When using Facebook, I present
myself the same way I would in person. I
don’t normally post a lot of stuff on Facebook; I am pretty private in that
aspect. But, if something interesting
happens or I go on a trip or do something fun I post pictures and make a
status. I use the “check in” tool when I
go places, but I do not put a lot of personal information on. For example, if a family member or someone
very close passes away I do not post that kind of information on there. I hope that people get the impression that I
am being myself and not acting differently online then I would in person. I have never had someone post something on my
Facebook that I wouldn’t want. I don’t
have anything to hide from people, so it really doesn’t bother me what people
post. I do know a lot of people who
worry what people post or how that might make them look.
I think there Facebook relates to
conflict and communication in a big way.
With Facebook comes conflict.
There is no way to avoid it. For
example, people tend to post inappropriate things or there are posts that are
made that not everyone agrees with. Also
the ability to “snoop” into peoples lives also causes conflicts, if you find
something you might not have wanted to see.
Facebook causes a lot of conflict between spouses and friends. There also comes conflict with how you
portray yourself on Facebook. There are
so many people who portray themselves as someone completely different than how
they are portrayed in person.
I think it's very interesting that you say that you represent yourself accurately on Facebook. I myself, am not a big user of social-networking websites but I do still have an open account on Facebook. While I really don't use the account any longer, when I did use it, I'm not sure that I fully represented myself as my true self (And I don't know many people who do...if any at all). While I never exaggerated what kind of life I had online, I also didn't highlight the negative things that I was experiencing. I remember once a friend said to me, "I was just surfing Facebook, and now I feel so depressed. Everyone is doing such amazing things and I'm stuck doing the same old thing." I tried to make my friend feel better by expressing my belief that most people aren't airing their dirty laundry on Facebook and that they really only post the things that make them seem interesting, dynamic, and like they lead successful and exciting lives. It seems to me, that Facebook isn't usually an accurate portrayal of how normal people really live, and that no one really represents themselves accurately.
ReplyDelete