I searched online for a topic to blog about because I am already out of ideas for this class…or maybe I’m just not creative enough. But, on msnbc.com, under the technology tab, I saw the title, Can You Spot the Facebook Narcissist At first I was confused. How could someone on Facebook be a narcissist through Facebook? So naturally, I read on.
Researchers at the University of Georgia studied Facebook users by a personality questionnaire. They compared the results to the user’s profile, as well as using untrained observers to look at the profiles and rate how narcissistic or egotistical the users were.
Results were that the number of friends and wall posts that a persona had correlated with how narcissistic they were. Also, people who were titled at narcissistic had glamorous or self-promoting pictures of themselves as their profile pictures. The article also states that the other users used snapshots as their profile pictures, which I assume are pictures of them and their friends just having fun.
Keep in mind that this article does state that not all Facebook users are narcissists, but these narcissists use Facebook the same way they use their other relationships, for self-promotion. They view their friends in quantity and not quality. The more friends they have, the better off they are, and more people see them online.
But, between you me and this blog, I think this article is stupid. Yes, maybe some people use their Facebook profile pictures to make themselves look better, but I can’t think of a single person that can be characterized as a Facebook narcissist. According the DeVito’s Message textbook, in chapter 10, people want to have many friends on Facebook because interacting with people online lessens their loneliness. So there is nothing wrong with having a lot friends on Facebook (I have about 660!) and having a flattering picture of yourself as your profile picture. Besides everyone wants to look pretty and have a lot of friends.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Facebook Conversation
“Oh my God, I saw that on facebook.” “Oh yeah, I saw those pics.” “He asked me to be his friend and I was like, ‘I don’t even know you!’ so I hit deny.” “I posted about that on your wall.”
I heard this conversation all Friday night, and I could think about was this class. It is somewhat weird that I thought of electronic communication on a Friday night, but I guess that’s what this class is doing to me. I was in Latrobe, PA at my friend’s house, sitting around a campfire. I was there with my friends from school, but my friend had her friends from home visiting as well. I know that my friends and I talk about facebook sometimes, but with these girls, facebook came out of their mouths in almost every sentence. They talked about vacations and all of the girls saw the pictures on facebook. They talked about posting on each other’s walls, what they posted on other people’s walls, what other people posted on other people’s walls. I felt like the facebook conversation was never going to end.
As we discussed in class, facebook, as well as CMC in general, has its pros and cons. For example with this group of friends, they are able to stay in contact with each other with facebook. However, if we look into this deeper, is looking at your friends pictures really contact? Yes, you know what they are up to and who they hang out with, but I think this is a shallow definition of contact.
I hope that you don’t think I am writing this blog and thinking that I think I am a great communicator and stay in close face to face contact with my friends, because I definitely don’t. Once I get together with my friends, we try not to focus our discussions on facebook and talk about issues that are too personal to talk about online. Maybe it is time that we all stop talking about facebook and let go of the facebook conversation.
I heard this conversation all Friday night, and I could think about was this class. It is somewhat weird that I thought of electronic communication on a Friday night, but I guess that’s what this class is doing to me. I was in Latrobe, PA at my friend’s house, sitting around a campfire. I was there with my friends from school, but my friend had her friends from home visiting as well. I know that my friends and I talk about facebook sometimes, but with these girls, facebook came out of their mouths in almost every sentence. They talked about vacations and all of the girls saw the pictures on facebook. They talked about posting on each other’s walls, what they posted on other people’s walls, what other people posted on other people’s walls. I felt like the facebook conversation was never going to end.
As we discussed in class, facebook, as well as CMC in general, has its pros and cons. For example with this group of friends, they are able to stay in contact with each other with facebook. However, if we look into this deeper, is looking at your friends pictures really contact? Yes, you know what they are up to and who they hang out with, but I think this is a shallow definition of contact.
I hope that you don’t think I am writing this blog and thinking that I think I am a great communicator and stay in close face to face contact with my friends, because I definitely don’t. Once I get together with my friends, we try not to focus our discussions on facebook and talk about issues that are too personal to talk about online. Maybe it is time that we all stop talking about facebook and let go of the facebook conversation.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
The Facebook Song
One boring night this past summer, I was searching videos on you tube…I know, I’m so cool. But, I came across a couple videos of these guys named Rhett and Link. I watched some videos on you tube and noticed a rhettandlink.com in the corner, so naturally I typed in their web address…and then I found the facebook song.
These two men, who I presume are in their late twenties, possibly married, make videos for their website and you tube for a living. One of the most famous videos is the facebook song, which is primarily about the anti-social aspects of online networking. The chorus consists of the line “Facebook, facebook, facebook, I’m hooked on Facebook.” I think this main chorus portrays many attitudes of facebookers. They are simply hooked. This can relate back to the electronic fast a few weeks ago in that most of the class realized they were hooked on facebook, and I’ll admit that I am hooked as well.
