Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Stalkerbook

Social networks have been popular for many years now. With the beginnings of xanga, myspace, and eventually facebook social networks have become a common way to communicate through pictures and messages over the Internet. People have the ability to comment on these pictures and feel as though they are learning more about the person and gaining some insight into their life. The kicker is that you never actually have to talk to the people that you interact with on these sites. Some "friends" on these sites have never actually met. All they know is what is portrayed on the other's personal web page. Scary!

Facebook is one of the largest social networks. It provides services such as an AIM style chat, picture portfolios, videos, e-mail type messages, and wall comments. There are also many different applications that are available in order to enhance your profile. One feature that Facebook is known for is its news feed which is how it acquired the nickname Stalkerbook.

Facebook's "news feed" is the home page of every persons account. This section allows you to see information that your Facebook friends are posting and sharing with each other. This takes a lot of the leg work out of stalking. With relationship changes and new pictures flashing up onto your screen you can't help but take an interest. This information is often a catalyst in visiting an individuals' site and searching through their posted information.

I know that the very day that my new roommate information came in the mail, I got on Facebook and searched for him. I found him very quickly, friend requested him, and in a matter of hours he accepted. Once this occurred the stalking began. I wanted to learn everything I could about my new roommate. I looked through his pictures, his likes and dislikes, and even through some of his bumper stickers in order to get a sense of who he was and what he was about. I concluded that he was a weirdo.

Eventually we talked on Facebook and got to know each other that way. Some of my qualms about this new roommate were relieved, and we began to form a friendship. The first day that we met, I already felt that I knew him, and it was not an awkward situation.

I used Facebook to get to know somebody before actually meeting them. However, this is not a fool proof method. I misjudged my roommate and began to associate him with all sorts of stereotypes and other labels. When I got to know him in person some of these were proved to be false.

Many people, including myself, use Facebook as a first reference in social situations. It is used to find more information about a person's personal life. So be warned as to what you put on your Facebook page. Stalkerbook is a resource for social connections and interactions, but it is also a cyber first impression and in today's world that can make or break you.

5 comments:

  1. Many people just add people to increase their number of friends. It really bothers me when people that I don't know add me as a friend. I only add people that I know. While I don't always talk to all my "friends," it is still nice to see what is going on in their lives. The thing is that you see the negatives along with the positives. I've seen many pictures of my friends in disappointing situations.

    My favorite part of Facebook is the chat. While it messes up quite frequently, it is still a handy method of communication. I will talk to friends about how their day has been or make plans to meet people for dinner or other social events.

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  2. Good post, I liked it alot. You are right many people just use facebook to stalk. The worse is those people who befriend everyone in the network. I remember during the summer before we all came to Purdue, there were a couple of people who befriended me just because I was in the Purdue network. That is just a really odd idea in my opinion.

    Why would you add people to be your friend if you have no clue what they are like anything!? It's just really really confusing to me.

    But at the same time facebook is such a useful social tool. Like PiccChick said Facebook chat is quite a useful tool in my opinion! So is being able to contact people who you may have been really good friends with in the past but for some reason you aren't in contact anymore!

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  3. I liked your article and thought it described a lot of the activities of a college student during their down time. I would definitely agree that facebook is used as a way to expand social networks, but also to “creep” on other people.

    I find it quite convenient to stay in touch with people who I am no longer in the same city with, and I am sure that many other people do as well. However, I think that some people also use this as a tool to pray on unsuspecting victims.

    All in all, I think it is a useful social networking too, like anything others use it for good while others use it for the wrong reasons.

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  4. I totally agree with all the forementioned comments. I personally don't have Facebook because I don't see the point in having all my information out there. But, it would be a useful tool to keep in touch with other people.
    I know that a lot of my friends use it to figure out when to meet and stuff. I am constantly told about events as they are about to start because I didn't learn about it through Facebook.
    I think it can be a waste of time. I would always be checking other people's information and pictures. But I do think it can be a good tool in relationships.
    Good post! Keep it up!

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  5. I liked this post a lot and totally agree with everyone's comments above. Facebook can be a useful tool when used as intended. It is nice to be able to keep in touch with friends that you don't really see or talk to anymore to catch up on each other's lives. For the most part I am only friends with people that I know or people that I sort of know that are friends with people that I am friends with and can trust... If that makes any sense.

    But on the flip side, Facebook can be kind of useless. I mean people spend, or waste, a lot of time on Facebook not really accomplishing anything when they could be doing something worth while. I actually did not have a Facebook until about 6 months ago because I believed this from what I saw of other people using it. But of course that can only last so long. I was one of very few that I knew that didn't have one, so I gave in and tried it. Although I am glad I did, I think that it is way over rated.

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