it's obvious that the future of our world has been revolutionized by the creation of the internet, but after watching the social network, i cannot help but believe that our generation is on to something much bigger and something much more unimaginable.
for anyone who does not know, the social network is a movie about the creation of facebook. if you do not know what facebook is, i suggest you do a few laps around your neighborhood.
the movie starts with the creator/co-creator, mark zuckerberg, dealing with an ex-girlfriend and posts an angry blog. in a fit of drunken rage, he creates a site to "rate" harvard girls. events rapidly unfold, leading us to what we have now, the generation changer, facebook.
the movie starts with the creator/co-creator, mark zuckerberg, dealing with an ex-girlfriend and posts an angry blog. in a fit of drunken rage, he creates a site to "rate" harvard girls. events rapidly unfold, leading us to what we have now, the generation changer, facebook.
mark zuckerberg's initial intention of facebook was to bring the entire social experience of college to the internet. ya kno, like the typical, first thoughts that run through your mind when you spot someone of interest in one of your classes: is that guy/girl in my statistics class single? is he/she interested in dating right now? is he/she smart? does he/she like sports? does he/she like to read? what are his/her favorite movies? is he/she part of a fraternity/sorority? who does he/she hang out with? where does he/she live? all of these questions can easily be answered, no longer by a "hello", "hi", or "what's your name", but by something a lot cooler and a lot less awkward. by a single mouse click. a friend request.
now that you are facebook friends, what happens when you finally talk to one another? you already know all the fun facts from the facebook page - what's your major, where do you live, what do you like to do?
...............
you even know where they are from, where they live, what high school they went to, where they've been, what their past is like, who they took to prom, what they wore to prom, if they went on vacation, and sometimes (if you're lucky), you may even know what they are thinking, feeling, or doing at that very moment.
THAT is very unnerving to me. facebook has taken the entire social art of getting to SLOWY know someone into a 5-10 minute process. (as if we didn't already move fast enough in college). Since we already know whether we'd like someone or not just from scanning his or her facebook page, there is no reason why you shouldn't refrain from "poking" them, AKA "let's have sex later".
what's left to talk about? what's left to do? we can just pretend we're interested, ask questions, and act surprised by the answers. but that's no fun. you probably already know the name of my dog anyway. or..do i casually bring up "my" favorite author at a party because i know he's interested in the same author? talk about a good movie because he's seen it too? facebook has revolutionized the social experience.
ok, i know. not EVERYONE is a facebook stalker. we all have things to do and we all don't have the luxury of sitting around for (what could be) hours on end researching those in our lecture center classes, but.. the option is there. facebook gives everyone the opportunity to get to know everyone.
is this what it's going to come down to? a lot less conversation, and a lot more facebook?
i think the scariest question is: what has facebook done to us? we don't know.
the phenomenon is not even close to being finished.
now that you are facebook friends, what happens when you finally talk to one another? you already know all the fun facts from the facebook page - what's your major, where do you live, what do you like to do?
...............
you even know where they are from, where they live, what high school they went to, where they've been, what their past is like, who they took to prom, what they wore to prom, if they went on vacation, and sometimes (if you're lucky), you may even know what they are thinking, feeling, or doing at that very moment.
THAT is very unnerving to me. facebook has taken the entire social art of getting to SLOWY know someone into a 5-10 minute process. (as if we didn't already move fast enough in college). Since we already know whether we'd like someone or not just from scanning his or her facebook page, there is no reason why you shouldn't refrain from "poking" them, AKA "let's have sex later".
what's left to talk about? what's left to do? we can just pretend we're interested, ask questions, and act surprised by the answers. but that's no fun. you probably already know the name of my dog anyway. or..do i casually bring up "my" favorite author at a party because i know he's interested in the same author? talk about a good movie because he's seen it too? facebook has revolutionized the social experience.
ok, i know. not EVERYONE is a facebook stalker. we all have things to do and we all don't have the luxury of sitting around for (what could be) hours on end researching those in our lecture center classes, but.. the option is there. facebook gives everyone the opportunity to get to know everyone.
is this what it's going to come down to? a lot less conversation, and a lot more facebook?
i think the scariest question is: what has facebook done to us? we don't know.
the phenomenon is not even close to being finished.
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