After posting my last blog regarding social media, I felt a bit of a hypocrite. I use Facebook more than most people I know, but usually only in short bursts on my phone. Nevertheless, being constantly connected to Facebook meant I never missed anything and was able to comment on and reply to everything instantly. Some would say this was a great thing and a step forward. I think of myself as being very honest with myself and it wasn't until I wrote the last blog post on social media that I realised what the real cost of Facebook was for me. I'm sure if you use Twitter more than Facebook, this may also apply.
The first issue is the dissociation between online and offline society. My offline society (what a cynic would call "real life") consists of classmates at university, of whom in a class of 72, I regularly speak to maybe 10 at the most in any depth; my closer friends and family which number around 10 and include the guys I grapple and spar with. That's a close network of about 20 off the top of my head. My Facebook society numbered around 250, most of which are acquaintances or classmates I rarely speak to, or people I knew previously but don't really talk to any more. I'm a very sociable person and will speak to anyone about anything at any time, however real-time interaction with people I regularly only interact with online seems to have affected my attention and ability to converse in real life. Performance wise, I converse in the same way as before but mentally, there are relatively large pauses and gaps where my typing would have been before. I also have found myself wanting for words more often than I would have previously. I can only assume this is where I would be putting a word into Google to check I'm using it in the right context. The thing is, I don't ever need to do this - I only do it because the opportunity is there online. So my online interactions change my offline interactions and conversations in a negative manner. I have usually been known by friends as a pretty fast thinker, especially with humorous retorts but there have been more than a few occasions where I could not think of anything to say, funny or otherwise.
Another issue which comes to mind regarding Facebook is the intense interest in the minutiae of a passing acquaintances life. Because information is passed so fast, unsubstantiated rumour can be widespread in minutes, and an enormous game of Chinese whispers can change the original meanings beyond comprehension. The problems of real-time text only interaction are not new but because the inter-relations resemble a huge Venn diagram on Facebook, it presents a whole new problem. The main problem I have personally is the one of not interpreting intended meaning. This is just an aside though. My main issue is with the first point I raised.
Because of this, I have deleted my Facebook profile. My studies have been affected by distractions (not just the internet) and so I have constantly asked myself what a scholar of the 19th century would do in this situation. Facebook is not one of them. Maybe blogging isn't either, but I'm not playing at being a scholar all the time...
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