Facebook RIP
At what point do you draw the line when you advertise your every thought and feeling on the social web? Before or after you realise that it impacts on others?
Like it or not, the social web has obviously caught on in a major way: Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Bebo, Twitter and many, many more like them waiting in the wings, hoping to be the next big thing. People are sharing everything from the most mundane aspects of their lives to their most personal thoughts and feelings; as a means of self-expression and narcissism, there is nothing else like it.
Combine this with an 'always-on' culture and the ease and speed of information spread is quite phenomenal.
However, this freedom of expression and near-instant feedback comes at a price: we are now so eager to tell everyone our current thoughts and feelings that we forget, or do not consider, that what we say may have an impact on others.
Perhaps I am being old-fashioned, but there are some things that should not be expressed so casually. For example, finding out an important piece of news via a Facebook status is not something that anybody wants to happen.
I am not suggesting that people should stop what they are doing as, for some, it may be the only way that they feel they can truly express themselves. People should be allowed to express themselves in a manner to which they are most comfortable, but perhaps with that self-expression, there should also be a little temperance.
For the very small handful of you that I know on Facebook, this is why you will no longer find me on there.
[Update]
Well, the Facebook hiatus lasted a mere 4 days...
Like it or not, the social web has obviously caught on in a major way: Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, Bebo, Twitter and many, many more like them waiting in the wings, hoping to be the next big thing. People are sharing everything from the most mundane aspects of their lives to their most personal thoughts and feelings; as a means of self-expression and narcissism, there is nothing else like it.
Combine this with an 'always-on' culture and the ease and speed of information spread is quite phenomenal.
However, this freedom of expression and near-instant feedback comes at a price: we are now so eager to tell everyone our current thoughts and feelings that we forget, or do not consider, that what we say may have an impact on others.
Perhaps I am being old-fashioned, but there are some things that should not be expressed so casually. For example, finding out an important piece of news via a Facebook status is not something that anybody wants to happen.
I am not suggesting that people should stop what they are doing as, for some, it may be the only way that they feel they can truly express themselves. People should be allowed to express themselves in a manner to which they are most comfortable, but perhaps with that self-expression, there should also be a little temperance.
For the very small handful of you that I know on Facebook, this is why you will no longer find me on there.
[Update]
Well, the Facebook hiatus lasted a mere 4 days...
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