I'm asking for your vote.
In the last 12 hours I have read two different online articles concerning Facebook. The first claimed that Facebook is destroying relationships as we know them, and not only that, but harming our brains. An Oxford University neuroscientist (!!) is cited, provocatively, saying:
"We know how small babies need constant reassurance that they exist. ... My fear is that these technologies are infantilising the brain into the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and who live for the moment." (read full store here)
A different essay is entitled You Have No Friends: Everyone Else is on Facebook. Why Aren't You? Here we are told to basically get with the program (no pun intended). Like email and cellphones, Facebook has now reached a tipping point and there's no going back. You just gotta use it.
These different opinions correspond roughly to those in the Shomo household. My own, nuanced view is that Facebook is like an atomic bomb that has the potential to destroy civilization as we know it... but this bomb carries a nifty locator device so it can be helpful to find others and to be found. It should be handled carefully lest adulthood and maturity (including mature faith) as we know it vanish from the "face" of the earth, so we might need some PSA's concerning how to properly handle this WMD.
Here's where you come in... I'd like your vote concerning whether you prefer Facebook or blogs. And I'd like your comments regarding why. You can vote off to the right, and you can post comments below (aren't blogs great?).
You see, I like blogs: I can write in paragraphs. I can use punctuation. I can promote reflection and discussion. I can also post pictures of Cullen and stay connected to the family that way. And I like others' blogs, too. I like to know what others are thinking and grappling with. Facebook is nice for a few things (read: I'm not a luddite), especially finding old friends and keeping in touch. In fact, I enjoy this aspect quite well. But ultimately, blogs win in my world.
But will my world remain?
So, what do you think? Is Facebook "the bomb" or is it not? Are blogs better? Did you read this far?
God and Psychotherapy, Part the Second
5 years ago
13 comments:
If I had to choose between the two, I'm not sure which I would pick. I voted, but I feel like I have to explain my vote. (I voted for Facebook, even though I love blogs).
The reason is because Facebook has blog-like capabilities (notes/pages), though I rarely, if ever, use them. You can write posts, it is automatically publicized to your friends, and friends can comment. But where it suffers (and the main reason why I don't use these features) is because Facebook has little to no customization/design - blogs have Facebook beat in that regard.
However, I'm not sure I want Facebook to have that capability, or else it would just turn into another MySpace. And nobody likes MySpace anymore.
I read that warning about Facebook this morning too, but I wonder if they don't have it backwards. Maybe the reason we have Facebook is because of these things i.e. short attention spans, instant gratification etc. i.e Facebook is the product not the cause.
I like to look at Facebook for quick updates; it's great to find people; but I'd rather read blogs. I like paragraphs and punctuation also!
What Joel said.
Facebook can be like a blog. So it's better because it has all those features PLUS all the cool facebooky stuff.
Also, I don't know about that article. I mean, remember when Myspace was huge? Now no one uses it. So who knows what will happen with facebook.
I always prefer blogs if they are consistently updated and well written. For the rest of us who don't have the time or inclination to blog, Facebook will have to suffice. I am noticing that people are e-mailing less and pointing me and others to their Facebook page, FWIW.
by the way, facebook is bomb, not THE bomb. :-D
I voted for blogs because it feels more intimate.. if that's possible.
I joined facebook about 2 weeks ago to get back in touch with old friends..
but here's the real question...
can you "friend" your kids?
Taylor won't join because I might "friend" her!
Or I may "friend" one of her friends.
are you following???
I also agree with Joel. Facebook has blogging capabilities. You can write paragraphs and stuff in "notes" if you want, and you can add a million pics a whole lot faster than you can on a blog. You can even write headings for your pictures like you would on a blog. People can comment as well. Facebook is blogging, plus a whole lot more. In my opinion, it is a lot easier to use and upload things to Facebook than on blogs. I do, however, have both...but really the only reason I have a blog is for all you relatives out there :)
I thought you had to be in college to use facebook (?) Thats what my kids told me !
Why must I choose? I do both and use both and refuse to pick a favorite. I didn't vote in your poll as it forces me to pick ;-)
Leslie & Karen: you may find this website helpful http://facebookforparents.org
FB started out as being only for college students but has been open anyone for a while now.
Adam
Quite a discussion you got going here Kenny. I liked all the responses. I use Facebook a ton, it is, thus far, the best one stop "social network" and some of my "friends" post notes regularly with much success. Blogs can't compete with FB's rapid updates that inform all your friends, or enable you, to tell people about any new update. No one has to sunscribe, and pictures are uploaded with greater ease and allow for comments per picture. Plus.. you can "tag" people and let them know you have a picture for them to see.
that said... I still like the readability and depth of well done blogs. If you like blogging,you can post a link to your blog on your profile when you update! though I suspect as Bethany said... something different and new is yet to come along.
I didn't vote because there was no appropriate category. sry
facebook is for the younger/not married people. Blogs are for parents. I agree with wat aunt karen said about taylor lol
matt
I would say that Facebook and other online phenomena (dare I say blogs as well?) are contributors to our short attention spans and need for increasing levels of stimulation. Also video games, high levels of TV and movie-watching, etc. Given our technology, we have unprecedented ability to fire nonstop stimulation at our brains.
As a result, I would venture to say that our children and even we adults do not learn or practice important skills such as sustained attention, self-stimulation, patience, etc. We also do a disservice to our social skills by focusing our social energies online.
I love blogs (I voted for blogs!) but I find myself blog-hopping to what might be a pathological degree some days. And when I've finished checking my regular blogroll, I sometimes can't stop myself and continue on to every link on every blog. We (I) get easily sucked into the "zone" of believing I need more stimulation, when what I need to do is step away from the laptop and refocus.
Oh no, I'm doing it even now! And don't be fooled - These things have very real effects on our neurobiology, behavior, and cognitive habits.
~almost-Dr. Pearce (as if almost having a degree makes me more credible?)
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