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Photos in the Koobecaf Culture -- By Michele Plank
Like it or not, Facebook has become an integral part of the United States’ culture. Not only have traditional American values affected the social network, but conversely, Facebook has begun to shape our “real world” interactions. One very subversive change has been an increased emphasis on doing activities for “show” and making certain that proof, in picture form, is posted on your homepage. Taking and sharing pictures is by no means a new activity. Facebook has merely altered the motivations behind doing so. Before the pervasive influence of the internet, people would document events they wanted to remember and would revisit those photos to spark memories, maybe even printing out multiple copies to share them with other participants. Now, people snap hundreds of pictures a week and put them in albums on Facebook. Why not just email these photos to friends privately? Because by placing the pictures online for all to see, a person is declaring, “I do lots of exciting stuff! I am active, social, and fun to be around!” With more evidence of these socialite tendencies, a person’s perceived social status rises. “Tagging,” or marking others in your photos, also adds to social standing. When friends add tagged pictures of you, it looks like you are a vitally important part of a group. Not only do you post photos of your own activities, but you seem to always be at the site of a good time: the proof is in the pictures. On the other side of the coin, if a person does not post regularly on Facebook, others have difficulty relating to them. Without pictorial proof of the exciting events one has participated in, a person may as well not exist. For example, when I first met my roommates (both avid Facebook users), they told me that they had no idea what to expect of me, since I only use the site sparingly. Both confided that they were originally nervous to meet me because my sparse page gave little evidence of “who I am,” and that meeting me without a previous framework made them uncomfortable. Facebook may allow people to feel intimately connected to others even if they have zero direct contact, but it also fosters a sense of disconnect with anyone who does not participate. While this sensation of connection feels great for the observer, it can lead to laziness in real-life interactions. On Facebook, nuances are lost, quirks skimmed over, personalities compressed into a one-dimensional form. In turn, Americans are beginning to prefer an easy-to-swallow composite version of a person rather than confusing multi-faceted interactions. This is not to say that face-to-face friendships are becoming rarer, just that they are becoming shallower. Because respect and power are given to those with the most evidence of their social life, people are making their relationships increasingly straightforward and viewable rather than layered and deep. Those that refuse to document their life on Facebook are viewed subconsciously as a diminished person and seem to be less of a player in life than those who—ironically enough—log more time in a virtual existence. It seems as though the internet is becoming the new “real” world. Facebook has irrevocably altered life in the United States, whether or not we expected it. Our social structures are geared toward demonstrable activities and proving your social worth more than ever. Regardless of whether or not you like these changes, we must adapt to this new landscape. Facebook has changed—and will continue to future, we must embrace Facebook not as a new reality, but as a new tool that we ourselves have the power to alter.
KatieHines |
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