The dangers of Facebook, and other social networks sites have been well documented in recent months. However it was Facebook and Twitter which helped spread the revolutionary movements currently taking place in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and to an extent Jordan. What makes Facebook and other such sites so appealing to the masses? And why in the United States is it used more so as a personal play by play or for cyber-bullying where in other parts of the world it is used for calls to action?
- X
One of the main issues when dealing with Facebook and it's users, specifically in America is that the social network is being abused. Facebook started as a way for college students to interact and share similar life experiences. Now, Facebook is being used by kids as young as elementary school and that is destroying the purpose of the network.
ReplyDeleteOther societies use Facebook for means of communication with friends and relatives in different areas of the world. America tends to abuse many of the resources that we have whether it is food, money or people. Not to say that other countries do not, but since we are currently the highest developed country in the world that is probably why we have so many issues involving Facebook.
Since the beginning of the conflict in Egypt when the internet was shut down due to the ongoing turmoil, social networks such as Facebook and Twitter have been the only way to access people in these areas. The journalists that we have sent from America have either been sent home or injured because the disputes over Mumbarak and Facebook has been able to keep us updated.
In addition to helping American reporters as well as citizens and students the views of the Egyptian people involved in the Mumbarak disputes have been able to be heard. The government in Egypt has more control over it's people than in America and Facebook/Twitter has been one outlet of their views. Only a few people from Egypt have access to these social networks, but in America nearly everyone has access and that is where the problem lies.
The people that are in Egypt and other areas of Northern Africa/Jordan are using the social networks to obtain help, not to vent about their problems like many users in America do, myself included. In reality, nobody really cares about what you have to say and these social networks should really only be used for the reason it started, to connect people. Despite the fact that it has connected people, I don't believe that Mark Zuckerburg planned to have Facebook become a venting site for millions of people all over the world.
Overall, Facebook and other social networking sites are good for the people in the world today if they are used in moderation, like everything else. Social networks do let people connect and meet, but people's social lives cannot be reliant on them. Eventually everything should work out, in theory. It will be interesting to see how the situations that have been occurring in Northern Africa/Jordan in the near future.
L. Lerner
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ReplyDeletefacebook was set up for collage students as the previous comment said and i do agree that it is being used excessivly. there are to many problems that stem from sites of this nature. most of my time on the internet are spent on board sites like reddit etc and i find that facebook is simply to childish. it is currently like communism, great on paper yet bad in practice.
ReplyDeletewe all know exactly whats going on in egypt and the others however we must look back to our home front and learn from the mistakes of Hosni Mubarak the president of egypt. here in america if obama were to shut down the internet we would be desimated economically because of all our outsourcing and the simple fact that everything is and can be done from a device the size of ones hand.
however mr. X as you said google has figured out a way to send "tweets" directly to peoples phones. this could make the situation way worse because now they can organize and once a riot mentallity is formed all it takes is one person to say "we should kill Hosni Mubarak" and like sheep the herd will follow.
in conclusion facebook is both good and bad, like everything in moderation again what ms. learner has said. there teetering on sheer revolution and all it will take to egnite a civil war would be one simple misplaced "tweet" or post.
Joseph Beasley
"peace is often the answer yet war is always the question"
Facebook is so appealing to the masses because on such a social network, everyone and anyone can have their opinions, thoughts and feelings instantly read by many people in an uncensored manner. As technology becomes more of a want rather than a necessity young people use Facebook as the only way to break out of their shells in which the "Real World" keeps them in.
ReplyDeleteAmerica is being nothing more than the land of the lethargic and home of the spoiled rather than free or brave. I as an American teen see it myself; (although, I do not feel as if I am one of the many degenerates our country has been known to breed) see that our moral values have been meagerly sliding down a slippery slope of apathy. We cyber bully because it is not a choice that calls for intelligence or reasoning and is very unproductive, mental productivity amongst teens is something that dejectedly isn’t quite so popular these days. We do not use it for “Calls to action” because as America’s everything is handed down to us on a silver platter for doing half the work our predecessors had to do. For those whom dislike Obama for example, we do not take a stand and try to end his presidency , we Photoshop ridiculous pictures of him and post them on our walls. We do not use it to take a stand because we do not need to. And as American Teens we do not care about needs.
Thank you …that is all.
Kathleen Gamez
All social networks are becoming more and more popular these days. I believe the reason is that most people are becoming lazier these days, and communicating with others over facebook or texting is much easier than a phone call or letter. Now people can keep tabs on others with just a click or the mouse, or by pressing a button on their cellphones. It also makes it much easier for bullying because all the bully has to do is look at the person's page and they can see any embarrassing evidence about them.
ReplyDeleteIn this case a person makes themselves vulnerable to the bullying online.
In other countries, they aare not as open as the United States, therfore, what a person posts online will be taken in account much more seriously than in the United States.
Facebook and Twitter are attractions for people mainly because of population. The more peoples friends go to the site, the more everyone else will. However, it may be used for calls to action in other countries simply because there are no toher ways to get a hold of a group of people all at once, other than seperately phonecalling people. Another reason the U.S doesn't use it as a call to action is because there is no war going on in the United States.
ReplyDelete