Facebook (the online community and the outside world)
Image from (GENEASANTE, 2014) By Chloe Riordan
When looking into social media and interaction, there is a definite line drawn between online and offline connections, but why is there such animosity surrounding those who find solace in the virtual world and those who don’t? Facebook, a popular media hub created in 2004, was founded on the bases of creating opportunities to forge friendships and meet various new and exotic people. These core ideals are what have drawn, as of the second quarter of 2015, over 1.49billion monthly active users (Statista Inc. , 2015), pioneering new age communication and networking. The appearance of this new method of communication has led to two entirely new communities to form, ones that differ from previously established ones. Those “on” Facebook and those “not” on Facebook have become a type of status for people, a new sense of self upon joining one of the new found communities. People who are “on” were able to form new friendships, and change their perceptions of self, through freedom of expression with the group (Kuttainen, 2015). They have access to content only available on Facebook ranging from games, advertisement, status updates and content from other sites. This access to such huge amounts of contact create what is akin to “inside jokes” only applicable to those on Facebook thus creating a space through insight and curiosity (Tuan, 2001). Those not on Facebook have less sense of community as there are fewer of them, but instead feel more like connected individuals with a greater sense of self. They share feeling of independence, and when they chance upon others not on Facebook, they connect through pride as and outlier, one breaking conformity, making it special. Also as the population of the Facebook community grown, there is an achievement in holding strong and flouting and the position gains value. There is definite sense of community online and self or individuality offline; however it was Facebook that provided the space and place for both communities to exist.
Bibliography
Casserly, M. (2011, January 26). Multiple Personalities And Social Media: The Many Faces of Me. Retrieved August 11, 2015, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/meghancasserly/2011/01/26/multiple-personalities-and-social-media-the-many-faces-of-me/
GENEASANTE. (2014, March 17). Social Media: Where Real People Go To Die. Retrieved August 11, 2015, from Digital Media and Cyberculture: https://fordhamcyberculture.wordpress.com/2014/03/17/social-media-where-real-people-go-to-die/
Kuttainen, V. (2015, August 10). Identity and Place. Retrieved from BA1002 Lecture 3.
Statista Inc. . (2015). Number of monthly active Facebook users worldwide as of 2nd quarter 2015 (in millions). Retrieved August 11, 2015, from Statista the Statistics Portal: http://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/
Tuan, Y.-F. (2001). Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
I agree completely with this post as any type of social network is now the major influence on how we communicate with others. With the amount of networking within one site users become, as you say, part of the online community with games, advertisement, etc. When people are online they do feel a sense of pride with what they post on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteAs a user myself I view other user’s status’s and photos to get a sense of how much effort they put into whatever they choose to update to appear to other users confident and outgoing, or however they want to be portrayed by their online community. With the number or users gaining each year, there is going to be an increase in the amount of ‘online communities’ who come together to glory over how many games, advertisements and status updates appear from other users.