What does it matter to me if you got a new pair of sunglasses, even if you have over one hundred "likes"? Everytime I log in to Facebook, I have scroll past endless status updates and alerts which seem to go on forever. Occasionally, I will stop, read, "like" then continue to scroll down until something interesting pops up. I soon find myself absolutely enveloped in boredom. Everyone always posts about the same thing, there is only so much that we can talk about, and none of it really matters. For example, facebook was blowing up with status updates over the earthquake we had a few days ago. We all obviously knew there was an earthquake, we could have easily seen this on the news. But instead, there was a race to see who could have the most clever, most amusing, most "liked" status update. For the next hour, everyone talked about the same thing, and none of it mattered.
This occured to me while reading Amusing Ourselves to Death. When Postman discusses the invention of the telegraph, he makes an interesting point. Although the invention enabled us to create communication lines over between distant lands, the people had nothing to discuss. They had nothing in common, everything became trivial. This is the same with Facebok, we all have this ability to connect, but what is the use if everything out there is trivial?
Remember "Myspace"? This was the social network that dominated our computers only a few years ago. Then, suddenly, Myspace became "boring". Almost everybody came to the idea that "Myspace is boring now, there is nothing to do." In truth, Myspace is not very different from Facebook, and Facebook is not so different from Twitter. My question is, how long will it take before we grow bored of these as well? Is it the social network that is boring? Or are we boring?
Postman states, "...the form in which ideas are expressed affects what those ideas will be" (p.31) I could not agree more with this statement. There is no place for important, meaningful throughts on Facebook. Furthermore, Postman says that, "We do not measure a culture by its out put of undisguised trivialities but by what it claims as significant" (p.16) By "liking" someones status, we are confirming that what they said is important. If all of these status updates are significant to us, then what does this say about our culture?
Our generations seem to not have minds of their own. Our generations place popularity first. It wasn't the fact that MySpace was boring, it was just that Facebook was luring in consumers because it was the new best thing. The new restaurant Cha2O, for example. I do not know a person who has not visited the newly popular attraction. For the past couple weeks, Instagram and Facebook featured uploaded pictures of smoothies and teas from Cha2O. We have to accept that the media is the most influential aspect of our lives.
ReplyDeleteI think the reason that social networking can be very popular among people is the speed of communication it offers with others. It is an easy way to receive instant gratification or support from your peers by simply typing and clicking. Although Facebook may get old, I think it will be a long time until social networking websites become obsolete. It is a very quick way to keep in touch with people from any part of the world, and the anonymity of a computer screen eliminates the fear of having to see reactions to what you post. It gives people an outlet to express things they would normally not express in real life and an easy way to receive attention and support without blatantly asking for it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Facebook is just another extension of the tongue. Just like you stated, as I go scroll down my Facebook page, I see a lot of pointless statuses. Our generation has been caught up in television, and social networks that we do not see the real potential. Computers and phones are for us to communicate with others out of reach, but in this day and time, we could be texting someone who is just in the next room. A few years ago, MySpace was the 'in' thing to do, but then it became meaningless. Facebook is slowly becoming thoughtless, as Twitter rises to the new pedestal.
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