(i was lying in bed trying to sleep, but i had to type this out)
I just read the Time article on Facebook, and it is a fascinating read. Very thought provoking.
The problem with facebook is that at some point, our profiles, and thus our identities, become overly diluted. we like too many things, that we forget what we really like anymore. And its also due to the fact that its so easy. Liking something is just a click away, and you dont even have to be on Facebook to Like something. We will all lose track, sooner or later. and then the question is this: who am i? Or rather, do i know who i am any more?
I believe what we need are lists, hierachal structures to define ourselves better. It's something we all do on a day to day basis. Comparative analysis. I like A and B, but i like A more than B. And this can be true of anything - TV Shows, movies, songs, artists etc. And i think this is something Facebook can incoporate to distinguish individuals better. We can better define ourselves. It is essentially giving our Facebook profiles an opinion, instead of just being a fact sheet. I fear that Facebook will cause people to lose their own identities, to a certain extent. When its so easy to express your opinion on everything, the question is now whether your opinion counts?
Also, i believe that humans like small networks. Yes, having 500 friends is comforting to know, but having 5 awesome friends is better. And lists would allow for this. It would bring together people of much similar interests and personalities. It would be easier for like-minded people to find each other. I think this is essentially how forums work. People band together on things that interest them. Yes, it is politically relevant that 12 million people in Colombia organised a protest on Facebook. But is it relevant to me, the individual? Facebook could be a forum killer. People no longer have to create 50 forums for 50 different interests. All you need is to find 10 people which multiple matching interests to yours.
Lists also allows for people to be unique, and that must appeal to the narcissist in all of us (see: global leaderboards on any online game). Facebook is not a game, we do not score points. There is no ladder to climb (unless having 1000 friends is the sort of thing that turns you on). Perhaps its the mentality that different people bring to Facebook. I for one think its ridiculous to live your life on Facebook. Let it be your tool, and not the other way round. It must enrich our lives and not destroy them (see: Catfish). And yet not everyone sees this, i guess. Some feel compelled to link everything to Facebook, to post everything in their status update. i mean, surely we dont need to know that so-and-so just earned 2 gazillion points in Bejeweled, or got another PSN trophy playing GT5. Its the beauty about Facebook. Its a personal broadcasting network. Its like the news. Its always on, regardless of whether people are watching. And for some people thats a good thing, because you dont get judged. When you actually tell someone you earned 2 gazillion points in Bejeweled, they may appear bored or uninterested, or perhaps even tell you that you are lame. But on Facebook, that cannot happen (there isnt yet a dislike button). In fact, quote the opposite. You dont know that anyone is listening, but you can hold on to the belief that someone, somewhere, is. And that's enough.
The one thing that i feel Facebook (and the Internet in general) sorely lacks, is the human connection. And its not surprising. The Internet is a very efficient tool, and it must be, for it to work as it does. Facebook is so elegently efficient in its processes and conceptual workings. "For all its industrial efficiency and scalability, its transhemipheric reach and grand civil integrity, Facebook is still a painfully blunt instrument for doing the delicate work of transmitting human relationships." (Time, Jan 2011) I think Facebook has to become more personal, and it takes two hands to clap. Facebook must allow for a greater sense of privacy, even if there is little more absolute privacy. We too must be more privy of what we are sharing. Sharing is good, but oversharing can lead to disasterous consequences.
At the end of the day, its about being careful. Facebook have done a good job, i think. They've managed to create social networks, without many of the common social problems. Of course it isn't perfect, and it perhaps should not ever be. But mapping out the intricities of human connections, not networks, is something much more complex. And we too must be more careful of how we are on and off Facebook. Adding a friend isn't quite the same as making a friend. We must not allow Facebook to oversimplify and compromise the very complex nature of human connections. And we too, shouldn't.
On Facebook, one is networked. Not connected. That much i am clear.
