The World of Facebook and Myspace

Before I came to college I was emailing me future roommate whom I was going to live in the dorms with. We had been emailing each other for some time but we both hadn't seen a picture of one another. She mentioned to me that she had a Myspace and I could add her as a friend so we could communicate through there. Now when she told me this I had just finished my Senior year of high school and had no idea what she was talking about. I felt a little ridiculous but I had to ask her, "What was Myspace?" Okay so I'll admit I was definitely not the "in crowd" especially when it came to technology at that time. Some people had a Myspace years before I even knew what it was. Soon afterwards I found Myspace, created an account and it became my new realm of communication between my friends. Instead of email I would use Myspace. Then after I came to college sometime after, Facebook was created. At the time Facebook was only meant for college students and I loved the idea of being part of the "selected" one's who got to use it. Myspace became the sloppy second shortly afterwards because Facebook was for college students for goodness sakes, there were no 15 year old girls posting pictures as if there were 21.

Now if you look at how Myspace and Facebook have changed our form of communication it is HUGE! Everyone I know has chosen to create accounts at either one of the networks. Some people in the beginning said they would never have one or decided to get rid of it because of the changes that it had made...but after a month or two either that friend had created an account or the other decided to join again. Why, you may ask? The reason is because it has become such a large social network that people will feel left out if they don't have one. What do we all hear nowadays when were trying to meet with a classmate or communicate with a new found friend? We don't ask for their email anymore, we ask, "Do you have a Facebook?" The answer is usually, "Great I'll find ya/I'll add you." I know of so many parents that now have a Facebook as well. The majority I have seen are not to check up on their kids (well that's probably a bonus) but to communicate in their own social network with their friends who as well have a Facebook. Myspace was the beginning of the technological change but now Facebook has become the new rage and everyone uses them...okay not everyone but all college students I know have/use it to communicate.

I think the fascination with Myspace and Facebook is how easy it has become to communicate with other people. Perhaps you have lost touch with an old friend. These networks allow you to find that friend and communicate with them no matter how far away you might be from each other. It's fun, you can add pictures, updates and people have a better idea of what's going on in your lives....or at least what you choose to show. I remember in the beginning of Facebook it was all about how many friends you had. It didn't matter if you never talked to that person from high school or only had one class with that cute guy, "friends" were still automatically added.

As Wood and Smith state on page 59, "However, in an online forum, he can more readily adopt and enact a change in his gender, race, or any other characteristic he chooses. In whatever identity he selects, he can exert greater control over his identity in the online environment than in face-to-face interaction. In face-to-face interaction, we communicate not only through our words but also through our appearance." This is exactly the same message that is portrayed via Facebook or Myspace. Yes, a lot of time we try and befriend others that we know or at least are acquaintances with but what we choose to disclose is still our choice. I have seen on Myspace in the past young girls who are either 12 or 13 and on their profile it says 21 or 22 years old. Now I have known for a fact that some of the girls are indeed 12 or 13...It has made me wonder, why do they say their older than they really are? I conclude that either their parents require they put an older age so that they are "less" at risk for predators or perhaps they are in fact trying to be older than they really are and grow up way too fast. Either way the internet and Facebook and Myspace in general allows any of us to choose the route we want to take. It's our Freedom of Speech!

In Chapter 4 of the Wood and Smith's book they go into detail about online dating and the relationships that have or try to take place over the internet. They state on page 78, "However, a growing body of literature argues not only that people use networked technologies for social purposes but also that, in some cases, people prefer the medium for interpersonal relating." People seek interpersonal and romantic relationship via online. My best friends parents met on Match.com and they are still happily married. There are people who are constantly meeting online with Facebook and Myspace as their networks. If you notice on both sites there are constant advertisements that are associated with the networks in finding "true love" and so on. These communication realms have sparked a new wave of interpersonal interaction.

So what does all of this information say about our culture and society in general? To me it says that we are continually relying on technology and it's advancements to communicate with other people. We use Facebook and Myspace to communicate with friends and family. To be perfectly honest, I feel that it has become a cop-out. Instead of sending a nice card or even calling a friend on their birthday, instead what do people do? They write happy birthday on their friends page. Now how many of them would have known it was their friends birthday if they didn't have the constant reminder on Facebook and Myspace? I can't answer that question but I do know that I have done that before as well. I'll admit it's nice to wish someone a happy birthday, someone who don't talk to or see, it's a nice gesture...but I still think that a card, a face-to-face interaction or a phone call is still better. I realize that sometimes face-to-face interaction is not possible but when someone actually goes out of their way to write a hand letter or send a card to a friend, to me it show they care more than just a few words and a click of a button.

What's ironic to me about all of this is the fact that I'm saying a phone call now is more personal when before that was unheard of as interpersonal communication. I think our society is relying so much on technology that the telephone/texting became the new "face-to-face" interaction, email became the new phone and Facebook/Myspace has become the new email. It's a constant pattern that is continuing and were getting farther and farther away from good old face-to-face communication. It makes me sad. I love using the technology given to me, I think it's great but another part of me cant help but wish texting and all of that form of communication was gone so we could concentrate on the person not the device. I know that we all can make a personal choice for ourselves though and choose what we do. I have a professor that absolutely hates cell phones. He doesn't like them and his entire family is the same way because he and his wife raised them to be self sufficient without them. I think if we were raised without the technology we wouldn't know any better (just as the people in our history) but if we have it and then it's taken away like our first assignment, well then that's where it tends to get real sticky.

If someone has a bad experience on Facebook or Myspace...like the examples I gave in the beginning about not joining or refusing to re-join...I think in today's society the majority of people would crumble and resort to these networks. I'm not saying its a bad thing, I use them and nor am I trying to be pessimistic...I like to think I'm optimistic, but in reality with our world revolving around technology I think the majority will automatically resort to it in the end. Do you agree? Or perhaps you have some more insight that I missed?