Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Social Media versus Real Life
Although I am a member of the generation that was in college when Facebook made its appearance, and have therefore been a member since the early 2000s, I’m finding that there are still areas of my life where Facebook, along with other forms of Social Media, just confuse situations, adding new complexities to real life. In this blog I hope to discuss some of these complexities, based off what I experience in my own life and what I hear from friends and family. That said I am definitely interested in hearing from you! Please share any stories or topics relating to Social Media and how your online life is affecting your real life.
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What a great topic!
ReplyDeleteI have the perfect example for you.
Last weekend my daughter Lily was baptized in my husband's hometown in Wisconsin. This was a family only affair from the beginning when my husband and I told our parents months in advance. However, the week before the baptism my mother-in-law (who cannot even figure out how to put up a profile picture) insisted that we make a Facebook "event" for the baptism so that everyone could see...see what? That they didn't get officially invited? Some of our siblings who are more Facebook proficient made a joke out of it, making silly comments and even replying that they were not planning to attend when in fact they were.
Facebook made a wonderful occasion among family into a charade and joke....not to mention a point of tension with my mother-in-law!
Oh, there are so many topics from the intersection between social media and real life.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, it is complicated enough when you're trying to limit a guest list to an event. With social media, even a stray posting of congratulations or excitement of the upcoming event can blow your cover on what is already a stressful undercover operation.
How about your real life friends that are (gasp) not on your social media site of choice? Do they get less of your attention or get left out of things? Is it actually a burden on their friends not to participate in social media and require separate personal notification of things?
I figuratively dragged my brother into Facebook: I made a profile for him, friended it, and then sent him the password. I can't say what I did was appropriate or not, but I wanted him involved in my life and that seems like a good way to do it.
Facebook stalking: you know you do it, you assume most people are, too. I once discovered that I was being blogged about because a friend of a friend (now a friend) living on the other side of the world stalked not only me but my hapless blogger in a truly investigative fashion. Or perhaps that blogger wanted me to know by leaving a trail of evidence leading to that blog. I think that knowing that we're the subject of voyeurism is one of the reasons we use social media, and it definitely colors what we say and do.
Elderly family on Facebook: is it OK to laugh at their ineptitude? It's unfortunate that at an age where you should have earned some dignity you are required to learn a whole new method of social interaction with confusing conventions.
And then there's the ones beaten to death already by popular media: cyber bullying, kids acting on their hormones and sending sexy photos and messages.
At it's heart, social networks mean well. Facebook, after all, is a 'place for friends'. But there's a saying that comes to mind above all other one liners that seem remotely appropriate for such a topic, and it reads, 'a strength taken too far becomes a liability.'
ReplyDeleteBut what happens when the next incarnation of social media comes to the forefront? What form will that take, and to what extent will people integrate it into their lives? It's so thick, we can almost call is a social science. Which brings me to my fascination of the day - Social media migration.
Example: I had a Myspace profile once upon a time (the truth is it's still active, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms right there). Anyway, the point is I don't use it anymore. The rhetorical question to ask is, why?
I have a few theories myself that all coincidentally end in an en masse user exodus from social media networks - how users exhibit a grazing patter and move one. Oh, how cyber-history will repeat itself in such a short period of time.