Social Networking and Media

[MjM]

I made this thread because I am curious.

How much of a role do you think social networking and media has played in your life so far? How often does it come into play in your life? Is it something that you interact with daily? What forms of social networking/media do you use? If social networking disappeared overnight, would you care?

And also, social networking as a whole; do you think it is detrimental to society? Do you think it has changed society for the worse or better? In light of recent World events, do you think social media is a strong force for change for those who are oppressed?

For those older folks: Do you miss the world before social media? Do you miss the days of people not being able to track you down with cellphones, the internet, and facebook?

I am talking about facebook, im chat software, mass cell phone usage, texting, internet on everyone's phones, smart phones and all their features, etc. Anything and everything that has shrunk the world to the size it is today, and allows instant communication about anything and everything to anyone.

This thread is to discuss the significance of social networking in daily lives, whether this impact is positive or negative, what you think it will be like in the future, and pre-social networking and how it relates to today. The questions above are meant to intiate discussion.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

For those older folks: Do you miss the world before social media? Do you miss the days of people not being able to track you down with cellphones, the internet, and facebook?

I miss real phone conversations. I miss written letters. I got several birthday greetings on my Facebook page this year that I never knew about until long after, because I never use the damn thing.

I wish the people who had left the greetings had simply emailed instead - or for the local folks, picked up the phone.

 

[MjM]

I miss real phone conversations. I miss written letters. I got several birthday greetings on my Facebook page this year that I never knew about until long after, because I never use the damn thing.

I wish the people who had left the greetings had simply emailed instead - or for the local folks, picked up the phone.

Letters were before my time, but I do remember phone conversations being more prevalent when I was younger. Before texting became really popular, I used to call my friends. Now everyone just texts, it's really impersonal and hard to tell sarcasm from a text message, for instance.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I'm rather sad as I lost several members on my message board because of freaking Facebook. I've had one member who came on tell me she came on ONLY because Facebook was down.

 

[jtb1127]

I don't think social media plays a very big role in my life at all. I don't like facebook, and I have never been on twitter. I think it is too annoying to bare when I see the news feed of people I don't know or like spitting out imbecilic messages of what they are doing or thinking.

 

[Yoda Power]

I use facebook a lot. It's a great tool for staying in contact with a large group of people at the same time. Also, unlike some other forms of communication, it's for free.

 

[MjM]

I use facebook a lot. It's a great tool for staying in conflict with a large group of people at the same time. Also, unlike some other forms of communication, it's for free.

Staying in conflict? So you like to start fights over facebook?

 

[Verarde]

I am currently using facebook to keep up with friends.

 

[aelf]

I use Facebook quite a lot, but it's not been all that useful. That said, I've become dependent on it to know what's going on in my social circles, what events are happening and where.

 

[Neonanocyborgasm]

Social media has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it allows frequent and immediate contact with friends and family. The disadvantage is that it allows frequent and immediate contact with friends and family, so you have to be careful what you reveal. People have gotten into trouble, especially with employers, saying private thoughts into public airwaves. Like any technology, it can have its uses and misuses.

For me, social media has allowed me to keep in contact with people that I normally would be unable to. I've even been able to find old friends on it that would've otherwise be impossible. I only use Facebook. I have to be careful what I say, though, because many co-workers are my friends.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

My overall stance is rather relaxed, Facebook is useful to get in touch with people who live far away or one isn't very close to anymore and to have a vague idea what is happening with those people. Usually that is not that interesting though, but at times it helps to keep some contacts alive which is positive. It can also be a fun tool to mess around. Like with those notes we used to secretly pass among us in school to have a chat during class time.

Beyond that it very much depends on with whom I am hanging out with. During my time in Heidelberg, my friends were heavy facebook users and while I didn't have to join it, it was beneficial to do so as otherwise one would have missed out on some part of the socializing. But that was fun and harmless, so I didn't mind. But yeah, I there already saw the danger of too much social activity within the frame of facebook on the horizon.

With my current circle it is very different. We all have and use facebook to some degree (I way less often than I did in Heidelberg), but somehow it has never played a major role at all. We rather phone than write on our walls. I think this might be related to that this circle has a rich history and a high level of trust and privacy, and that this circle comes from days when social networks weren't the big deal they are today.

In conclusion, social networks definitely have left their mark on my life, but so far it went alright for me. On the other hand, I find it to be a real possibility that somewhere in the future I'll start to get annoyed by all the social activity absorbed by social networks.

 

[downtown]

It's huge for me. I use FB, LinkedIn, Twitter etc fairly extensively for my job. Using social media correctly has helped my professional life in other careers, improved my dating prospects, and helped me stay connected with friends better. I'm more social because of it.

 

[Terxpahseyton]

Using social media correctly has helped my professional life

This is what really puts me off. Having social networks serve the role of extensions of your curriculum vitae/letter of application. I mean great if it works for you, but I don't like the thought for myself at all.

 

[Tee Kay]

Not very since I don't have many friends.

 

[nonconformist]

It's good for organising meetups and stuff

 

[Moss]

It's great for outreach, meet-ups, and staying in casual connections with others. I've probably stayed in touch with more people than I would have from HS had FB not been around.

That being said, I wouldn't say it's changed my actual, real friendships much other than it's just another way to communicate. With friends/family you still call one another, send birthday cards, etc. so in that sense, I don't think it's changed. I think the only real change is the number of people we interact with now (and that can be great if used correctly).

 

[SS-18 ICBM]

Aside from a loss of news, the destruction of all social media changes nothing for me. I can't deny the benefits it gives to other though. But I don't think it should be credited for too much with regards to enacting sociopolitical change.

 

[GoodGame]

I feel that social media hasn't really done much other than lets celebrities shoot their mouth off, and increase the immediateness of online advertising.

I've recently gotten into Facebook, but strictly for the diluted form of gaming that it allows. I've found that it also makes a good substitute for news feed since you can control the content fairly well with the Like button, and since many organizations have at least a token Facebook presence. Facebook doesn't replace phone calls for me.

I've found that voice chatting (VOIP) can be useful for my communicating with fellow gamer buddies, since at least it doesn't eat up cell phone minutes. Though it can be awkward having personal conversations through in-game VOIP.

I think Twitter is a complete fad, and probably only useful as an alternative to texting, not that I ever understood texting.

I also find it ironic that social media is generally, not very social.

 

[bhsup]

#fiftychat and CFC are the grand total extent of my current "social networking" online. Tried Facebook, tried Twitter, found them both incredibly pointless.

 

[MjM]

I also find it ironic that social media is generally, not very social.

What do you mean?