Rhetoric 3371 Spring 2007

I think that the amount of time people spend on online community networks like Facebook and MySpace really comes down to self-discipline. For people who use it for hours everyday, it is safe to say that they are addicted. However, without sites like Facebook and MySpace, their addictive habits could have been transformed to any other kind of communication medium like talking on the phone. I liked how in the Chronicle article, Facebook was described as more of an Imagebook. I agree that Facebook is more about seeing people’s images than it is about wanting more “face to face” contact. Also, I agree that identities on Facebook can be easily manipulated by people who want to be portrayed in a more attractive way. I thought that it was a little harsh to say that Facebook is egocasting. I think that there is some truth to it, but I think Facebook is more about playing on people’s feeling on being “popular” and not be left out in new online communities. There are tons of people who have over a hundred friends, it’s not that they’re actually “friends” with those people, it’s more of a popularity contest and to feel important while maintaining contact with their “real” friends.

I've been using Facebook to connect with friends for over two years now. Initially, I was a naysayer, having seen the HTML nightmare that is MySpace, littered with armchair philosophers and people who feel the sun revolves around them.

I'd been a blogger on LiveJournal for about a year when I realised it was somewhat pretentious to assume anyone wanted to read about my mundane life, even my friends. Not to mention the fall-out from revealing somewhat personal information via the popular blogging site.

I've quasi-maintained other blogs, but I've avoided using them as a personal journal, instead choosing to focus on creative writing, media reviews and political opinion.

The appeal of Facebook was tracking down old friends and being able to quickly glance at where they're attending school and what they've been up to recently, without having to read (mostly) poorly written blog posts. I also enjoy the fact that the whole site is uniform. No busy backgrounds and crappy animated gifs to load. I threw a fit when they decided to open Facebook up to the general public, and I still maintain that if they allow members to put they're own HTML into their pages, I'll leave in a heartbeat.

I also have a profile at
1up, which is a gaming news and industry website that also has a social networking and blogging component. My name is Sharpened_Edge, if you're a nerd, too. I use the same moniker on Last.fm (SharpenedEdge), which is a social networking and blog community for music.

I think Natalya has a point when she says that "identities [...] can easily be manipulated by people." We get to post this very narrow view of our lives, that leaves out all of the things we don't like about ourselves.

I have been using Facebook for three years now and I maybe go on and check it once or twice every two days. I definetely know people who are addicted to Facebook and use it all of the time. In the Chronicle article, I found it very interesting that Facebook ranks ninth in overall traffic on the internet. It doesn't surprise me at all but I had no idea that it ranked that high. It just goes to show you how addicted and consumed people can be with information, pictures, and details about people's lives.

I really agree with the "Dad's Encounter with Facebook" article when it stated that homework that typically takes 90 minutes turns into four to five hours. I think this is true for a lot of people. Working on your computer and having the internet is distraction enough but when you incorporate social networks, like Facebook, students can't help themselves. I have fallen victim a few times to surfing Facebook instead of doing my homework. It is difficult at times and that is what so many people face. Facebook plays on our social needs and emotions and I think that is the number one reason why so many people are addicted or avid Facebookers.

Its amazing how many people latched on to Facebook in just 2 years. 3 years ago, I would walk into a computer lab and see students researching, typing, and sending emails. Now, when you walk into a computer lab, it’s a guarantee that you’ll see at least 1 person on MySpace or Facebook. I completely agree with the article “A Dad’s Encounter with the Vortex of Facebook”. In today’s society, we’re so tied up with work and school which leaves us shorthanded to do anything else. High school kids maybe, but I really don’t see how college students can manage their time efficiently and yet still have time to spend an average 18 minutes a day on Facebook. It’s really a person’s choice though and if a student falls behind in the rest of their daily activities, it’s their own fault. I just think its becoming harder and harder for the next generation of parents who will try to raise kids with all of this new technology. My advice for you future moms and dads, stay on top new technology and programs such as Facebook as it comes out, otherwise your kids will leave you in the dark and you won’t have the slightest clue of what they’re doing.

After reading the article, “A Dad’s Encounter with the Vortex of Facebook,” I was not surprised. I think everyone is familiar with facebook and myspace, whether the person uses it or not. I thought it was funny, in the beginning of the article, when the child rolled her eyes at using the telephone. I believe the internet will be the favorite way of communication in the future. With wireless internet, it will allow access anywhere, and because there is no need for voice, it is a silent form of communication. This way, people could use the internet/instant messaging at business meetings to talk to their family members, whereas a cell phone could not be used because it requires one to speak. Although, cell phones do have the feature of text messaging, that’s a great way of silent communication also.
I also think that the internet has become really fast and increased in quality. This allows somebody to question/answer someone quickly, or someone could research a topic in minutes.
Regarding the article, I agree that people spend too much time on the myspace and facebook sites, and I am sure that it is hurting more kid’s grades then we know of. But I think it is a choice that each person has to make on their own, whether their social life or education is more important to them.

