Throughout the term, there have been many convincing arguments about the possibility for an online community. Considering the effects that Facebook can have on those who immerse themselves in the site, provides a new way of understanding how Facebook can indeed be a community.
Up until a couple of weeks ago, I thought that I had become aware of every online risk that existed; there’s internet addiction, cyberbullying , “sexting,” etc. However, a new risk has emerged in light of the advent of social media called “Facebook depression.”
When “Facebook depression” was first brought to my attention I immediately laughed in disbelief and figured it was an exaggerated story. Although many of you may have similar thoughts, I want you to think back to all the Friday nights you stayed at home preparing for presentations or writing essays. When you finally decide to take a break, you go on Facebook and notice that most of your friends are on vacation or have gone out for the night. I think it’s fair to say that these moments have been a little depressing.
According to a recent article in the Globe and Mail, looking at your friends Facebook status updates and photos of people having a great time while out with their friends can have a serious impact on one’s self esteem. They compared this feeling to sitting alone in a crowded cafeteria at school and other real-life encounters that could also lower self esteem.
When considering these comparisons, I couldn’t help but wonder about the notion of community and asked myself: If the effects are the same in ones community than they are on Facebook, is this another example that points to Facebook being a legitimate community? Regardless, Facebook has very real consequences and many of these mirror those that exist in a real community, where there is no “vanishing table.”
If kids are now turning to social media to interact with their friends as opposed to going to the movies or the mall, if people are learning about who they are and who their friends are through Facebook, building relationships and experiencing some of the very same hardships they would in an ordinary community, who is Barney to say that these sites are not real communities?
I think the effects are very similar offline and offline. Just as we feel upset when friends come home and post pictures of their trips online, when friends come home and we see them offline with a tan, inside jokes, and stories we feel this same bout of depression. Maybe this also speaks to our constant need to better ourselves and live a pampered life?
ReplyDeleteI agree, and find this to be quite interesting. I think that it may be affecting more of the younger generation, who only know social networking to be an online experience. I found an article that talked about a similar influence with regards to mobile phones. Check it out if you have the time.
ReplyDeletehttp://androidcommunity.com/most-students-suffer-from-smartphone-withdrawl-study-finds-20110408/
Marie, I think you may be on to something when you say that this may also point to our need for self improvement. It is common to have hundreds (even thousands) of friends on Facebook, which gives us the ability to compare ourselves and our lives to all of these people.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say that this is only for the younger generation, as suggested by Sophie. I think that even those in the older generation have this addiction to stay connected (which is something these teens had in the article about mobile phones). I see alot of middle aged men and women attached to their crackberry and constantly checking and writing enails for work.
Sonia, you brought out a very poignant element in the social networking technology. We are often too trapped in the inclusiveness of the media that we omit to consider the destructive effects it can have. Many adolescents suffer from this loneliness in a sea of people. I am actually tempted to say that in fact we are merely reproducing the social realities of the world onto virtual networks.
ReplyDeleteThen, I think of the many migrant or immigrant children who already feel disconnected from the reality they find themselves in. It makes me realize the lasting and destructive effect it can have on families at large. Think of the children who see the photos and statuses of their friends and who start feeling inadequate, then ask their parents for things they cannot offer, and they no longer can understand why they cannot be offered the same things their friends have. The issue of financial inequality is one that generates many concerns: parents feel pressured, children displeased, and they are wrapped up in the discourses of consumption, thinking the only solution lies in earning more money to afford more. What for? And, what novelty can the internet bring since it merely reproduces the same relations and structures that existed in the real world?