Disconnect of the Social Network |

I have a Facebook, MySpace (don’t use it much anymore), Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts. If you are reading this, I bet that some incarnation of yourself can be found on one of this networks. Ten years ago, I never thought that Facebook, Twitter, tweets, and de-friending would be a part of my vocabulary as well as our cultural vocabulary, but this phenomena has become a standard in our lives. My mind cannot bring me to the point where we will be in ten more years. These social networks have opened a larger world for me. The world is right at my feet through my connections to friends, colleagues, and acquaintances.

I’ll admit that social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn have connected me to a larger audience that I wouldn’t normally has access to in my regular life. Through these networks, I have connected with long lost childhood friends, past loves (the one’s that will speak to me still), friends that I was once estranged from, and people that happen to orbit around my current circle of friends. With the advent of smartphones such as the iPhone, Droid, and Nexus One; these connections are merely a few finger taps and swipes away. I will not and cannot deny the positives of such networks, yet there is an aspect to these interactions that seem a bit impersonal and sterile. Don’t get me wrong. I truly enjoy these interactions on both a deep and superficial level. It’s just these interactions cannot compare to interacting with these individuals directly whether face-to-face or even over the phone. I remember the days when I used to have hour-long conversations with friends on the phone just to truly catch up. I remember a time that I used to receive hand-written letters, greeting cards, and post cards. Now, those forms of communication have been replaced by the snappy emails, texts, and e-cards. There is something genuine in seeing someone face to face. There is something tangible in receiving a letter in a friend’s handwriting or to hear their voice for hours on end rather than to receive a text, an email, or even a clipped phone conversation. I miss the anticipation of waiting for a letter in the mail and getting ready to meet up with friends to truly catch up.

I’ll admit that the beauty of these social networks is that it provides a sense of immediacy in our lives, but we have become to accustomed to this immediacy and expect it to be the standard at all times. We become irritated when our phone can only check our email every 15 minutes or even 1 minute for that matter. We crave a world full of push notifications, immediate notifications, and immediate gratification. We become unhinged when a friend does not respond to an email or a text that you sent 1 hour ago. We become livid if our 3G network drops out. We are truly a wired but are we truly connected. I feel that the gift of immediacy has made us a bit more anxious and more impatient especially in countries in where technology is king.

As far as the Twitter phenomenon, I still don’t quite understand it. I figure that my Facebook status updates should be enough to satiate anyone’s curiosity about my mundane life; so, why would I need to “tweet” to the world? For some people and organizations, Twitter is a vehicle for branding whether for the individual or the company. Twitter is a means to disperse information to an audience very quickly. I recently heard that job recruiters were using twitter as a means to let job seekers know about available jobs. So, I can understand how the reach of twitter can look attractive to these individuals and organizations. What bothers me are the individuals that choose to let their followers (btw I think its strange to “follow” or to have other people “following” me – too cultish for my taste) know every minute and mundane detail about their lives. I do not feel the need or desire to tell the world that I am eating bananas and almonds for lunch. Maybe that bit of information would be more interesting if it came from a celebrity. I don’t know. I do not think it wrong to tell the world where you thoughts are actions are. This is essentially what the post is doing. I just feel that the world does not need to know what you are doing at each and every turn. I welcome some mystery into the world. Mystery is good sometimes.

As far as Facebook, it has been a common practice for someone that I barely know to add me as a friend. They do not really wish to connect with me. They simply want to get a peek into my life. Even people that I was once very close to would find my profile on Facebook and try to add me as a friend. We would go to the common pleasantries as if we were reading off of a script.

“How, how are you? It has been a long time.”

“I’ve been good. I been doing A and B.”

“That’s good to hear. Let’s keep in touch.”

If you are lucky, you truly do keep in touch. In many cases, the communication falters. There is no point in calling or even writing a message to this friend on a regular basis since you already have full access to their Facebook page (if this friend has not restricted access to their page of course). Right now, if you have a Facebook friend that you are wondering about, you simply need to log in and go to their page to get a snapshot of their lives (if this friend of yours is very open and updates her page often of course). You have passively followed up with your friend without them even knowing. Just go to their page and their lives are displayed for you to see. There maybe more action in between the lines that you cannot see via Facebook or Twitter, but you get enough information to take the edge off your curiosity.

You know what? This rant has gone on too long, and I am digressing. I’m going to end it now. My girlfriend said that I need to be more positive this year. Let me go watch Project Runway