Facebook has become one of the most
popular social networking websites. It has a big influence over people’s lives
and most businesses use it as a marketing tool
I am not on Facebook anymore but when I
was on Facebook, there were certain rituals I performed every day as a Facebook
user. Some examples include checking my notification bar first thing in the
morning and last thing at night before I went to bed to see if I had any new
friend requests or any important notifications. This became such a routine
habit for me that if I forgot to check my Facebook before bed, I would have to
wake up, get out of bed and log into my Facebook account or reach for my phone
and check it! Other actions I did routinely were logging into my account every
morning and wishing my friends a “happy birthday” (which was a bad habit
because unless Facebook alerted me, I would not know it was their birthday), I
would routinely poke my friends back and forth and also post different things
on their walls such as games or cards, all day long. If I went to an important
event, the first thing I would do like clockwork, was upload the pictures on my
Facebook page and tag my friends on it. I would also check my page numerous
times a day to see if anyone has “liked” my pictures or if any of my friends
had sent me an R.S.V.P to their events. Facebook also will automatically alert
it’s users if any of their friends have had a change in their relationship
status and it was a routine for me to comment on it to express my
congratulations or my condolences every time I got a notification.
As far as stereotypes go, Facebook users
use stereotypes to choose who to send a friend request to and who not to as
well as if they should accept or decline the request. For example, if a woman
posts a picture of a beautiful “ideal” woman as her profile picture and people
think it is her, she is very likely to have a lot of friend requests. The same
way, if a Facebook user receives a friend request from someone they consider
attractive, they will most likely accept the request. In a way, Facebook appeals
to people’s visual sense because users are not communicating with each
other face-to-face so they are judged based
on pictures, what they post and what kind of friends they have on their friend
list. Another thing that people can use to judge others by is the device they
use to make comments and posts, since Facebook will announce what kind of
device (an iPhone, iPad or an android phone) is being used. People can use this
to determine if you are part of the “in crown” that is up to date with all the
“cool” stuff or if you are just an average person that they will have nothing
in common with.
My feelings on Facebook are still the
same. I still think that it is a waste of valuable time but it can be a good
tool for people who are shy to communicate and make friends. Businesses also
use it to advertise their products and services and it is an important tool for
public figures to create awareness about their views and beliefs.
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