Social Networking and Privacy

Social networking has become an extremely prevalent and essential form of communication in our society. The sites are used by a multitude of companies and individuals alike to express current and new information, and to update interested people in a very fast way. The social network that I use is Facebook. I don’t have other sites like Twitter because Facebook fills my own personal social networking needs. I access Facebook all the time through my computer, and check it multiple times a day. I don’t have Internet on my phone; otherwise I am sure I would use Facebook on my phone. There can obviously be problems that arise with maintaining boundaries and regarding privacy, but I generally see social networking positively. Social networks are great ways to keep up with people and to share information, you just have to understand who your audience is, and expect that other people who you may not wish to see the information, may be able to. I set my privacy settings on Facebook to fit my needs, highly manage and control who can see what on my Facebook. I do this because I use my own Facebook account to keep in touch with my friends and siblings. I would rather not change my Facebook page to suit future employees or for work purposes.  That is my main concern that I have, as I enter the work world, and a conflict that I will have to face eventually. One good thing is, that there are new more work-oriented social networking sites that have become popular, and keep personal life separate from work. I think that what you reveal on your social networking sites and the information you provide is at your discretion and you should control who sees that information and understand your audience. I haven’t run into any extremely bad instances of over sharing, but there have been times when I have realized that there are individuals able to see pictures, status updates, and posts that may not the best individuals to see it. It is hard at times because people use similar social networking sites in different ways. For example my high school friend’s parents have Facebook and have sent me friend requests, and while I would love to keep in contact with them, Facebook, for me personally, is not the venue for this. It can be a sticky situation because I do not want to offend them, but would like to keep boundaries that other friends have chosen to relinquish. I think the best way to hand a social network in regards to privacy, is to understand what you personally want to use the site for, and to set up your privacy and edit yourself to fit those needs and boundaries. It also never hurts to remain a little more private on the Internet and to keep some boundaries regardless of your audience. I plan to use a different site for workplace interactions and friendship interactions, that way I can share a funny Youtube clip to my friends without worrying that my boss would think it wasn’t appropriate.

Media Diet

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5
TV	45 minutes	2 hours	1 hour	1.5 hours	2 hours
Internet	1 hour	40 minutes	50 minutes	30 minutes	15 minutes
Books	3-4 hours	1 hour	3 hours	2 hours	2.5 hours

            My media diet seems to be pretty balanced, but it was really hard to track the exact amount of time I spent using each different media. For example, I am rarely on the Internet for long periods of time, but use it to check email, Facebook, and other sites periodically throughout the day. Other than Facebook and emails, I use the Internet to youtube music, look at fashion blogs, and look up information on random things.  I also use it for school to research for papers to fulfill class assignments, etc. While my TV watching doesn’t seem out of control, I would like to watch less of it, and I am trying to cut down the amount of time that I waste watching TV. There are a few shows that I enjoy, including Dexter and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. However, that does not make up my whole TV consumption, and I feel that I end up watching mindless things, and my time could be better spent. In fact I would rather not watch any TV but somehow I always end up watching some each day. My reading hours are pretty high because of the classes I am taking this quarter. I have a lot of reading assigned for each of my classes, and I am also a slow reader, so this does take up more time than it may for a typical student. Generally these readings are school textbooks or articles assigned to me. I do try to read a chapter a night of a different non-school related book, but this is a goal that I have a hard time doing.

            On a whole, I would say that my consumption is pretty typical of a student. I know that most of my friends use these three forms of media most.  I think that one thing that may be different is I don’t have internet on my phone, and generally just use it to check sites periodically, so maybe my internet use is lower than average. From reading some previous blog postings, I may have a bit higher TV watching than some. But generally, I think my media diet says that I am an average student. The student population of Santa Clara can access all three forms of media, and are able to access all three at any time. Thus, I would think that their consumption rates are similar. However, I don’t really feel satisfied by my media diet. I really would like to cut back on the amount of hours of TV I watch, and add more valuable other forms (reading the news, reading books away from the classroom, etc).  I think American in general have become a little too involved with Internet and TV use. Especially TV, where it is such a passive activity, it is kind of concerning to me. It is so easy to sit in front of the TV and waste hours upon hours watching shows that don’t even provide us with any pleasure or knowledge. It reminds me of the movie Wall-E where the people have turned into blobs that just sit in front of screens consuming media constantly. 

