Last weekend, after taking my SAT, I decided to log into my Facebook after so many months of ignoring my account. As I was uploading funny pictures from my cell phone, writing on other people’s walls, and looking through the photo albums of my family and friends, a thought came up to mind. Why is Facebook so popular?
Let’s get one thing straight. With over 500 million people around the world using Facebook, it’s just one of those things that we simply can’t ignore anymore. Not only are everyday people using it, but now celebrities and the media use Facebook to connect with these everyday people. Yet Facebook isn’t really any new, innovative concept. There were many predecessors to Facebook such as Friendster, Xanga, and Myspace and all of them have essentially the same features: posting comments on your friend’s walls and uploading pictures. What makes Facebook so different?
Based on my experience, I certainly can tell you how I feel towards Facebook compared to Myspace, which was the largest social networking site prior to Facebook. I remember making my own Myspace account back in middle school to try to socialize with some of my friends. When I discovered Facebook in 2007 and made an account, there were some technical aspects in Facebook that made it more user-friendly and appealing. There were a lot fewer ads that distracted me, fewer strangers would friend me on Facebook, and connecting with friends was much easier via tagging others in photos, playing games like Farmville, joining fan pages, and “liking” other people’s comments and photos. It was all these factors combined that got me hooked on Facebook.
Obviously, changes have been made to all these social networking sites since I first started. Nowadays, as Facebook continues to grow, Myspace is trying to keep up by eliminating their advertisements and adding more games and fun features. The technically appealing factors of Facebook are certainly part of the roots of its popularity. However, as more and more people start making Facebook accounts and start relying on the Internet for more things, it seems that others have the urge to follow suit and join the in-crowd to connect with their friends.
Facebook, to me, has become so popular because it is so popular. It has become one of the simplest means of communication between friends and family. We are such a social species and Facebook allows us to keep socializing from the privacy of our own homes. Even though there is nothing new about the concept itself, we can all agree that Facebook has become part of our culture. Surely, it will change the lifestyles of future generations to come.
I agree wholeheartedly. It's just so much simpler to connect with people through Facebook because it's free and you can keep in touch with people who live thousands of miles away. (I sound like and advertisement.) really good post, I've frequently wondered what made facebook really take off, as opposed to myspace, etc. which kind of fizzled, and you explain your thoughts very clearly.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was at that SAT. :D great job!
I totally agree with your appraisal of Facebook. Great post! Facebook definitely offers the opportunity to stay in touch with people you otherwise would never talk to again. Out of curiosity, are there any aspects of Facebook that you find negative or harmful?
ReplyDeleteTo Iain,
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to all these social networking sites, its always important to remember that there are those cyber hackers and sexual predators online that try to hunt people down like us via Facebook or e-mail. I'm not saying that we are so dumb as to reveal our Social Security number to some random stranger online. I just want to make clear that precautions should be taken when using Facebook or other social networking sites. The most unexpected things can happen online.
Good Question!
I would say Facebook is just more social than the other sites mentioned. you're really connecting with and talking to people rather than just putting out a profile about yourself. The apps Facebook offers also helps to get people hooked, I mean, where else can I play Farmville?
ReplyDeleteI completely agree. Facebook is wildly convenient when it comes to socialization. In the privacy and comfort of your home (or any other choice of location), you can keep in touch with people miles away.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that greatly contribute to Facebook's popularity is its "culture". It allows people to gather information (aka dig around and pry) quietly. It also makes it completely acceptable to publicize changing life statuses to friends and mere acquaintances. Both of these things are socially unacceptable outside of Facebook.
It's interesting to think about the separate spheres of socialization possessed by the real world and the internet and wonder what truly makes the latter sphere so popular. Bravo!
(Sorry for the long comment...)
Your last sentence is interesting. I wonder whether it will be the case that Facebook will have an impact for generations. Possibly. It could change the nature of human socializing for a long time. Or it could fade into relative obscurity: "Remember back in the early 2000s when everyone was on Facebook?"
ReplyDeleteI have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. It helps me keep in touch with people I would otherwise be out of touch with, and it helps me feel closer to dear friends and family I only get to see once or twice a year. But sometimes it feels like too much of a time suck; I have to be careful or I find I'm compromising the quality of my relationships with friends and family I see regularly in real life. There are only so many hours in the day.
So SO SOO true.
ReplyDeleteOf course there are always going to be subsets of modern teenagers that still use online networking systems like Myspace, Hi5, etc... (Definitely a cultural thing... UNI seems to be ALL over facebook, whereas my old school was all about myspace). But you're so right about Facebook being predominate. Good post.
I just discovered this treasure! Man they should have hired you as the script writer for The Social Network.
ReplyDeleteLike Lewis Clark said, Facebook is a way to "dig around and pry" - a crime of which I am guilty of. Some argue that FB ignores personal boundaries of individuals, but those who do often overlook the fact that you are in control of your own FB. If you don't want others to see your embarrassing photos, then you should take them off, or ask those friends of yours to kindly remove them as you politely requested.
Personally, I love my FB. I was a Farmville addict, and I have wasted countless hours tagging other people's photos. Although there are moments I wish I didn't have a FB, I can't imagine a future without it. It's kind of like making small sacrifices for the bigger reward.