Friday, June 19, 2009
Second blog
I wrote about the article titled "Does Facebook Replace Face Time or Enhance It?" by Lisa Selin Davis. The one thing that intrigued me the most about this article was the fact that it relates to a lot of questions I have about today's society. Why is it that we have to pay so much attention to social networks in order to keep in touch with friends and even family members? I understand that it's really convenient at times, but isn't it a little too overrated? Picking up the phone and having a conversation shouldn't be that hard, especially if someone is willing to dedicate half an hour (maybe even more) of their time on the internet. I chose this article specifically because I believed it was the most relevant to my age group. A lot of people my age use Facebook and Myspace on a daily basis and I figured it would be a lot easier to understand. I'm pretty sure I'm clear on the analytical process but one question I do have is, what kind of effect would exaggeration have on a reader? I understand that it allows readers to understand the extent of a situation, but are there any other effects?
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I think that exaggeration is really useful. I know that when I'm telling a story to a friend, and I really want them to understand how dramatic/important it was to me, I'll use exaggeration. An example is a child asking for a toy and telling the parent, "If I can get this, I'll do chores everyday forever and ever!" It's exaggeration, but causes the parent to feel more generous because they really understand how much the child wants the toy.
ReplyDeleteFacebook use probably is indeed a form of pointless online enslavement for many who use it way too much at the expense of other forms of communication, but it also has definite upsides under specific circumstances.
ReplyDeleteI, for instance, couldn't possibly afford calling my family and friends in France to let them know how things are going, or take the time to choose and upload pictures of the kids to mass-email everyone every few weeks. I just don't have either the time or the financial resources. Facebook is widely used in France, even by my father and grandmother, and using it allows me to make pictures and updates available to everyone at once in a minimal amount of time.
I also have managed to track down many of my childhood and high-school friends with whom I probably would no longer be in touch if it weren't for Facebook.
But I do agree with the fact that people who take the time to "poke" friends who live in the same city or send them cyber-presents could pick up their phone instead or go out for coffee.