With the different media that exists today, and with the way we use them, we can be in touch pretty much whenever we want, as much as we want. Sometimes it can even be more than we want. With Facebook you can be in touch with “friends” from any walk of life, and they can pop up at “home” whenever something new happens to them, whether you want to know about it or not. I have been sucked into the cyber world of Facebook and am a firm believer that it is, over all, a positive addition to my life. I, along with the rest of the world, have the ability to keep in touch with distant friends and family, better than ever before. The problem comes though, when friendships linger and fade, and you are no longer interested in hearing about someone else’s daily life. Unlike the actual, real life relationship, a “friend” tag on Facebook doesn’t fade with time if it’s supposed to. You have to consciously choose to “unfriend” someone if you feel your time is up. But that of course is a cyber sin, and will most likely make that old “friend” of yours unhappy, even though they weren’t keeping in touch anyway.
When my boyfriend and I broke up and we each moved on to new collegiate settings, Facebook was great for keeping in touch… That is until I saw the numerous girls writing on his wall, “LOL”ing and publicizing their diet of three celery sticks per day. Watching his profile pictures change from shots of us jumping on the beach, to shots of him doing shots, didn’t help me move on. I watched myself be digitally moved to the past of his life. A couple months into school he actually said to me, “It’s so weird, people used to be able to tell we were dating, just by glancing at our Facebook pages… Now they could search through entire albums and not have a clue we ever knew each other.” Media like Facebook can almost… take over as an alternative life. It’s your laptop avatar. A second fabrication of you. It’s the “digital you” that people from afar get to see and know. We can self select how we want others to see us, by tagging or untagging photos of ourselves.
Speaking of photos – You never saw so many cameras out at everyday events or parties as you do with our generation. You would think by the number of cameras, that a weekend college dorm party was a once in a lifetime occurrence. I think for the average person with a pocket-sized digital camera there is a new concept and goal to the art of photography: it’s no longer art, or even a way to preserve a special moment in time, but rather a competition with peers to see who can snap the most posed candids… Oxymoron? …the sloppier the better. Then of course it’s a race to see who can put up all their pictures first, without being too eager and posting the day after. Play the game right, people. Learn the rules of the digital world. Then we run into those who still use their camera at events that don’t involve alcohol. Some people actually want to share their artwork… Networks like Facebook can be a great way to get your work out there. But how can you share your work without worrying that someone won’t just copy the picture into their own iphoto library? Macs are so easy. User friendly with the “click and drag” maneuver.
Lessons learned: Facebook and other social networks are great communication tools, but be weary with ex boyfriends. Newsfeeds and notifications can make the break up process take MUCH longer than it should. Sometimes it might just be best to rewind, unfriend, or block….dun dun dunnnn. Photographers – go to CVS. Kill a few trees in your life (sorry Greenies) and PRINT your artwork. Buy a frame and hang it in your house. Your mom will love it!