Wall-E Video clip (about 1 minute in)

Overwhelmed with the Access Technology Provides

Technology, especially the internet, provides us with a unique ability to access a wealth of information, and additionally allows us to access that information at any time and through many different ways. It also allows information and material to be constantly updated and content to be continually added. This ability to access information and the nature of content being updated all the time is certainly beneficial and useful, and for many reasons an amazing aspect of our technology. But it is also the reason I so often feel overwhelmed by the Internet and information available to me.  

            I like to follow a lot of different fashion blogs, my friends and I are constantly sharing music by posting links of songs on each others’ Facebook walls, and there are always new emails, photographs, articles and so forth, continually and constantly added that is impossible for me to keep up everything that I would like to. There are always songs that I haven’t heard, posts I haven’t viewed, photos I haven’t looked through, and emails I haven’t read. To the point where, I am not enjoying what initially was something I got involved with for the sole point of enjoying.

            There are now new tools to streamline the updates and sort the information have popped up. I have noticed Google Reader, and now use it to easily keep up with blogs and websites I look at. I also have noticed that in Gmail there is a new priority mailbox to get the important emails to the front of the users attention. There are more sites and tools that allow you to stay connected even further and keep on top of the information that constantly is being added and updated. There are so many ways to be connected to people, events, and information that now there are tools being developed to stay connected to your connections. While these new tools help with my feelings of being overwhelmed, they do not necessarily resolve my feelings.

            In the documentary “We Live in Public” Josh Harris seems to go a little crazy at the end of his experiments living his life in public. He seems too exposed and too integrated into living publicly that his mental health is at stake. The parallels that Josh Harris’ experiments have with our current society make me wonder if the way Josh returned to a more simplistic living at the end of the documentary will also inevitably happen in our society. I wonder if having so much information and constant connection, will cause us to abandon or retreat from some technological advances, in hopes for a more sound and happy life.

            I think my own solution is to simplify and reduce the number of things I am trying to achieve and keep up with on the Internet and accept that there will constantly be more to know and experience. I just have to realize that I am not going to be able to process all the information that I want to and to enjoy and experience the information that I can when I have the time and ability, and not to stress.

The Social Network and Zuckerberg’s Character Portrayal

            I recently saw the movie “The Social Network” and our class discussion/lecture made me think a lot about the movie in terms of the influence of Facebook, as well as, the portrayal of how Facebook developed, the conflicts that arose in relationship to its development, and in particularly, about Mark Zuckerberg, himself.

            We talked briefly in class about the conclusions that people made about Mark Zuckerberg based on the character portrayal in the movie and what people thought about him as a person after viewing the film. To me, the film portrayed Mark Zuckerberg in a way that left interpretation of his character up to the viewer. I can see and understand why people would view him as a jerk and why others view him as more of icon.

             Personally, basing my opinion on the character of the movie, I see Mark Zuckerberg as a jerk. He obviously took the idea of social networking to a new level, gave it the high regard that Facebook maintains, and put in the hard work and hours that were necessary to program Facebook and make it such a desirable and successful website. However, the way he went about doing so, and his behavior make him seem like such a jerk, and I don’t see the reasoning or excuses behind it.

            While I wouldn’t give the idea of Facebook to the Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who were involved in a legal action against Zuckerberg for stealing their idea, I would say that the way he handled the actions of the twins wasn’t acceptable. The film made it seem as though Zuckerberg, immediately after meeting with the brothers, decided to do his own version of their ideas and program the website himself. Instead of communicating and acting as if he was working with them, it would have been more appropriate to simply let them know that he was not working with them, regardless of his own intentions for a social network. Of course, he may have had his own plans to similarly support their idea, while working on his own, but the fact that his own idea and actions were so congruent with the twins, it made his dealings seem like he was trying to get away with something or lead them on.

            The way he handled his best friend, Eduardo, to me seemed, similarly, so awful. Eduardo wasn’t necessarily an ideal business partner, did cause conflict that could have brought Facebook down, and additionally wasn’t seemingly very committed to or supportive of Facebook. But the bottom line is that he helped start Facebook and was involved in its beginnings. And, regardless of how Eduardo acted and worked with Facebook, the fact that Mark Zuckerberg didn’t inform his best friend of what he was doing and how it would affect him makes the way Zuckerberg behaved seem so awful.

