Thinking about...Facebook!
Can you imagine a world without Facebook? I do. I
call it…childhood. However, in our modern technologized media culture, Facebook
has become a core competent of our participation in both our online worlds and
our external environment.
Raessens (2005) describes two key terms that are
useful in allowing us to understand the cultural shifts that were initiated by
the Facebook phenomenon. In reference to computer games, he describes virtuality
as the possibility to stimulate virtual worlds a gamer can explore. Michael
Heim described virtual reality as “an event or entity that is real in effect but
not in fact” (Raessens, J, 2005).
Ultimately, this is what Facebook is about.
Creating a world in which we can both escape and keep in tuned with our
external reality. The fact that we can choose to alter our identity depending
on the photos we post, status’ we write and people we connect with essentially creates
a virtual world designed by the individual. A world where we have the freedom
to be who we want to be. A world where we can chat with our friends and ignore
conversation from others. A world where we are free to “Like” that girl’s photo
of her new Tony Bianco’s, when in
reality we’d probably pretend not to see her if she walked past us on the
street…and it’s not (that) weird!
Raessens (2005) also describes the process of
interactivity through the example of Andrew Cameron who believes interactivity
means “the ability to intervene in a meaningful way within the representation
itself”. Our experience every time we log in to Facebook is dependent on what
we want to do. We control what activities we engage in, what we post and who we
stalk which ultimately constructs our Facebook experience. It allows us to connect
with our friends, and broadcast what we’re up to in our lives with the
expectation that we will gauge response and interaction from other users. The
absence of a Facebook profile can surely lead to a feeling of isolation from
your circle of friends (Johanson, I, 2013). How will you know what they ate for lunch
without it?
However, with interactivity and virtuality comes
precautions. Being too engaged in a virtual world can lead to
misinterpretations, and false expectations. Think about the last time you got
that call from your best friend…”HOW DARE my boyfriend add Tiffany Robertson on
Facebook! And tagged in a photo with her and 18 other people? Did you see that? And
he didn’t reply to my last message in like 24 minutes. Oh my god…he must be
cheating on me!”
Sources:
Raessens, J. 2005, ‘Computer games as participatory media culture’, Handbook of Computer Game Studies, MIT
Press, Cambridge, Mass, pp. 373-388
Johanson, I, 2013, ‘Antisocial Networking’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18th of August, retrieved
September 3rd 2013, http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/antisocial-networking-20130815-2rxfk.html
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved reading your piece because it was so engaging. Your satire and sarcasm is very amusing and your scholarly references enhance the piece.
Being able to choose what we engage in is a good example for interactivity and I agree that too much of the online world can have a negative effect on the individual as it can desensitize them to experiences they may have never encountered in their lifetime.
The video you attached was so great to watch. I even shared it on Facebook funnily enough! It exemplifies the difference between interactivity of the online world and of this in reality.
Thanks ~ Melissa
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteThis post made me laugh so much which is exactly what you want instead of the boring, too informative and big words-that-i-don't-understand blogs! The way you explained things and put them into context made me think of everyday life and allowed me to understand absolutely everything you said. I loved the boyfriend and precautions example! You are too right! Your amusing anecdotes and video was so engaging and it got me actively involved that i wanted to read all of your other blog posts! Well done Sarah you killed it! You touched on connectivity, virtuality and interactivity between Facebook and ourselves and our own ability to control everything that we do. Again great post keep it up!
Hi Sarah, your blog was really engaging and articulate from the start – Well done!! It was easy to read and comes across as a really well rounded argument, using both a scholarly source and your own examples. I think you have engaged with the topic well and, through your humour and anecdotes, projected a little bit of yourself and your personality into the blog. Also, the video was hilarious (and relevant). I usually don’t take the time to watch videos on the blogs but I’m so glad I made an exception here. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteI like the way this whole blog is written, your personal tone is very evident making it an engaging read.
I also like the quote you have used by Micheal Heim, which explains how virtual reality is important, and is real in its effect but not in fact. You also follow this quote up using your own personal explanation on virtual reality describing what it means for you - a world where one can escape from things whilst simultaneously keeping in touch with other external realities that we choose. This was a good follow on from the quote.
I like your choice to analyse and talk about Facebook, considering it is a media landscape that most of us can relate to and identify with.
Your points on interactivity which claim that we as the user control the game or social media we are using are true, however it could also be said that social media and games can sometimes get the better of us as we can become 'addicted' forgetting our self control, and forgetting that we are an active audience that can make active decisions when participating within it.
I do like that you have noted the negative implications to becoming absorbed in virtual realities, as you explain that it can create problems for individuals such as anxiety due to misinterpretations and false expectations. I suppose you would say this is a loss of control when we jump to conclusions and cease to see the virtual landscape rationally. This point balances out the rest of the post which explains what our virtual realities can do for us.
Great post!
Hi Sarah,
ReplyDeleteyour post was particularly interesting from the beginning. It was clever to add the video, which just added to the validity of your argument that we are creating a world of our own in the media sphere, and how we are viewed is so dependent on how we want to construct ourselves online. Every point was particularly true to how the world works around social networking sites, and your included humour about the movements of friends on Facebook was entertaining. Great read!
This is really an interesting post. I love how you started the post by asking question which attracts readers’ attention. Your humorous tone makes the post lively. I think you did well in using Raessens’ reading to explain virtual reality in computer games and linked that to virtual world in Facebook. The video incorporated is well-chosen which clearly illustrated the difference between virtual world and reality. You gave deep analysis of Facebook, but it will be better if you referenced more readings. But it is good that you gave definition of interactivity, which let readers to understand the concept. You also mention the negative consequence.
ReplyDeleteThis post game an interesting perspective from a week when I can remember about was video games, so this is a fresh take on the topic. You really seem to understand the Facebook phenomena that has taken over the internet in the past 7 (ish) years, and how much some people depend on it. I feel that if you referenced more readings this post would evolve from great into awesome.
ReplyDelete