In the land of Nacirema, there is a special club called Koobecaf. Formally an elite club for certain aged members of the Nacirema people, now anybody can belong to this club. Koobecaf has completely changed the way in which the Nacirema communicate. In the past, the Nacirema people communicated through means of “srettel”, “enohp”, or simply by visiting another person and talking face-to-face. Koobecaf has changed the means of communication; there is no face-to-face communication. All communication in Koobecaf takes place through a retupmoc (Infrastructure). A person can converse, have a relationship, look at pictures, and find out all sorts of information without even meeting the person with whom they are talking with, and furthermore, without having the other know they are doing any of this. There is even a “ecalptekram” in which members can find jobs, houses, and many other things.
Along with technological advances, Koobecaf is also a very organized social structure. Members of Koobecaf are organized and divided by how they know one another; friends, family, boyfriends, girlfriends, and even people they don’t know! (Social Structure) Additionally, every time a member of Koobecaf goes to the “club house” (homepage) they are instantly updated on the activities of other members of the club. This includes knowing the exact time that a member has informed everybody else about the mood they are in, when they have added new “serutcip”, and what they have written on another person’s “llaw”; it is the perfect tool for the ever lurking “koobecaf reklats”. A “koobecaf reklats” is a member of Koobecaf who sneakily looks through other members’ information, pictures, and whatever else they can find, to learn all they can about the other members of Koobecaf, whether they know them or not; all without the other people knowing what is going on. “Koobecaf reklats” are a threatening aspect of Koobecaf, but can be kept out if the other members are smart and apply the proper settings to their “eliorp”.
The individualistic qualities and beliefs of each member of Koobecaf’s “eliorp” reflect the values and beliefs of the Nacirema culture (Super Structure). Koobecaf members can be whoever they want to be. They are able to put up their individual interests such as favorite music, television shows, books, music, and quotes. Anybody is able to find out where members work, and how long they’ve worked there. Furthermore, members are able express their likes, dislikes, interests, political affiliations, just about anything they’d like, through belonging to something called “spuorg”. “Spuorgs” are something in which many members of Koobecaf can come and join together supporting a common interest.
Clearly, Koobecaf (more commonly known as Facebook) has had a major impact on nearly everybody’s lives. People today are better able to keep in contact and communicate with one another through a means of a screen connecting people to each other. Whether this is good or bad, I think we have yet to see. It seems to be one of the first steps toward a life without human contact, which is bad, but at the same time has opened so many doors for people through the process of networking. Facebook has influenced the lives of so many, and continues to reach thousands more day in and day out.