘money’. It sure is weird to see ‘poor’ folks asking the ‘rich’ people for spare chips.
– As I’m a travel bug, there’s one add-on application I like called, ‘Cities I’ve visited’ created by Trip Advisor. You get a map on your Facebook page, which shows everyone where you’ve been (including yourself!), though admittedly it can come across as being a little egotistical and ostentatious…
– I have the Top Friends application where I’ve put my closest family members; you can ‘send drinks’ to them virtually. I don’t drink. It’s weird how society automatically thinks we want to drink alcohol with those we feel close with.
– Did you know if you close your account on Facebook the website holds the right to keep your information even after you’re gone?
– One friend of mine says it’s all too commercial now; another says every real-life conversation he has, Facebook comes up, and he’s sick of it.
– My girlfriend says she doesn’t like the feeling of having to check her homepage regularly to find out when friends’ events are on. Why don’t people just call if they want her to come?
– Now there’s Facebook for Mobile. I fear if people get too into this they will no longer focus on the world around them; I like paying attention to people and the changing landscape on my daily train rides. Staring into your phone for the entire journey is questionably equal to disassociating one’s self from the present moment surrounding you in the space-time continuum of life.
– Now that I’ve deleted some people from my Friend’s List, my brother says he’s heard people can be deeply wounded and offended by this act. Really? I’ll just tell them I’m not into Facebook, except for keeping in touch with very close friends. If they don’t understand or no longer want to know me, I can presume it was a good decision anyway.
– Check out these articles relating to Facebook: ‘Death of a Gatekeeper’, ‘Why you Should be Aware of Facebook‘, ‘Is it a Day to be Happy: Check the Index‘ and ‘Beware: Happiness is Contagious‘.
Why have a Facebook if all faces are only masks to what truly lies behind?
micontent 