What is Facebook?
Facebook is a website which allows users to connect with family and friends from all over the world. “Millions of people use Facebook everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet” (Zuckerberg, n.d.).
You can connect to Facebook via this link http://facebook.com/
What does Facebook provide?
Each Facebook user has a profile page which contains their personal information but also comments that have been left from friends and themselves.
Facebook offers the following services:
- Users the opportunity to connect with old and knew friends for free.
- Photos can be posted amongst friends and others if the user chooses to allow the photos to be public.
- Friends can send comments amongst each other both on their profiles but also via private email.
- There is online chat system which can be used if the user wishes.
- People can join groups and societies within Facebook. This is a chance for people to discuss interests of their own.
- There are games and applications that users can be engage in
- Events are advertised on Facebook or in some cases private invitation to events or functions are sent out to people.
How people contribute to Facebook?
People can contribute to Facebook just by joining. Once a user they can contribute by adding comments, photos and statuses to friends and their own profiles. Some people create their own groups on Facebook which other people can join. The more people with Facebook create a larger network. The larger the network the more people you can interact with. In fact almost everyone I meet today have a Facebook page. This is great as you are able to remain in contact with that person even if you are on the other side of the world.
Why do people connect with Facebook?
Facebook is a very much a social network. This means that people chose to create an account generally to remain in touch with friends and family and share life stories amongst one another (Sunderland, 2010). A lot of people feel they are more informed and aware of what is going on in their community or social group around them. It also needs to be taken into account that communicating with people over Facebook does not cost anything and is quick and easy.
Facebook allows each user to have a page dedicated to them in which they can write, display videos and add photos onto helping the user to gain identity and recognition (Kollock, 1999).
Facebook is a great way to connect with people but what happens when you only catch up with friends who live close to you over the internet. Using Facebook maybe more cost and time efficient but are we losing precious people skills by being propped up at the computer all day. People like to remain as one in the community and for some they feel that Facebook works for them, however what about community meaning; people who live in one locality (Dictionary.com, 2010). Should we not make the time to see each other in person if we want to reconnect with the community? The question needs to be asked has Facebook a supplement form of communication between two people who know each other in real life (Sunderland, 2010).
Some people such as students may argue that the reason why they resort to Facebook is due to time efficiency. However this becomes another huge argument.
Examples of a Facebook discussion
This is from a wakeboarding group:
Person 1: Had a great time wakeboarding tonight.
8 hours ago
Peron 4 and Person 2 like this.
Person 2: Was bloody wicked! but seriosuly ache now!
8 hours ago
Person 3: Im in pain!
8 hours ago
(For privacy reasons these people’s names have been removed)
This one is from a user’s (Person 2) home page:
Person 1: Next weekend, you free?
Person 2: Yup!
Person 1: im thinking i may come down see yooou. id have to come sat tho and leave sunday, so dunno whether to come diff weekend.. really can't afford time off work, been off all week ill ... ugh. come up here ;)!
Person 2: Come come come PLEASE
Person 3: Guess who else is coming?!
Potential ethical issues that may arise for Facebook
Potential ethical issues, these are moral or righteous issues that may appear in the future for Facebook (“ethical”, 2009). As stated earlier there is becoming less and less face to face communication between people when social networks such as Facebook exist.
Privacy always becomes an issue when giving details out on the internet. Facebook has already experienced one dilemma with this as David Canton a business lawyer and trade-mark agent with a technology focus at Harrison Pensa LLP explains.
“Privacy options were expanded, but many found the options too complex and difficult to understand, thus requiring a lot of time and energy for each user to go in and adjust the settings. That assumes of course that users first found out about the changes, understood that they needed to alter privacy settings, and took the time to actually do it.”
What does Facebook community hold over the old traditional community?
Individuals within the Facebook community have equality of voice (Sunderland, 2010). In the traditional community because everyone saw each other face to face there were automatic judgments being made, sometimes subconsciously. On Facebook a community can make contact with others far or overseas instantly, if they require their assistance (Sunderland, 2010). A traditional community does not have this option and if they wish to make contact overseas it can be up weeks before they get a response.
In saying this there is also advantages the old traditional community holds over a Facebook community.
There are limited communication skills that you are able to use within Facebook communities (Sunderland, 2010). These are communication skills such as; facial expressions, tone of voice and body language. There is an unlimited amount of members in a group or community; this can mean a rapid increase of members, leading to unwanted or unperceived changes in the community (Sunderland, 2010).
Canton, D. (2010, June 21). Privacy worries spark backlash. Money. Retrieved June 21, 2010, from http://www.lfpress.com/money/columnists/david_canton/2010/06/18/14437496.html
Dictionary.com, "community," in Dictionary.com Unabridged. Source location: Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/community. Available: http://dictionary.reference.com. Accessed: June 20, 2010.
"ethical." Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition. Philip Lief Group 2009. 21 Jun. 2010.
Kollock, Peter. (1999).
Unpublished: Sunderland, J. (2010). Participation in occupation 1: Online communities and the real world. Cited with permission from the author.
Zuckerberg, M. (n.d.). Facebook reviews. Retrieved June 21, 2010, from http://www.blippr.com/apps/336650-Facebook
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