Some clarifications to start with: 1) I am no hater of social media; I am rather an avid user of Facebook and Twitter. Also, I have no intention of using 'social media' and 'Facebook and Twitter' interchangeably but they dominate the picture as I am ignorant to a host of other sites in the category 2) I am no expert in the field and my ideas may not be polished and well-articulated. 3) I would love to do an empirical study in the subject and write with more confidence but I am utterly short of time for that sort of work. 4) Objectivity is attempted but I cannot guarantee it, however, I'll try to clear things by giving appropriate references
As I type these words in one computer out of many with internet connections, every single other person in the room is busy with facebook; obviously most of them chatting often with multiple persons at the same time. Just imagine what they would be doing now if there were no facebook or any other equivalent social networking site: reading or sleeping? Chatting with friends or watching movies? Playing carom or watching porn? Giving some long calls or writing a lengthy email? Could they be simply pondering over something or writing some serious stuff? Could they be submerged in a fiction or a serious autobiographical book or a history book?
Put it another way: How productive and meaningful are the activities taking place in the fora of social media like sharing photos and chatting? Would these activities take place in absence of this medium? Is social media filling the void in the lives of people or is it displacing potentially more productive activities? Overall, how is the exponential growth in the use of social media shaping psyche of the individual as well as the outlook of the social interactions?
Even though this particular form of communication is relatively new phenomenon, there are some well-argued pieces which present the more broad and objective picture of the evolving scenario regarding the increasing use of social media. A brilliant piece by Kartik Dayanand Boddapati literally debunks the myth of facebook as the benevolent giant promoting the free flow of information in his article titled 'Meet the enemy of the Internet' which starts with this sentence:
Not the government, not some anonymous hacking group, virus or terrorist network; the greatest threat to the internet as it exists today is from none other than its biggest site, Facebook!
With proper references and astute analysis, Kartik builds a powerful argument around how the commercial interest of the global monopoly contradicts with the free flow of information in the ordinary sense. He bluntly puts the myths like If it is not shared on Facebook it does not exist! and makes some shrewd observations: 'Facebook is ‘The Internet’ for many!' Facebook hides more stuff than it shows!', etc. and delves into issues of how Facebook is essentially implementing censorship; different and unconventional but unambiguous censorship.
Then comes the second article about the evolving 'Facebook culture' by David P Goldman written soon after the Facebook's botched initial public offering in May this year. Goldman expresses his ideas about facebook in one short and terse statement: A Facebook page is a pre-arranged display window whose purpose is to block our gaze from the real person behind it. Here he elaborates why the Facebook's stated objective of non-conformity is a fraud and how conformity is promoted in every possible aspect so that the 'malleable consumers' end up shaping their consumption patterns in ways sought by the advertisers who pay money to enrich Facebook.
Put it another way: How productive and meaningful are the activities taking place in the fora of social media like sharing photos and chatting? Would these activities take place in absence of this medium? Is social media filling the void in the lives of people or is it displacing potentially more productive activities? Overall, how is the exponential growth in the use of social media shaping psyche of the individual as well as the outlook of the social interactions?
Even though this particular form of communication is relatively new phenomenon, there are some well-argued pieces which present the more broad and objective picture of the evolving scenario regarding the increasing use of social media. A brilliant piece by Kartik Dayanand Boddapati literally debunks the myth of facebook as the benevolent giant promoting the free flow of information in his article titled 'Meet the enemy of the Internet' which starts with this sentence:
Not the government, not some anonymous hacking group, virus or terrorist network; the greatest threat to the internet as it exists today is from none other than its biggest site, Facebook!
With proper references and astute analysis, Kartik builds a powerful argument around how the commercial interest of the global monopoly contradicts with the free flow of information in the ordinary sense. He bluntly puts the myths like If it is not shared on Facebook it does not exist! and makes some shrewd observations: 'Facebook is ‘The Internet’ for many!' Facebook hides more stuff than it shows!', etc. and delves into issues of how Facebook is essentially implementing censorship; different and unconventional but unambiguous censorship.
Then comes the second article about the evolving 'Facebook culture' by David P Goldman written soon after the Facebook's botched initial public offering in May this year. Goldman expresses his ideas about facebook in one short and terse statement: A Facebook page is a pre-arranged display window whose purpose is to block our gaze from the real person behind it. Here he elaborates why the Facebook's stated objective of non-conformity is a fraud and how conformity is promoted in every possible aspect so that the 'malleable consumers' end up shaping their consumption patterns in ways sought by the advertisers who pay money to enrich Facebook.
