Digital Nation Paper [part 1]

     Many people have heard the saying “you learn something new every day.”  While Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites might not have been people had in mind when this saying was created, social networking sites like these make it possible for someone to learn many new things every day, often about things that don’t concern that person.  Facebook, created in 2004, attracts well over 400 million users.  Twitter, created in 2006, attracts around 75 million users.  MySpace, created in 2003, attracts 57 million users.  Many people use more than one social networking site, thereby providing more and more personal information for others to see.  Social networking is changing our culture right before our eyes; it changes people’s interactions with each other, as well as how we communicate, share, and learn.  

     When one creates an account on Facebook, they might as well just sign a release form for their personal life.  Yes, information like your social security number and address might not be readily available, but your life is essentially online.  People can see your status updates, pictures, and wall posts and determine what you did and where you are going.  Essentially your personal space is gone; you have no control over what others post on your wall, and what pictures they decide to upload of you.  People become more worried about how they appear online than how they do in person, which negatively affects how we communicate.  People communicate with others in the virtual world as if it was the real world.  This poses a problem, because many times these people forget how to effectively communicate face to face.  

     Many people create Facebook accounts to keep in touch with family and friends while they are away at school or that live far away.  They intend to communicate with them via wall posts, messages, pictures, and videos.  However, what many people do not realize is the extent to which we lose our personal identity by using Facebook and various social networking sites.  Instead of being an individual, people conform to the expectations of society.  They post pictures and wall posts that they think others would find acceptable, and they often worry about what others think.  It seems like you cannot do something without people finding out through Facebook or Twitter.   Many people are consumed with technology, so much to the point of addiction.  People become anxious when they have to communicate face to face, and interactions become impersonal.  They find it hard to make eye contact and hold a legitimate conversation with others.  Personal space is compromised, because the nonchalant attitudes towards privacy settings allow others to view what others are doing, regardless if they are “friends” or not.