Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Facebook: Dislike?

This post is in relation to the lecture I and a group of my colleagues presented this past Thursday. Each one of us took a different aspect of Facebook to speak about. My position was that of the negative, as inferred by this post. Though my speech was slightly different from the information I have posted it is an example of what I presented.
While looking over the information of what makes Facebook, a social media power. I found that the creator of WikiLeaks, Julian Assange had felt that Facebook was the largest US spying machine ever created. Although, these are very high accusations of the website, there is truth in what he preaches. Facebook is similar to that of big brother, watching our every move and keep track of us. The genius part of it is the fact that it is powered by the people. We the people help to empower Facebook. By adding everything about us, we are creating an archive of our lives that is easily accessible.
Through this exchange of information, we find that any government agency, foreign or domestic, can gain access to everything they could need to control us. Through looking at someone’s Facebook, you could learn who their parents are, their significant other, and so on. This data is quiet power, it lays dormant. However, if the time ever called for it, it could be accessed. There is even a word for this access of information, a neoprint. A neoprint is the name for the archive file of your Facebook life, however, this is only accessed after a police or government agent has a warrant to obtain it. The neoprint contains every message sent, received, wall post, people you have dated, photo tags, friends, rejected friends, and status updates.
The fact that people are unaware of this is what makes Facebook so powerful, it can hold a plethora of information about your life, yet does nothing with it. Which brings about the idea that people need to be open their minds to the safety issues of social networking sites. Questioning what is the point in hosting your whole life for the world to see. What are the benefits and disadvantages.
Furthermore, Facebook has slowly been redefining our social communications sphere, by adding new platforms in which to communicate. Although this sounds ideal, it can be seen as major issue for human nature. Facebook is one of the most popular ways to keep in contact with one another, however, contact is made from a distance. This could create social problems for most children growing up, mainly their ability to properly read body language or the nuances of the facial muscles. However, these are just theories; there is no concrete proof on whether or not this could be a side effect. It is something to consider when thinking about the future of face-to-face communication.

No comments:

Post a Comment