Facebook in Real Life
So over the past few years Facebook has taken over everyone’s life. People
feel the need to let everyone in their circle know exactly what they are
thinking or doing, or not doing for that matter. It has become a staple in many
people’s daily routines, and it is becoming very Orwellian. I have to admit I
used to be caught up in what one of my friends called “an online
trap”. So who cares if it has become a way of life for people, I could
think of worse things in the world people could be doing. I heard three
separate stories regarding Facebook this week that make me realize that my
friends on Facebook are either boring or normal. I am going to opt for normal.
The first story I heard was that a study by the law firm Divorce Online
cited that one out of three divorces that cite unreasonable behaviors use
Facebook as the cause. This is caused because couples claim that their spouses
are flirting with their friends on the social networking site. So call me dumb
or a Facebook novice but most married couples I know are at least friends with
each other and can see what the other says. My wife and I don’t even have our
own accounts. I am going to guess that Facebook is not the problem there. In my
personal opinion stupidity is the mitigating factor in these break-ups. First
off if your marriage can’t survive some comments on Facebook, my guess is there
are much deeper issues than Facebook infidelity.
The second story I heard about Facebook was that a Seattle man created a
page looking for a kidney. The page was sent out their friends and they sent it
to their friends and so on and so on. This is the good thing about Facebook.
Some find personal pleas annoying, but I don’t. I figure if you can’t ask your
friends who can you ask. One of my wife’s high school classmates has a little
girl with Leukemia and they have been able to connect because other classmates
arranged a fundraiser for her foundation, which is not to pay for her bills,
but to re-decorate the children’s waiting area at UMass Memorial. They took to
Facebook and scheduled some fundraisers to help the cause.
The last story I heard this week was about a Florida man getting dismissed
from a jury because he sent a friend request to the defendant in the case. Once
again I think that Facebook is the false victim in this story. The man was
looking up people in the case on Facebook to see if he knew any of them. He then
“accidentally” requested the friendship of the defendant. A similar
case happened in England when a juror put a poll out on Facebook asking which
way to vote in a child abduction and sexual assault case. That’s a major
problem and could possibly lead to the courts going to the extreme by banning
cell phones and laptops in the courthouse and any case that lasts more than a
day the jury will be sequestered.
I am not in tune to Facebook as much as I used to. I really go on to post
the link for this blog (thanks everyone for reading by the way). Facebook has
only changed its format and its design in the years that it has been online.
The members of Facebook have abused its use. I have literally seen people self destruct on Facebook, having online heated arguments. It is used for everything and
people get connected whom otherwise would not be connected because they can
hide behind a wall on the internet. It has been used in police investigations,
court cases and has gotten kids in trouble in school for the things that have
been said or pictures that have been posted. I still truly feel there is some
privacy in this world and don’t share my entire life on Facebook. However, I
will continue my tradition in April when I will be updating the world on the
birth of my second child…….on Twitter.
3D
Coming Right Atcha