Ross Schaffer
Cultural Anthropology 204
Koobecaf Assignment
9/15/08

A few years ago, at Harvard University, a small networking program was invented to help people from around the college connect to each other. This simple program has grown to epic proportions in just a few years. Ask any average college student about whether or not they are on facebook, and I guarantee a vast majority of them have used facebook at some point. This doesn’t just apply to students. Everyone seems to be using facebook; even my parents have their own page! Why has facebook become so popular in this day and age? What does this say about American culture?
With this simple page we are able to keep connections with old friends, and even make new ones. I can remember about a year ago when my roommate met his current girlfriend. He found her page while searching through his other friend’s page, he soon added her to his buddy list and began a simple conversation with her. They talked and chatted for another week before they even began calling each other and going on dates. With facebook, he found an easier way to find out information about her in the privacy of his own home. Americans are always looking for the fastest ways to solve problems. That’s why facebook has take off so well. With facebook, finding information about a girl or a boy can be a snap. Facebook has taken the hassle of actually talking to someone and getting to know them face to face, and put and invisible screen up so that you can find out exactly what their interests are and put the fear of rejection aside. This new medium has simplified the process of dating and has made the option of dating one click away. The speed and efficiency may have taken some of the fun out of meeting new people away, and made it obsolete to talk in person. It just goes to show that no matter what it may be, American culture dictates that you find a faster and more efficient way of doing it.
If you look at the options on facebook, you find little pieces of a person. You can find their pictures, and even what their into. You can put as much information about yourself, or as little as you want. It’s almost as if you want people from all over the world to know how special and unique you are. This reflects upon the American superstructure in a big way. After all, we are one of the most industrious and powerful nations in the world. Everything about America screams bigger and better. Our values are often associated with being the best in everything we do. We encourage our children to excel in sports and activates, to go to college and to get a degree. We want our children to be successful and become better then their own parents. The same applies to facebook. We want our page to be the best. Many people will simply add a person that they don’t know to their buddy list, just to get a large number. We want the biggest number of friends, the most pictures and as much information about ourselves as humanly possible. All to prove just how special we think that we may be.
American culture will always dictate how we present ideas and express ourselves. Facebook is the new medium to express American those ideals to the public. After all, if we can’t talk about ourselves to others and be larger then life, then were just not being American.