I read a great blog post yesterday at The Good Badger about the ways that social media if effecting our face-to-face social circles. I found it most interesting because I recently experienced an in-person event that was TOTALLY effected by Facebook - my 10-year high school reunion. I posted a comment on the entry and decided to share it here, as well:
"Last weekend I attended my 10-year high school reunion, and the experience was completely different for me than it was for my brother, who had his 10-year reunion back in 1997-ish. Why? Because his occurred pre-Facebook.
"Thanks to Facebook, I already know what most of my classmates are doing, where they are living, and if they are married/have children - even the ones I haven’t seen since the day we graduated. Apparently, so did everyone else, because only about 25% of our class showed up, and our small talk seemed dishearteningly redundant. Social media has practically eliminated the need for a class reunion. This might seem like an insignificant change, but it’s representative of something much larger.
"Don’t you love being part of a generation who has experienced life on both sides of the internet invent? I truly do."
My reason for re-posting is that I am totally fascinated by technology, and I get a rise out of seeing the change it creates, especially when it's played out in real time, right before my eyes. Granted, there is nothing comparable to seeing a friend in person, and I had a wonderful time catching up with old friends at the reunion - Cindy, Staci, Christine, Steve, Jake, Allison, Lindsey, it was wonderful to chat with you all after so many years. But things definitely would have been different without Facebook in our lives. All but one of the aforementioned people is on my "Friends" list, and we could communicate on a daily basis if we were so inclined. Just a few years ago, that would not have been possible.
My family got hooked up to the World Wide Web when I was 12, I think, in about 1994. It was slow, clunky, restricted, and absolutely magical. eWorld was where it was at! I know me and my online boyfriend certainly thought so. ;)
How has your life changed since the invent of the internet? What was the first service you used? How has the connectivity of social networking sites effected your real-life interactions?
One more tech-related note before I go... did you know that cars can drive themselves these days? So cool.
To be quite honest, I'm one of those people that can't really remember a time WITHOUT computers. I distinctly remember being five years old and playing Barbie on my friend's computer - and that was 1995/1996. So all these changes don't seem too different for me. Granted, my family didn't get internet until I was eight or nine but I still see technology as a constant in my life.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, though, Facebook is completely creepy at times. It's so weird how much I know about people that I haven't seen in years - or even people I've never met. Sometimes I think I'd be better off, socially, if Facebook was never around.
I'd answer your above questions, but judging from the awesome comment you left on the Good Badger, you already know my stance ;)
ReplyDeleteAlthough to answer the "being on the both sides of the Internet/social media adoption" question, our generation has an extremely interesting vantage point. I'm hesitant to say that it's either good or bad because there are certainly great points on either side. The point that you're eluding to is that the ease of contact can definitely cut down on the quality the interaction.
Here's another really interesting article on the topic. http://www.cracked.com/article_15231_7-reasons-21st-century-making-you-miserable.html
(I love Cracked)
Thanks so much for the recommendation, Rice. A compliment from someone who writes as well as you is even more flattering. I look forward your upcoming posts.
Thank you for reading, and for the thoughtful comments.
ReplyDeleteRanda - I, too, have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. It can be quite creepy. I'm ashamed to admit that I give into it's stalker-friendly ways a little too much. haha
Zach - Thank you, thank you, thank you for recommending that article! I read it and then shared it with about every person I know... via the World Wide Web, of course! Haha! But seriously, it was SPOT ON! And thank you for the compliment on my writing. I appreciate it! I am looking forward to keeping up with your blog. :)
I love this post. My 10 year high school reunion is coming up, and I found myself thinking the same thing - I already know what everyone is doing. Reading this made me think back about how life has changed since I got the internet and I just thought "wow..." The biggest thing I find myself talking about is how in jr. high and high school, I had to do all my research at the library using books. We had internet but it wasn't really a source. And now, I know so many kids who can't imagine opening a book to write a paper when there are so many websites.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading and commenting. That's a great example of what I'm talking about. I've been back in college for about two years now and most of my classes have online components to them; sometimes that's a good thing, and sometimes it's not.
ReplyDeleteI'm headed over to check out your blog right now... :)
I was just contacted by 3 different individuals to plan the class reunion (since I was a class officer) and I must say...I have no interest. I mean, I don't CARE what most people are up to...in fact, I happen to know for a fact that not many of them are up to much. But maybe my disinterest is also because I loved college SOOOO much that my high school frenemies just seem less important to me.
ReplyDeleteHeh. Facebook. Yeah, how do you think I "stumbled" upon your blog? ;)
ReplyDeleteI am older than you are and DEFINITELY remember life before internet. For me, the biggest difference is parenting with the internet. When Justin was born (1999), I called 411 in hysterical tears, looking for someone to connect me with a parent's group as I was LONELY. Since I didn't have the internet yet and didn't have a group name, the operator couldn't help me at all. (but she was really nice as I bawled on the phone) Nowadays, 90% of my parenting needs are provided by the net. Blogs, Yahoo groups, email, texting, and Twitter to name a few make it really easy to contact like-minded parents and exchange information for support.
I find it strange that my kids have no clue what life is like before the internet. It's not a big invention to them: it just IS. It always has been and always will be, for them...