When asked about the social networking site Facebook, most will try to downplay the role that it plays in their day to day lives. Lately, I have been thinking about this on a deeper level. Why is Facebook so addicting? Why do we desire to know what others are doing every second of the day? Why do we seek the validation of people we otherwise would never interact with? Is the non-virtual world not enough?
On the surface, Facebook is a useful tool for connecting and sharing stories, pictures, etc. with friends and family. It is also a great networking tool. One might argue that Facebook is the best networking tool on the planet! Personally, I agree. I think Facebook is great, but without moderation great things often become problematic. We live in a society where people are feeling more inspired to speak their minds. Facebook is a place where much of this occurs. Theoretically, sharing views and opinions on certain subjects sparks thought in people’s minds, but I am beginning to think that the only thing Facebook posts inspire is more Facebook posts.
We saw profile pictures change to Black to show that we wanted justice for Trayvon Martin. Within minutes, hours, or days…the next trending topic was the talk of Facebook, and profile pictures were back to the usual well-rehearsed selfies. It seems like each day, there is a new trending topic that takes social media by storm until the next topic comes and wipes away the memory of the previous one.
What is this doing to us as a society? It has gotten to the point where some people get all of their news on current events from Facebook. I think this is dangerous because whether you realize it or not, your friends list is limited in perspectives. We need all sides of an argument or situation to be able to form a valid opinion on a subject. I don’t know the statistics but I am willing to bet that most people with Facebook and a smartphone check their Facebook many times per day and according to msigeek.com most users with smart phones check Facebook first thing in the morning while still in bed and over half of the respondents report checking Facebook in bed during the night.
It has become the go to thing when you’re bored, out with friends (you have to check in and post a selfie, right?), alone, when something exciting happens, when you have an epiphany, when you are proud of yourself, when you set a goal, when you have something that looks good to eat, when you are curious, when you are happy, when you are grieving, when you are angry and of course whenever you’re feeling intellectual.
For some reason, we like to say, “I don’t care what others think.” I’m sure everyone has either said that or heard it from someone else at one point or another. Can that ever be true in the age of Facebook? We post pictures and make statuses so that people can like and comment on them. We long for this validation from others (whether we want to admit it or not). Many comments on pictures are positive so one wonders what that does to someone’s ego. What it does do, is causes them to “chase the high” by posting pictures of themselves incessantly.
You see it, I see it…it’s a fact in the land of Facebook. When a person can get so much positive feedback about their looks, thoughts, opinions, etc., from so many people in such a short amount of time, it has to affect us on levels which we may not even be aware of.
Therefore, I have decided to take a hiatus from Facebook. I’m not sure when or if I will return. One day I asked myself, what is the true point? What am I looking for when I post a selfie? Why am I really seeking to inspire or at least reach people with the posts I make about everything from racism to how to make homemade toothpaste? Does anyone put these thoughts into action?
After much soul searching I’ve concluded that we need more real life action in this world and less Facebook posts.
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