            The way Zuckerberg behaved in the actual legal hearings was disrespectful and ridiculous, and especially led me to conclude that he is a jerk. I feel as though most people, regardless of how they feel about the hearing or the people involved, would act and behave in a manner that was respectful and appropriate for the situation. The inattentiveness, rude comments, and general approach that Mark Zuckerberg had, was not in any way acceptable and reflects poorly on his character.

            Obviously this was a film that portrayed the story of Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg in a light that dramatized the events that took place, and doesn’t necessarily tell the exact and true account of what happened or Zuckerberg’s true character. My opinions are simply based upon the content of the film. Similarly, while it is easy to judge Zuckerberg and look back at his behavior to judge that he is a jerk, it isn’t necessarily fair, because the situations that Zuckerberg was in and the problems he faced were complicated and certainly influenced his behavior.

Technology and Social Interaction

            To me, technology has become an inseparable part of social interaction. I feel as though, in our generation, especially as college students, technology is an almost required aspect of any social life and a highly influential one. The majority of people I know have Facebook accounts, emails address, and other Internet and technology based venues to interact with one another. In fact, it is more odd and attention grabbing when I find out of those who do not have such ways of interacting. The absence of technology in social interaction is weirder than its presence in social interaction.

            Facebook is a crucial aspect of all my friendships and my interactions with people my own age. I feel as though I am almost expected to know what is going on through Facebook, and that it is a necessary source for both forming new friendships and maintaining old ones. I find that because of my demographic, technology cannot be separated from my social life.

            Whether or not technology is beneficial or harmful to social interactions really depends on the nature and extent that technology is involved in an individual’s social interactions and also the light in which technology is viewed. There are both good and bad things about technology in social interaction.

            The benefit of technology and using the Internet for interacting, is that is provides another tool for our social lives. Technology allows us to keep up with people easily and effectively when other ways of doing so are not possible. The Internet allows people to talk to without concern of different time zones, expensive or ill-timed phone calls, and without the delay of mailing letters. The Internet also allows people to keep up with each other on a level more involved than phone calls, letters, or even face-to-face interactions, because using technology enables people to share pictures, see videos, and also view interactions and communication between other people. Technology allows a person to become more involved in relationships and other’s lives because understanding and viewing that person’s life is so much easier, and close proximity is not necessary. In this way, technology has such a positive impact on people’s lives.

            Similarly, technology opens up the number of people you can connect to and meet, and provides another venue to get to know a new individual. While I think there is still a negative connotation attached to meeting people online and online dating, I believe that view is changing to more positive outlook, and higher acceptance of such interactions. It is a way to find and connect to people who are looking for the same thing and who share your views and beliefs. In fact, it may be more effective and better because you are meeting people based on your shared values, beliefs and commonalities, rather than meeting based on the limitations of shared location or shared friend circles.

            The negatives of technology in social interaction relate to using such tool as a replacement for face-to-face time. When technology is used to replace actual interaction and the Internet is the only way a person socializes, and then technology is detrimental and can have a negative impact. For one, online communication has its pitfalls. For example, the tone of a person is not easily interpreted online, and much more information and understanding can be gathered through face-to-face interaction. While technology allows you understand a person in a different way and keep up with their life, is doesn’t allow you to truly know that person the way face-to-face interaction does. A person’s virtual self is simply the presentation that individual paints and chooses to share on the Internet, and does not provide all the information about themselves. Complete intimacy through the Internet, to me, is next to impossible. Also, face-to-face interactions provide positive aspects that the Internet cannot provide (such as physical contact, etc). Technology has a negative impact when it replaces actual interaction, and in that it lacks information that can be gained through face-to-face interaction.

            The bottom line in my view of technology and social interaction is that technology is a crucial aspect of social life, and a great tool for social interaction, but cannot and should not replace face-to-face interaction. Face-to-face interaction is best and should trump the Internet in our social lives. However, using technology and the Internet to maintain and broaden our social lives is necessary, beneficial, and has a positive impact. Technology is simply an aspect that can allow us to interact when face-to-face is not possible, and be more involved and connected to people, as well as, a tool for expanding our social network (by meeting and getting to know people via the internet), but not a way to replace invaluable face-to-face interaction.

            I find my own use of technology to be just so. I use it to connect with people and to further my own friendships and relationships, but not as a replacement for actual interaction, just as a tool to enhance my social life.