Don’t get me wrong–I don’t proclaim to be the most revolutionary thinker of our time, but I can’t help but shake my head at the constant stream of inane and unoriginal blather exchanged within social networking (e.g. Facebook, Twitter). Granted, there is plenty of original thinking and insightful commentary as well, but it’s in the minority. It’s almost as if we as a society have forgotten how to come up with an original thought without recycling cliches and catch phrases from within an increasingly dumbed-down culture. And we have the audacity to adopt the mindset that the rest of the world–even our close circle of friends–is the least bit interested in the mundane trivialities of our lives. Sure, one could argue in favor of the merits of sharing and being social–even if it is behind a computer monitor, clicking on a “Like” button next to someone’s mini-rant about rude people in the checkout line at the grocery store. But to me, that only goes so far; I question how much “sharing” is really being exchanged with that activity.
I readily admit to being a Facebook user. I like being able to keep track of the people I want to keep track of, and see photos of their kids, their vacations, and read about their accomplishments and challenges. I also like to wish people a happy birthday–because with each passing year, I gain a greater appreciation for what an accomplishment living one more year really is. Yet I don’t also feel the need to chronicle and comment on all the minutiae. I see so many people treating Facebook as if it were a validation for the experiences of life; as if something didn’t really happen unless I can brag about it on Facebook.
We’ve all seen how social networking like Twitter is providing us with access to events that the traditional media ignores either deliberately or indeliberately–the riots resulting from the Iranian elections a few years ago, for example. And I don’t question Facebook’s contribution to this trend. What I am concerned about is Facebook becoming an unquestioned source for unbiased information, and that the line between news and gossip blurring even more than it already has–and not just in the minds of the readers, but of the posters themselves.
I’ve compared Facebook to the online equivalent of a cocktail party where everyone is putting their best digital face forward in an effort to portray themselves more favorably than they really are. I also find myself wondering how many Facebook users start confusing their real selves with their manufactured online persona–and what the implications of such an identity crisis might be. How much of real life is being compromised for hours upon hours of playing Farmville or Mafia Wars under the pretense of being “social”. At the same time, I wonder how many people–and I include myself among this group, unfortunately–feel inadequate because everyone else on Facebook seems to live lives characterized by vacation photos with smiling faces, while the rest of us still seem to have bills to pay, cars to fix, and familial challenges.
Author Clay Shirky in his book, talks about Cognitive Surplus, the notion that with advances in the standard of living, we as a society have found ourselves with an unprecedented amount of free time. Unfortunately, much of that surplus was diverted to and devoured by the ubiquitousness of television. That is, until the Internet became more widely accessible and people found a forum where their voice and opinions could be heard or read, and they could become an active contributor to the creation of something rather than being a passive recipient of “entertainment”. I can’t help but wonder–even with all the sharing going on–if Facebook isn’t a step backward in that direction. That our online social activities are taking precedence over our interpersonal social activities.