I think much like the other facbook users, I am somewhat addicted. I check my account profile at least twice a week or more and spend about ten or fifteen minutes at a time. However, much like the other postings I feel that I could be doing something else with me time that is more worth while, such as homework. Or I could be doing something else that could be a lot worse. Of all things to be addicted to, I think that this is the safest addiction of them all. I know that I will personally leave facebook after graduation because there won't be the time allowance available when I start my job, like there is now, when I have free time in between classes and such.
I think that facebook is a lot more safer and private than yspace because you can choose who can see your profile and limit people as to what they can see. It also limits the crowds that have no education institution connections, from being able to get an account on facebook. i think that the University of New Mexico made a very smart decision when they banned facebook because they are keeping thier students out of harms way by avoiding conflicts on all levels. If the U of M chose to ban facebook, I would maybe miss it for a few weeks but would move on with my life and probably go back to using my time more wisely.

I log into to my facebook one or twice a day. Before i have to do some HW i warm up by checking my email and logging into facebook and see what's going on with my friends. After 20 minutes i am ready to do my HW. I use facebook mainly for communicating with classmates about the HW and what i missed in class. Although whenever you login into your facebook account, the site mentions all of your friends recently updated profiles, and that is where i seem to waste a lot of my time. With finals approaching, i would have to discipline myself and spend the least amount of time possible on facebook.
I think one of the reasons facebook has become so popular among college students is that you don't have to call up people for the menial things. you can just post on their wall and they will get back to you whenever they can. I found it very interesting that employers check students profiles to learn more about their character and possibly decide just by looking at their profile if that's someone they would want to hire. That's one more reason to clean up your profile.

Some individuals find that Facebook allows people to share their creativity, pictures, and information with others. I think it is mainly used for social reasons; however it can be used other ways such as school/work as well. I think it provides many benefits, however I think people have become obsessed with it. I know individuals who check it 20X a day, and I think that is a little ridiculous.

I also think there are many privacy issues that come along with Facebook and Myspace and it can be dangerous. I don't think Facebook should not have expanded so that any one with an email account can access the social network. Facebook should just have colleges in their network and children and teenagers under the age of 18 should not be able to access this information.

Reading both articles got me thinking of two topics: Facebook Privacy and Technological Resistance.

“A Dad’s Encounter with the Vortex of Facebook” touched a little on privacy concerns. They commented on the monitoring of employers, school officials, etc. To me, this is a pointless concern. Attention stupid college kids: Don't post images of a keg sitting in your dorm room. Are you that ignorant to believe that, somehow, ONLY other students view this stuff? Is this your first time on this thing people call the "World Wide Web"? Plain and simple, Facebook allows you to block out any and everyone you want. Personally, I feel my Facebook profile is a great indicator of who I am, what I enjoy, and what I believe in so I keep my profile 100% public. If you want to post risque information/images, increase your privacy.

I've read many articles that admit it is not unusual for employers to view your resume, schedule an interview, and then check your Facebook profile. It is possible that your profile depicts the "real you" - doing a beer bong while a naked guy cheers you on in the background, but on the same token - if you express yourself in a mature manner, it can work to your advantage. Employers will see you have nothing (usually) to hide and enjoy your interests in anime, science, and Stephen King novels. The information employers, girlfriends, parents, etc. may discover can greatly enhance your image. While I feel privacy is important, most Internet activities are everything BUT private.

I realized I've written a lot and want to save some ideas for my weekly response due next Monday... so I'll save the discussion on "Technological Resistance" for later.

The article “Facing the Facebook”, by Michael Bugeja, brought up many interesting points about Facebook that I had never thought of before. Facebook is a direct byproduct of our society’s fascination with the Internet. People will post anything on forums like MySpace, Facebook, College Humor, or You Tube, just to have some sort of web presence. In the article, Bugeja defines this as ego casting, “the thoroughly personalized and extremely narrow pursuit of one's personal taste”. In all honesty, who wants to see the things most people post. I look at photos that my close friends put up, but I really don’t care if the guy living next door posts a video of him lip-synching to Britney Spears (and I doubt that many people would).

When YouTube started offering people the opportunity to create their own webcast, I remember reading an article making light of the webcasters overwhelming feeling of self importance. He said something to the effect of, ‘have fun watching your webcast with you mom because you two are the only people who will ever want to see it’. Online forums give people the chance to get their fifteen minutes of fame posted onto a website forever. It made me think about my blog and Facebook account- I never have anything very exciting to say, nor am I am a celebrity who people really want to friend on Facebook. Honestly, I think we are filling up the Internet with bunches of useless personal information that very few people care to look at. (Note: this doesn’t stop me from checking my Facebook account daily however).

