Dear Facebook
There’s something weird about the internet phenomena that some people don’t seem to understand. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had an online journal where I shared some pretty boring secrets with some pretty much strangers. But you know, I figured out privacy settings and set some stuff straight and I was 17 and my angst got the best of me. What I’m really trying to understand are people’s attraction towards this sort of confidence with Facebook. Why is it that people are so comfortable with openly reflecting upon their innermost emotions with upwards of 100 people? Okay, all judgements aside, reflect upon this. Imagine yourself standing in a crowd of people. A handful of them you consider your closest friends. About 30 of them you know enough to list a few key facts about their person. And the majority of them you can recall where you met them, how you’ve associated yourselves with them, and what their name is…and not much else. And then all of a sudden, in the silence, you scream something pretty personal out into the crowd and everyone who is paying attention can hear every word you say. How would you feel then? Pretty embarrassed? Pretty awkward? Most likely. Well the internet has expanded in such a way that people use it as a main source of interaction. We learn new, important facts in a rapid manner, from international and national news to updates from out friends and family. Sometimes faster than we would expect. Seeing as this is our greatest form of communication, why have we not treated it as we have every other form of communication before now? Privacy has always been under wraps. A private phone call, a pulling aside into the next room, a whisper. So why are people so self-assured now? Is it because we can’t see, face to face, who we are speaking to? Or maybe text makes it easier to share how we feel. Either way, you are sharing yourself with the world, with more people than anyone has ever been able to communicate with ever before. It’s a strange juxtaposition.
