Since cancelling my account I've been thinking about this. When you tell people you don't have a FB account they look at your like you're weird, or like you don't exist in an internet sense. Maybe it's true.
Since the introduction of timelines FB has tried to do exactly that though: to recreate us as virtual people. We have a presence in the physical world, they want us to have a solid presence in the virtual world. If you did everything prompted by FB, they would know when you were born, where you went to school, who your friends were, where you went to uni, where you work, what your phone number is, your email, your residence, where you've visited in the world, who your first kiss was, where you've been on holiday, where you injured yourself [if you ever did], if you ever had an operation, where you are AT THIS VERY MOMENT, what you did last night, who your gf/wife/exes are, what music you listen to, what you read, what you watch on TV, your favourite films, restaurants, drinks, places to go... and what you're thinking.
A few years ago I was stalking an ex, as we all do. I couldn't find her on FB. Her friends didn't have her either though. I started to wonder... if she had died. Because she didn't have a FB account. Turns out, as I bumped into a friend of hers the other day, that she's not dead at all. Just not on FB. This is what FB has done: it encourages us to think that if someone is not there, they don't exist.
In retrospect I find this all extremely frightening. Yes, we have details in various places on the net but not to this extent. And the ironic thing is that all this information is volunteered by the users. Mix this in with recent studies which tell us that regular FB users are actually less happy than other people and it's hardly a surprise. FB is mostly about seeing what you don't have, who you can't have or trying to impress other people. We existed perfectly well as a race before it came along. And physical interaction is always better.
It'll get worse as well, esp with graph search and the like. But when will FB peak and crash? It happened to MySpace, it will happen to FB. But what will cause it and when? Maybe an exodus of users through privacy concerns. But the more we connect with FB, the harder it makes it to leave. I know there are plenty of users who talk about leaving but who never do. We're too lazy. And that's how Amazon and the like make their money... convenience and laziness of its users.
So who here doesn't have their virtual identity stamped on FB?
Since the introduction of timelines FB has tried to do exactly that though: to recreate us as virtual people. We have a presence in the physical world, they want us to have a solid presence in the virtual world. If you did everything prompted by FB, they would know when you were born, where you went to school, who your friends were, where you went to uni, where you work, what your phone number is, your email, your residence, where you've visited in the world, who your first kiss was, where you've been on holiday, where you injured yourself [if you ever did], if you ever had an operation, where you are AT THIS VERY MOMENT, what you did last night, who your gf/wife/exes are, what music you listen to, what you read, what you watch on TV, your favourite films, restaurants, drinks, places to go... and what you're thinking.
A few years ago I was stalking an ex, as we all do. I couldn't find her on FB. Her friends didn't have her either though. I started to wonder... if she had died. Because she didn't have a FB account. Turns out, as I bumped into a friend of hers the other day, that she's not dead at all. Just not on FB. This is what FB has done: it encourages us to think that if someone is not there, they don't exist.
In retrospect I find this all extremely frightening. Yes, we have details in various places on the net but not to this extent. And the ironic thing is that all this information is volunteered by the users. Mix this in with recent studies which tell us that regular FB users are actually less happy than other people and it's hardly a surprise. FB is mostly about seeing what you don't have, who you can't have or trying to impress other people. We existed perfectly well as a race before it came along. And physical interaction is always better.
It'll get worse as well, esp with graph search and the like. But when will FB peak and crash? It happened to MySpace, it will happen to FB. But what will cause it and when? Maybe an exodus of users through privacy concerns. But the more we connect with FB, the harder it makes it to leave. I know there are plenty of users who talk about leaving but who never do. We're too lazy. And that's how Amazon and the like make their money... convenience and laziness of its users.
So who here doesn't have their virtual identity stamped on FB?