The rest of the song is mainly about two average men that live their lives on facebook. The song goes over every aspect of facebook, from friend requests, to photos, to groups, each with comedic clips and lyrics. A main part that I noticed is lyrics about before facebook, friendship was tough, and we actually had to be in people’s presence. This just sticks out to me because there are people that feel like this. Occasionally, I don’t want to say something to someone’s face, so I text them or IM them. It is just easier than talking to someone to his or her face.
The song goes on to what would happen if a server was down or facebook was deleted. Rhett and Link make it humorous by saying they would go outside with a picture of themselves and a sheet of info and stand on the street, but I can’t imagine what it would be like without social networking. The social networking world, as well as all electronic communication, has become the backbone of society. People depend on it for everything. From just plain communication, shopping, advertising, scheduling, to even relationships.
I can't really tell if Rhett and Link are just making a funny video about facebook, or if they are actually telling us a message. A message that implies that facebook is taking over our social skills or that we can't rely on it too much because who knows when it won't be here anymore. But I have to admit that after watching this video, I checked my facebook, and added Rhett and Link as friends.
To watch the video, go to rhettandlink.com and hoover over the pictures next to the video screen and click on the facebook song tab. Tell me what you think.
These two men, who I presume are in their late twenties, possibly married, make videos for their website and you tube for a living. One of the most famous videos is the facebook song, which is primarily about the anti-social aspects of online networking. The chorus consists of the line “Facebook, facebook, facebook, I’m hooked on Facebook.” I think this main chorus portrays many attitudes of facebookers. They are simply hooked. This can relate back to the electronic fast a few weeks ago in that most of the class realized they were hooked on facebook, and I’ll admit that I am hooked as well.
The rest of the song is mainly about two average men that live their lives on facebook. The song goes over every aspect of facebook, from friend requests, to photos, to groups, each with comedic clips and lyrics. A main part that I noticed is lyrics about before facebook, friendship was tough, and we actually had to be in people’s presence. This just sticks out to me because there are people that feel like this. Occasionally, I don’t want to say something to someone’s face, so I text them or IM them. It is just easier than talking to someone to his or her face.
The song goes on to what would happen if a server was down or facebook was deleted. Rhett and Link make it humorous by saying they would go outside with a picture of themselves and a sheet of info and stand on the street, but I can’t imagine what it would be like without social networking. The social networking world, as well as all electronic communication, has become the backbone of society. People depend on it for everything. From just plain communication, shopping, advertising, scheduling, to even relationships.
I can't really tell if Rhett and Link are just making a funny video about facebook, or if they are actually telling us a message. A message that implies that facebook is taking over our social skills or that we can't rely on it too much because who knows when it won't be here anymore. But I have to admit that after watching this video, I checked my facebook, and added Rhett and Link as friends.
To watch the video, go to rhettandlink.com and hoover over the pictures next to the video screen and click on the facebook song tab. Tell me what you think.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
This week in class, we watched "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and the first thing I noticed was Giles calling the computer an "idiot box." Following that statement a guy said, "If you're not jacked, you're not alive." I think that these two statements show the mentality of a lot of Americans as computers were becoming popular. Some people didn't accept computers...and that is possibly because they either didn't know how to work them, or they knew that they could cause problems some day.
I think that the writers of this show took the ladder statement. I believe that it was a warning about what computers can do to people. Yes, it was very overdone and the idea of a demon from a book entering the internet is completely ridiculous, but it is the larger picture that needs to be taken into consideration. A larger picture that as a society, we can not rely on computers for everything. Computers can contract viruses and delete everything..and for the people that rely on computers for everything...well, we know what happens.
During the Buffy episode, Giles talks about his love and passion for books. He speaks of their smell and I personally agree with him. We need to keep our information in writing. I think that I would like to thank Dee Natale for that point of view. She always told us in Journalism to read the newspaper and she expressed her concerns about the internet and computers taking over our lives.
Back to Buffy...I can't believe that the episode was made in 1997 and computers were already so big. It was also interesting to see the old technology that people used then. Social networking wasn't popular yet, but email was booming. And to think that the producers were possibly already warning us about the dangers of the computer before the idea of sexual predators on the internet.
And now, it's back to the VMAs...
I think that the writers of this show took the ladder statement. I believe that it was a warning about what computers can do to people. Yes, it was very overdone and the idea of a demon from a book entering the internet is completely ridiculous, but it is the larger picture that needs to be taken into consideration. A larger picture that as a society, we can not rely on computers for everything. Computers can contract viruses and delete everything..and for the people that rely on computers for everything...well, we know what happens.
During the Buffy episode, Giles talks about his love and passion for books. He speaks of their smell and I personally agree with him. We need to keep our information in writing. I think that I would like to thank Dee Natale for that point of view. She always told us in Journalism to read the newspaper and she expressed her concerns about the internet and computers taking over our lives.
Back to Buffy...I can't believe that the episode was made in 1997 and computers were already so big. It was also interesting to see the old technology that people used then. Social networking wasn't popular yet, but email was booming. And to think that the producers were possibly already warning us about the dangers of the computer before the idea of sexual predators on the internet.
And now, it's back to the VMAs...
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