Got Facebook?

Maya Terro

    When most people think of Facebook, the first thing that comes to mind is social networking.  I believe I speak for the majority – OK, with a few exceptions here and there – when I say that Facebook has become a ‘ritual’, at least for those of us who have a Facebook accounts that is. For some people, Facebook is all about keeping in touch with friends. For others, however, Facebook is all about getting to know new ones. Back when Facebook was first used, its use was limited by its founders to Harvard students. Initially it was targeted at college students, then at high school students and then at everyone aged 13 and above. Today, with more than 400 million users worldwide, Facebook has become one of the major social networking tools available for the public. In fact, in January 2009, Facebook was the social networking site with the highest number of monthly active users worldwide, followed by MySpace.

    In Lebanon, just about everyone has a Facebook account. Which makes me wonder if Facebook is ‘only’ a social networking tool or, has it become something more?

    How many of you add people you have never heard of or seen on the basis that you found their profile picture to be ‘cute’ or on the basis that you have friends in common? Because of its nature and wide range of applications and widgets, Facebook has created its virtual microworld – a world within another world, one could say. Think about it: there is practically nothing in the real-life, physical world that can’t be done virtually via Facebook. In other words, you can do practically anything on Facebook that you can do in real life from the comfort of your home, work, or wherever. You can talk to people you know, meet new ones, play games, look at photographs, join groups, buy/sell and/or trade, organize events, RSVP to events and so on and so forth.

    Now look at it the other way. Although, at first glance, Facebook might seem like the ‘real’ thing, it fails to be so at many levels – well, at least for the most part anyway. For instance, even though Facebook gives us the ability to befriend people we otherwise would have never heard of before Facebook, like everything else, it has its glitches. For instance, some Facebook users might limit or block you from viewing their profiles. In real life, this is highly unlikely.There is no mechanism that stops others from coming into contact with your daily activities, be it accidentally or on purpose.

    Other drawbacks related to Facebook include accessibility and efficiency. In many countries such as Syria, China, Vietnam, and Iran, acces to Facebook is heavily restricted, or even impossible. Moreover, because Facebook consumes so much time that could be spent otherwise on something more fruitful, many workplaces have banned its use at work. Privacy has also been an issue, and indeed, has been compromised several times.

    When we go to a party or a meeting, we meet new people and before leaving we ask them, “Do you have Facebook?” Why is that? Somehow this particular question has become part of our ongoing socializing skills. For some, it works like magic. However, there still remains a big difference between the friends we make online and the ones we make in real life. Maybe one of the major things that differentiates Facebook from real life is the time lapse. What Facebook cannot offer us is spontaneousness. Sure, you have the chat option, but, in an era where time means everything, it’s pretty difficult to concentrate on content. In conclusion, all that Facebook will ever be is a mere extension of the physical society we live in; never a replacement.