Social Network Disorder?
Many of you are reading this post via a link from facebook. And you are likely aware that I love facebook. It doesn’t consume me, but I love it.
Social Networking has become so commonplace in today’s society. And it’s no secret that facebook leads the obsession. The movie chronicling its founding is entitled The Social Network (as in “The”, as in “The” number 1). And now CNBC has a documentary called The Facebook Obsession. I’ve been part of the network for a little over a year and a half. But facebook wasn’t the first social network I joined.
I started blogging in May 2008. Some time after that first year of learning about the world of blogging and linking and blog memes, I began noticing links on blogs to twitter and blog posts about twitter or what so-and-so tweeted. I was completely and totally confused. I’d received emails inviting me to join friends on facebook for too long to remember. I brushed them aside without the slightest bit of curiosity. I wanted no part of this “MySpace knock-off”. I knew enough about MySpace to know my two oldest girls would not be allowed on it. (Except for those two incidences in which they joined behind my back, but that’s another story.) So you would think the twitter would not pique my interest. But it did. With the help of my sister, Ginger, I would learn about this twitter and then join its group of twits or tweeters or whatever with the help of my brother-in-law, Jerry.
And so it was that I became a twit. (Ha ha.) And right away I began questioning this concept. It was like being in a room with lots of other friends only it didn’t matter if I was in my pajamas. This was good. Some of my friends were friends because I picked them and therefore, I could listen to what they had to say and sometimes respond. This was good. But then I realized that they’re really not considered friends, but, rather, followers or those I followed. This was strange. And then I realized that I was following many “friends” who were not following me and therefore, they could not listen to what I had to say or reply or even CARE. This was bad. And furthermore I realized that what I did in fact have to say had to be said in a maximum of 140 characters. This was AWFUL! Clearly this twitter was founded by a man.
Nevertheless, I continued tweeting. For the most part I hid in a corner of the room spying on the posts of those I followed. I didn’t feel at home, part of the group. Did the other twits even know I was there? So I lurked around reading their posts and clicking their links. Rarely did I post anything except links to my blog posts. This was helpful. This was good. But then I noticed all of those tiny URLs and I wondered what in the world a tiny URL was and how in the world did they get so tiny? I’d finally mastered the art of fitting a brief title or explanation while linking my blog post within those 140 characters. These twittered posts with links to blog posts seemed so obtrusive next to all of those tiny URLs. It would seem that even in the twitter world thin is in. Eventually I would ask my sister how in the world are they shrinking all of those URLs.
Enter: tinyurl.com. I quickly learned the art of coping and pasting URL links to tinyurl.com and in turn, copying tiny URL links to twitter. This was good. I felt so accomplished. Maybe now I would be part of the group. I proudly linked my blog posts in all their tiny URL wonder and marveled at how it was so . . . so . . . pretty much the same only tiny. Sure, I could be more descriptive about the title of the blog post while posting links as I now used less of those 140 characters. But in the end I realized I would absolutely have to use those extra characters in describing my post or title. When posting a complete URL, it becomes fairly obvious to the reader what the title of the blog post is. After all, you can read the entire link which includes the title to the blog post. This was all puzzling.
In the midst of all my wonder and confusion over the twitter, I’d had a link from facebook emailed to me. One click of the link to my good friend’s vacation pictures and I was intrigued. I no longer brushed off those email invitations from various friends to join the social network. I went to my two oldest daughters who had facebooks and watched and wondered and marveled as they sat in the room that is facebook with all of the people they called friends. And I realized that their friends were truly friends who accepted their friendship and could therefore communicate with them. And they not only posted more than 140 characters at a time but they also commented openly and shared in large conversations and could even chat privately and could visit each friend’s wall and look at pictures and . . . and it was so warm and friendly! I was in! So in July of 2009 I began facebooking.
And then I noticed that many of my friends I followed on twitter were also on facebook let alone all of those high school classmates and the relatives! I could visit with my relatives from afar. So I began building my facebook group of friends and family and I linked posts to my blog on facebook and found that this was good. All the while I continued the more tedious process of linking my blog posts via tiny URLs via twitter. But I never visited long. After all, they didn’t even know I was there. But on facebook my friends and family knew and they were so warm and inviting and often welcomed me and encouraged me to sit and stay a while. And so I did.
And I have ever since. (Not in an obsessive way, of course.) And I’ve posted prayer requests and so have they and we’ve prayed for each other and communicated openly at times and in private at times. This was all good. But like everything else in this world, facebook would indeed reveal its ugly side within time. The majority of which is negative with facebook is not different at all to the negative of twitter or even every day conversation in every day life. People are sometimes mean and rude and even offensive. This is not good at all. However, such is life. This negative aspect or side of facebook is not at all a reason for me to brush the network aside. Other than that, there’s the lesser issue of the ever changing look of facebook but I think I can work through its many face lifts. As for the issue of privacy or security, I won’t say there aren’t issues of concern. However, I have a blog. My name and pictures are already out there. This is something we all need to be wary of and most importantly, seek our Lord for guidance. But I will not go into that any further. The End.
So in summary (Is it possible to have a summary after this point?), although I still have my twitter account and sometimes venture over for a visit, I rarely tweet or stay long. I’ve become so comfortable with my facebook family and have discovered that no matter how many people or spam groups (Ha ha!) choose to “follow” me on twitter, I am without a doubt . . .
twitterphobic.
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