Stepping outside of the box to examine Facebook properly from an Anthropological point of view can be hard for the person who is accustomed to using it. To properly understand any kind of culture one must submerge themselves into the culture and become apart of it to understand it to a full extent. What I intend to do is to think outside of the box and try to understand the aspects of Facebook that I am not accustomed to and to try to understand the reasons why we as a society rely on this application so much.
Looking at Facebook from the infrastructure point of view you have to look at the technology your dealing with. This is a computer operated application that contains many other smaller applications that we can utilize to our advantage. There are photo albums, music applications, gift applications and so on. There is also mass media advertising, sponsors, which help pay for Facebook. Then there is the marketplace which allows you to sell and buy goods from one another. This allows the individual consumer to make money but the government gets shorted. These sites pay a fee to the government for allowing the sponsors to place their ads on the site. If you look at this from a logical point of view you would question why does this particular society would allow for there to be ads and a marketplace. You would think this logic would contradict itself.
Then you have to take a look at the social structure of this society. The first thing you see when one logs into Facebook is the news feed. This allows you to stay up to date with your friends by seeing their moods, new pictures, comments, posted items, relationship status, and etc. You can also see what the friends of your friends are saying and doing most of the time as well. Specific campaigns can be run, you can choose which causes to support and you can contact your friends to allow them to get involved with you.
When I look at Facebook, social structure is the part concerns me the most. I am taking part in this society so it is easier in some aspects to understand some of the applications and functions than it would be for someone who doesn’t have an account. When I think about how I fit into the social structure of Facebook I actually am amazed at how much I am following the main stream of American culture. For instance when I step back take a look at just my status alone I see how I fit into the niche that is Facebook. By this I mean when you log and you see the news feed the first thing you notice usually is status updates. My status is usually pretty in tune with how I feel deep down, although I’m not usually able to convey it people in person. It just seems easier to convey it online when I don’t have to be face to face with an individual. This might seem strange to some people in different parts of the world but this is what the society known as Facebook has come to allow us as an American culture to rely on.
Lastly when you take a look at the Super Structure of this society you see that it allows for complete freedom of expression. You can be anyone you want to be. Your Facebook face can be totally different from who you really are and no one has to know. This is the part that allows you express your political ideals, religious views, quotes, music and movies can be added. The super structure of Facebook is closely linked with the social structure. The main difference is that the super structure allows to you to connect with others around the world who may have the same view as you do. Why doesn’t this concern Americans? It might be due the privacy that Facebook claims to offer it might be because it allows people all over to connect in a way with people all over that allows them to feel like they belong. Perhaps face to face communication has become a thing of the past and perhaps its seen as a lengthy custom that can be eased by the use of the society known as Facebook. Facebook seems to be on a whole new level of importance in Americans lives. This may in fact be one of the tools that allows American culture to change completely in the way it communicates.