ShareThisIt has been quite a time since I last visited Facebook. So when I checked it out the other day, I felt like a new comer. There was a long list of people waiting to be friends. There was a longer list of private mails. And the notification section looked like a mosaic of spam, advertising and personal requests. There were new faces with old names and newer names without a proper face. There were songs posted, old photos from old friends, advertising gimmicks and strangers with enough courage to risk their privacy for the sake of conversation. It is perhaps because of these that there are people who hate Facebook with the same intensity as those who are addicted to it. And in as much as there are people who applaud the benefits of this new technology, there are those who promote the contrary even to the last drop of sweat.
As a Social Network, Facebook kept its functions within the intent of its creator to the privacy of its design. As time evolved, it gradually became anything else except a true network, much less with a social modifier. A social network is a structure that presupposes interdependency (e.g. kinship or friendship), the basic requisite to collating individuals as a group. Such a network existed before the Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg’s original intent was to provide a platform where existing friends can meet and where the friends of their friends can meet with even more friends. It was like having a party without a place. Somewhere along the line, the standards were diluted. Common universal “likes”between total strangers were accepted as a sufficient claim to establish a similar structure. In my opinion, there could be an affinity between people or groups, but that does not suffice the establishment of a true network of friends. It does not warrant the personal currents needed between human beings. Hence, as Facebook grew, the essence of certain facts were diluted, diminished or lost.
Why are there people who hate Facebook? Maybe they lost their privacy. They could have been scammed. They probably did not get what they were looking for or they got lost navigating through the tabs, the profiles and the links. Perhaps they crossed the orbit of a disgusting person or someone stalked them doggedly through their albums. They probably hate Facebook because they lost the sense of friendship, or that the “friendship” they found in Facebook did not have much sense.
On the other end of the line, how is it that some people love Facebook so much to the point that they consider it a basic social need, constantly clicking their way more than three times a day? Finding old friends, rekindling past flings, discovering new thoughts – these are just some of the so many reasons (or excuses) that Facebook users come up with. And for these, they have made this new technology a seemingly ubiquitous task. They are the ones who twiddle with their thumbs while waiting for a red light to turn green, those who boot a smart phone, a tablet or a netbook to read the updates of who knows who’s doing who knows what.
However, between the spaces of these two ends are folks focused on the commercial aspect of a new technology. They are either motivated by profit or inspired by an advocacy. Most of them are attracted to the charm of large numbers; the more the better and the more the merrier. Revenue oriented entrepreneurs satiate themselves with nickel and dimes through a million marketed followers with matching profiles. Advocates will spread their word to anyone with an eye to read. They do not hate or love Facebook. They simply use it. For many of them, unless sentiments are swayed towards a specific end, an agenda or an issue, they are irrelevant. They will check to see if anyone bought their thoughts, their wares, or their rallies. They will see if someone clicked on that link directed to solicit signatures for the purpose of deploying political pressure. They will do it daily. They will do it persistently.
And each and every one of them will perceive things in the light of the common good despite being subconsciously motivated by a personal passion.
Do I love Facebook? No. Do I hate it? No. Do I use it often? Am I addicted to it? Still a no and a no. Do I have many “friends”, followers or detractors? This one is a conditional yes, a modified yes and a probable no. A conditional yes because of the fact that there are more than four thousand pairs of eyes that could follow me wherever my thoughts are. A modified “yes” because I am not sure if they are real followers or sheer voyeurs. And a probable“no”, because most of those eyes do not belong to a friend. They could be possible detractors. Many of my real friends, the best ones I have in real life, are as mute as I am silent. Their lives are as a hectic as we are busy. But just like so many others, within the average parameters of common links, many Facebook citizens assume inaccurate assumptions.
The paradox of a social network lies in the fact that human society is based upon a physical reality allotted through time and space. The digital vehicle, although seemingly able to narrow down the gap of time and space, does not provide the actual physical reality required for a network of human beings to be authentically connected. It is a parody to assume that someone who is constantly on the social network page is actually socializing when that individual is secluded within the confines of a room, locked in the company of an electronic device. Likewise, it is also erroneous to assume that those who never dared or cared to visit the social network hub have missed a big chunk of a modern day fad.
In a nutshell, this social network correlation of love and hate is but a sheer extension of our human condition, a state wherein we lurk in the confusion of being there and not being there yet. We are aware that we can reach out, but we cannot always touch. We know that we can see, but we are not sure of what we are looking at. We are able to hear but that which we listen to is somewhat vague. We know and still wake up with so many things we do not know. Do you Facebook? See you there…