Most of us who are online have a presence on Facebook.
Somewhere along the way, this site became the most popular in the world, and
seems to have most users addicted to it. I admit to using it myself on a daily basis,
even if that use is more often now being limited to a few minutes. I also see
it warping self-perceptions, influencing views, thoughts, habits, and even the
way we relate to each other. It’s a powerful network, and one that is deeply
flawed because let’s face it, we are none of us perfect.
I’ve explored other sites recently, Seen, tsū, Path, ‘Ello – all offer
interesting alternatives to the mighty Facebook, but none appear to have caught
on. Personally, I think Seen has a great setup, and is a nice, secure site. No
one’s heard of it, really. MySpace would be popular to this day if it hadn’t
been turned into a site solely for musicians. I used to have over 1200
connections there, now it’s about 100… and when I think to go there, it’s
bereft of contact. The world wants Facebook, but for too many, it’s just a
trolling ground for ways to spread mean-spiritedness or outright malice.
Facebook’s biggest block to being the network is strives to
be is, in my opinion only, the structure of reporting without investigation,
groups that can be “secret” and therefore anything can be posted and people get
locked into this fantasy world so easily. I set my professional page to be
visible only to people 21+ years of age, yet supposedly grown men and women
have reported posts because they dislike the curve of a male arse, or some
other inane reason. Frankly, it’s childish and vindictive after a
time–anonymity insures those with nothing better to do will be able to continue
trolling for things to complain about, to make them feel like they’re
contributing to decency, of course.
It’s not Facebook, is it? It’s the bored, lonely, unhappy,
and petty people who get some kind of power rush when they can interfere with
people they don’t even know. I’m not naïve enough to think everyone is
sweetness and light and fair play, but this site is at its core supposed to be
a social networking site. These days, it’s become the playground of
pornography, hate, violence mongering, and just plain ugliness so often.
Attacking people from the safety of your home because you’ll never have to face
the consequences is pretty pathetic. But, it’s a way of life for some people
who engage on social sites.
I’m an author, I do my share of promoting my work. Maybe too
much. I miss the days when logging in to Facebook meant I would get to chat
with friends, laugh a little, and just relax. Groups, and I have a small one
filled with only a couple dozen friends, were great fun because they gave
everyone present a feeling of unity and friendship. I admin a few promotional
groups with a combined membership of 50,000 people. The garbage that is posted
in these groups is truly amazing some days. Why would anyone post a video of
themselves naked and masturbating? With an invitation to look at more videos?
This wasn’t considered a violation of FBs terms of service, but models and
their professional photographers are forever being banned, or threatened with
deactivation.
We are all entitled to our personal choices and tastes. BUT,
if you want to use a site like Facebook, or any other social network, you agree
to follow the rules when you sign up. I don’t particularly agree with all of
Facebook’s terms of service, but I do my best to abide by those rules. I took a
step back many months ago and re-evaluated my personal stance on a lot of
things related to social media. I’ve come to the conclusion that there isn’t
much social about any of these networks. Psychologically and emotionally, there
is a great deal of negative and harmful content pushed on us daily.
It makes me long for a simpler time, when people took the
time to look at each other, to listen, and to care what was being said.
Everywhere we look, heads are bent over electronic devices, and people are
missing the reality in which they exist. We can’t even say live anymore in many
cases, because the artificial bubble of the internet has taken control of an
entire generation and taught them to be selfish, indifferent, and cruel because
they don’t ever have to face consequences head on.
The global village is vast, but life felt closer and more
real twenty-five years ago. I love the immediacy of talking to friends on the
other side of the world, it’s true, but it would be lovely if to do that I
didn’t have to log in to a site that seems determined to suck the joy and life
out of us on a daily basis. And let’s not even get started on the effects of
being an author in the digital age, because that’s another cesspool situation
with its own brand of horror and nasty to go with it. That said, I think I’ll
crawl back into my archaic little cave and read a book–paper, not stored on a
device, after all a tree gave it’s life to provide me with this luxury…
Interesting points. I find Facebook a lot more social than Twitter. I need to use Google+ more, but just never seem to remember.
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