the Facebook phenomenon

The invention of Facebook has been one of the most influential events that has affected the realm of teenage communication and interaction. I must preface this week’s post by saying I had to wait to post until I had fully informed myself by going to see The Social Network in theaters (it was fabulous, go see it!).  I had been looking forward to its release for quite some time, as I actually have a couple of connections to the film. The least of which is that I did some of my undergraduate education at Johns Hopkins, which was one of the stand-ins for Harvard in the movie (Harvard has been reluctant to allow filming on campus since an incident in 1970). More interesting, however, is that one of my good friends from high school was cast as a rower—and, having studied film and acting in college, managed to snag a speaking line, very exciting. Additionally, a close friend of mine from college is at Oxford with the Winklevoss twins, and, as it turns out, is rather good friends with them, as they are all in the elite Oxford University Boat Club (i.e., they’re all on Oxford’s crew team… if you haven’t noticed, the rowing world is very small). I asked my friend what the twins thought of the movie and he replied:

They filmed the Henley scene after the last race on the last day of Henley this year... I was there with the (real) twins on the bank screaming "Go Tyler! Go Cameron!" at the actors. The twins love the movie... And they do come off very well in it, even if there are some pretty corny lines. They especially enjoyed the trailer soundtrack (a cover of Radiohead's "Creep") because it is so fitting for Zuckerberg...

After all of the allegations and lawsuits, it’s no small wonder they’re not Zuckerberg’s biggest fans. Anyway, back to Facebook.

Facebook is, in and of itself, an interesting creature. A week or so ago, one of my friends had as his Facebook status: “Facebook cuts will be made tonight. If you find yourself defriended- it’s because you’re not a friend.” Without getting into how Facebook has essentially changed the English language by turning “friend” into a verb, I would like to point out that, even with whatever “cuts” this individual instituted, he still has over six hundred “friends” on Facebook. One can accept or decline a Facebook friendship with the click of a button; how that translates into real life is not nearly so easy or simple.

Does anyone remember what life was like before Facebook? Facebook has revolutionized social media, and it is rare to find someone who is not on Facebook. It started out as an exclusive network, where only students from a select number of colleges and universities could contact one another; it is now open to anyone with an email address. In fact, I remember when it was a rite of passage to get one’s college email address and be able to finally make a Facebook account (providing, of course, that one’s school was included in Facebook’s network). It is actually kind of crazy to see how time has changed, and in such a short span. Nowadays, it is not unusual to receive “friend” requests from people one has never met before, or even to accept and be Facebook friends with someone one will never meet (though this is a much more common trend among younger teenagers and newer Facebook users).

It has become the main social networking site for teenagers (and most likely for everyone, but I know there is data behind the teenaged population). Interestingly, though parents and other adult figures may be worried that the increase in online interaction, instead of face-to-face communication and interaction, teenagers would become increasingly antisocial, preferring being on Facebook to interacting in “real” life. As it turns out, teenagers with healthy, active social lives in real life merely supplement their social lives with Facebook as an online component, furthering positive relationships. On the other hand, those teenagers who have preexisting asocial tendencies, behavioral problems, or depression tend to carry those over to the Internet (and vice versa). Thus, online interaction tends to reflect what face-to-face, real life encounters are like. You can check out an article about the January 2010 findings here.

Online gaming site Roiworld conducted a survey in June that demonstrated some teenagers have become tired of Facebook and had decreased their use sometime within the previous six months—I would be interested in finding out whether this has been a trend that has continued since.  Another interesting statistic is that Facebook was found as the top “gaming” website (teens spend more time playing games on Facebook than on other sites… by a lot). I have included slides below:

Teens & Social Networks Study (June 2010)

Not only are Facebook games popular, but Facebook chat has become one of the most common ways for teenagers to chat online. I asked one of my teenaged brothers whether he used it a lot, and he looked at me like I was crazy: “Are you kidding me? No one uses AIM anymore, that’s so old school. We don’t even g-chat that much, everything is definitely on Facebook.” My guess is that g-chatting is much more popular among the young professional set because, in many offices, Facebook is a blocked website… and much more embarrassing to be caught on by one’s boss or nosey co-worker.

Between all that and the events, pictures, status updates, “it’s not official until it’s on Facebook” way of thinking, and more, it is not difficult to see why Facebook has become so rampantly popular. Apparently it is too much for some teens to take—they can become addicted to the point of having their grades fall and their relationships with their parents put on edge. Not to worry, Moms! The website balancingmotherhood.com has an article on how to help your teen break his/her Facebook addiction (?!). I wouldn’t say that’s the biggest problem with Facebook, but more on that next week.

For now, I will leave you with a teenager's view on how Facebook can be a big time waster, which is something anyone who has a Facebook account would be able to tell you, but something I think few teenagers would readily admit.