The content which I've learnt regarding social networking sites ring so clearly in my head when I was watching this episode of South Park, it really captures the essence of social networking sites so accurately. We live in a society where social networks run our lives. It seems that these inventions run our lives to the point where we can spend countless hours and not even notice time passing by.
The point of social networking sites is to bring people closer together, it gives people an opportunity to have a glimpse of how their friends are doing and to have an instant conversation. Not to mention it’s much less of a step when it comes to asking someone to spend time with them. It’s much easier to go on Facebook and say “let’s hang out!”.
But what seems to be the overbearing negative aspect of social medium is the affect it has on our personal lives. It’s great in the sense that you can keep in constant communication with everyone and never miss a beat in terms of what’s going on in their lives; but at the same time, behavior online can really affect someone’s perception of another. The fact of the matter is, with the benefit of being in constant contact with those who mean a lot to you comes the disadvantage of everyone being able to see everything that you do.
Our profiles online shows how we portray ourselves to others regardless of the level of authenticity, and our list of friends says much about who we are as well. Not only the list of friends, but the number of friends says something about you too, whether you're just collecting friends, or clearly you're just very popular in your network.
Not to mention actions we take on our social networks have the ability to cause rifts in friendships. The removal of relationship statuses; the changing of terms of endearment; or worse yet, the "un"friending. Even though we like to pride ourselves about how mature and old we are, the fact of the matter is that kind of action still takes precedent over us. Even when you are older and wiser, a simple action can sting as much as a negative comment being delivered right to your face. Social networking sites have lead us to take small actions and blow them out of proportion. Something as simple as removing your profile from your friend's list can cause rifts in a friendships, even to the point of established disdain. At the same time, even as we pride ourselves to be mature enough, it seems that nowadays, we almost instantly retreat into our primary/secondary school selves and allow such actions affect us.
It's understandable why people can get so affected. Social network actions are a symbol of how someone feels about you; it’s a symbol that shows that you are no longer relevant in their lives. And in a society that is so driven by symbols, we can take those actions to mean that they no longer mean anything to us.
Labels: the "un"friend
me me maggi me;
3:34 AM