I think I have an addiction - do I need help? Every time I switch on my computer one of the first things I do is check Facebook. Then during the time I am working at my desk I will often have Facebook running in the background. I justified this as I am working from home and spend many hours alone so this gives me online colleagues to interact with. When I heard someone say "I love my computer as all my friends live there" I understood exactly what they meant. But I want to be more disciplined this year and check Facebook just a couple of times a week. So my new year’s resolution is to take a step back from online social networking.
This move was prompted by an online article that I read last week by D L Mayfield who described why she was quitting Facebook. (REVEVANT magazine “A new year without Facebook") I can resonate with much of what she says. The next paragraphs summerise the three points she makes.
Facebook detracts from authentic community. The more time you spend on Facebook, updating your profile or snooping on acquaintances, the less honest conversations you can have in real life. Many people assume they know everything that is going on with you based on status updates. Do we nowadays ask our friends searching questions or do we accept their status update at face value. There will always be more going on than what we choose to publish for the world to see. Even more alarming, I can see how I have often shaped my life to fit into a clever little status update, often used to elicit jealousy (“drinking champagne, listening to jazz, and reading Kierkegaard!”) or sympathy (“baby sick, only got 3 hours of sleep last night. Blerg!”). This is manipulation, done for the benefit of friends and acquaintances. Are we in danger of creating a persona for the benefit of people we are not really in community with? Wouldn't it be much better to cultivate relationships with those around us in a real community?
Secondly, Facebook can be a huge waste of time. I cannot resist reading all the status updates in my news feed; no matter how inane they might be (do you really care about what your friends are eating?). One quick log-in turns into thirty minutes of vacuous screen time.
Finally, there are real questions with Facebook in the areas of privacy and confidentiality. Facebook is a public space - we should only share there what we share in any other public space. It is a billion-dollar business driven by highly personalised advertising that targets each one of us in accordance with the content we have posted.
I am not leaving Facebook completely as I see some positives too. In its favour Facebook provides community and opportunity for interaction with other people for those whose disability or infirmity prevents them getting out without assistance. Social networking on a computer can be an opportunity to take the initiative and do what you want to do in the virtual world where this is impossible for you in the real world. It does provide a feeling of community and so long it is not replacing physical community, the more community there is, the better. Also for people like clergy who work from home with no regular colleagues it is a way of having some friendly banter with others in the same position. Working from home can sound idyllic but you have to like your own company and for many it can be very lonely.
So Facebook, I will be posting less often in 2012 and reading my wall only intermittently.
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