I do believe that Facebook and Myspace is a waste of time and people do get addicted to it. I will admit I am addicted to Myspace. I don’t even know why I go there, I guess it’s because I’m bored and have no other sites to go to. After reading these articles, I tell myself try and not to go on Myspace as much. My goal is to go once a week at the most. Before, I believe I went on every day and every chance that I got or when I was online. It is a big distraction. I believe that the professors and parents should ban laptops in classes and regulate the time their children has on the internet. And if laptop is a requirement for the class, just block out the sites or kill the wireless internet connections during class. I believe we can deal with this issue and students and kids should be able to regulate themselves. Students and kids should know what they need to do and do it rather than go on Facebook or Myspace and if they can’t than let the professors and parents regulate them.

I have personally experienced that Facebook is a major source of time wasting, but had never really given enough thought to it until I came arcoss these articles. It was quiet surprising to see the figures for the students of Iowa State Univ...almost everyone was a registered member of the site, and this might be true for almost all the colleges in the US. It doesn't surprise me then to know that it ranks amongst the top ten sites visited daily. The things that Facebook offers..the wall post, the poke, infinite number of image uploading, the latest updates on what is 'in' and whats not, and also the latest updates of everyone who is listed as a 'friend' in your profile are well enough to tempt anyone toward the website. I am not that big of a fan of facebook, but I have seen people spending hours together, checking other people's 'cool' profiles. Facebook was previously ment only for students of USA and the UK with appropriate college e-mail accounts, but recently they have made it wide open for anyone with a e-mail account, just like myspace. I think this is just to build up more popularity all over the world and stand among the top five websited visited daily. Now, my friends from India are also on facebook with 'India' or "No Network' listed next to their names.
One has to be highly disciplined to stay away from such temptations. I was also thinking how India and China were far away from such kinds of 'image websites' and it could be the reason for higher intellectual rate among the student body. Here in US, the avegare ranking students waste a lot of their precious time in just looking at other people's profiles instead of working on something productive. It just just a matter of self concern here, as we ourselves know that out of those hundreds of listed 'friends' how many can we really count upon.

To me this all comes down to discipline and self control. I'm on facebook but i'm lucky if i check it once a day or once every other day. I know certain people that just sit on it all the time and waste their time. For me i do not enjoy the site, i go to other sites and look up new information, its the same type of deal. Sometimes before i do homework i just gotta sit down and look up my e-mail or check the websites to get it out of my system then i can concentrate on my homework. Internet is a wonderful thing for being able to put off homework, its often very easy to get distracted when its just a point and click away. I think this will be a huge issue in the future for several students, they spend more time on the internet than doing homework. I can see some colleges banning Facebook like the college in NM did, but it will be meet with alot of opposition!

I enjoyed the Dad's Encounter article from Time but I thought the "Facing the Facebook" article seemed to lack a significant argument. It basically reiterated the idea that Facebook should be banned from the class room. What bothers me the most about this is where is the personal responsibility? As I was reading these articles, I was wondering if part of the problem is simply that we need more stimulation than what the class room has to offer. Maybe our brains are so used to multitasking that it is hard to function at a "lower" level. There is part of your in the pons and the prefrontal cortex that has to do with information filtering and decision making. Students today have been exposed at early ages to the internet, computer, video games, etc. and I think that that may have an effect on these parts of the brain, especially the frontal cortex because that is the part that is still developing unitl your 20's. It is possible that the stimulation and the activity your brain gets when doing many things at once could be addicting and it may "need" to act at these levels. That might be part of the reason we feel the need to check email, facebook, espn, text message, etc. during class, even though we know its wrong, we just feel the need to be 'doing more'.

I use facebook everyday of the week. I think it is sometimes a stress reliever or “warm up” to doing homework. I think it is great to keep in contact with old friends. I do not add or accept any friends that are not my real friends. Sometimes I really do not know why I am on it – maybe I am sometimes bored or just killing time. I do take into account that it is basically a view of yourself online and future employers can see your profile. Because of that I do not have any pictures or anything that I would not want on a resume on my profile. I have contact info for my friends and a lot interests; however, I do not share everything. I do not have my profile visible to the public.

I appreciated the various perspectives about "Facing the Facebook." I have a follow-up in the January 2007 Chronicle titled "Distractions in the Wireless Classroom." The point is to moderate use and to exercise "interpersonal intelligence," knowing when, where and for what purpose technology is appropriate and inappropriate.