I joined Facebook a few years ago when I began to realize that more and more friends had left myspace. I was very new to the social network phenomenon and had just started thinking about what it meant to present an online persona.
I remember immediately being drawn to the more "clean" look of facebook - no blinking signs or loud music popping up every time I switched profiles like on myspace. It seemed more "grown up" maybe even "safer?" I decided too from the beginning that on facebook I would only be friends with people I knew in "real life." That is why I still have about 200 or so friends and acquaintances which for me feels like a lot, but I have seen many people with well over 1000 friends listed on their page.
In the beginning I did follow posts, invites and all the other pieces that make up facebook more closely, but now I generally use it to keep up with close friends. As a tail end generation x-er being on facebook feels neither completely organic nor does it feel completely out of my comfort zone. I do greatly appreciate the ability to stay in touch with friends I would surely have fallen out of communication with at this point in my life. As a mom of two, I do love to share a picture here and there of my kids and keep up with others who are now parents.
There are however annoyances and deep concerns that go along with a commitment to facebook. I hear as a common complaint and I tend to agree that the "post" section garners a lot of meaningless and "too much information" kind of dialogue. In fact, dialogue is a term that may not apply to often when it comes to these seemingly benign posts - "Just went to the gym!", "Just ate cereal!" "Just wanted to let everyone know I can write!" Okay maybe I've never seen that one, but it will probably be up tomorrow. Reading those types of posts makes you wonder more about our need to be heard, to exist as if we may not if we don't post.
The deeper concerns that I briefly want to address regard the problems of how people navigate new relationships but also questions about class, race, gender, identity online. The idea that sites like myspace and facebook would effectively reduce racism, homophobia and other issues has not proven true. "Digital gating" has been brought up in a number of journal articles on social networking showing that the same problems that exist in society are happening in social networking as well with people essentially staying securely in what they consider their own peer groups and here I challenge my own use of facebook as well.
In a media ethnography I would like to survey friends and ask about their own feelings about using facebook as well as how the site addresses questions of identity and relationships. What is the connection between our online and offline lives? Is there one and do we act differently on a social networking site like facebook than we do in person? How do we decide to "friend" someone and what does that mean? I would like to take a look at these and other questions regarding facebook.
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