The marvelous thing about online communities - namely, Facebook - is that they are interactive. They enable us to exchange from wherever the heck we want, without actually having to see people. Currently (I say current, because its functionality is constantly expanding) Facebook's main uses are:
1. Keeping up with contacts. In my case, my friends are scattered across the world, and many do not know each other. This gives a person (the global nomad especially) an immediate sense of identity/community. Through uploaded photo albums and my wall (i.e. public email - a place that displays to everyone who I am talking to, and what about) I can let these people know what I am doing. I can also see what they are doing. All this, without having to maintain direct contact. And so for many of us has become a comfort zone, a place to go when you've got some down-time in the office, when you are traveling and feeling homesick, etc...a place to get up to date on your people and places.
2. Information exchange. I find that Facebook has been great for keeping me informed on, well, everything. Through it I can gather and share all kinds of leads: to news, culture, conspiracy theories, lifestyle, you name it. Someone posts an article...I read it...we talk about it. Someone invites me to join a discussion or a group, and I can speak out. Suddenly I don't have to go and meet someone for coffee (or know them personally at all) to be intellectually engaged. To quote my buddy Adam Smith: "Facebook has enabled the great debates for the masses".
3. Branding, i.e. identity and image management. Facebook is a powerful tool in defining who we are: because the profile you craft for yourself is your face to the world. Let me elaborate on that: it's not who you are, but who you want the world to think you are (often people divulge no information at all, and upload no photos - which in & of itself is a statement). Upload a little bit of this, a little bit of that; omit this, omit that; and voila - and you are magically the person you want to be. In short, it enables you to package yourself. You become your own brand of person.
Yet despite these uses, we all hate it. It's intrusive. Unless you master the privacy settings you can't lift a finger without everyone knowing about it. It's gossip. While not wanting our own drama to be played out on screen, we want to see other peoples' blood and tears. Lastly, it's extremely time-consuming. This topic begs the story that when I was going through rough waters, and needed to focus on the "here & now", I deleted my account and got off of it. Only to get back on it when I was back on track. And recently, in an effort to be less public and more rooted in the "here & now", I blocked my wall. This means that I have confined my uses of Facebook to: a way to directly contact/be contacted, a way to exchange informational leads, and (whether I want it or not) identity management. This is still a lot of work.
So my question (rhetorical) is: why do we bother at all?
1. Why do we want to share so much? Yes, we are social animals and have an inherent need to speak out and be heard, to hear and be spoken to. But why do we crave to do it all the time, in a virtual environment, often with people who aren't that important to us (and in some cases may not even know)? Is it because the traditional community has been eroded? Because we are all aching to make sense out of (and carve a place for ourselves in) a world full of chaos? I mean are things really so doom & gloom that we need the internet to make us feel like we are "connecting" with others?
2. What defines "oversharing"? If I get to work one morning and post, "Sofia watched Oprah this morning and feels all warm & fuzzy", it might make you laugh. But it's unecessary (like you really care). On the other hand, if I post something political like "Sofia thinks Obama's stimulus package is a load of crap", some people will find that inappropriate, perhaps even offensive. But it's certainly a more meaningful shout-out than when I told you I watched Oprah over my morning cheerios. My point is, there does exist such a thing as a serial-poster. But at what point do you become "serial"?
3. Why is it that we let certain non-friends into our facebook circle? This gives them access to what very personal insight into our lives. Let's be honest - we all have friends lying around on there who aren't really friends, not in the true sense of the word. But for some reason it hurts to let them go. Is it because we think we might need something from them someday?
4. Leaving cyberspace aside for a moment, what about overuse of blackberries, sms messages and online instant messaging systems (msn, skype, gchat)? For many of us they have similar uses to those of online communities - time wasters, comfort zones, a way to feel "connected" (not to mention that instant messaging systems are excellent for file exchange). What qualifies as "overuse" of these mediums?
We know that life can go on without these marvelous communications tools, because we got by just fine before. My two cents is that they are as much a blessing as a complication. Final thought: the fact that I am writing this on my blog (and the fact that I even have a blog in the first place) means that I want (need?) to share my thoughts with you. Touche.
