Posts Tagged: social network

Brittany commented on my framing questions, responding to if technology is making us more detached and she argued that she feels it allows us to be closer to people.

I agree with so many of the points she made.  But I feel that online networking, social media, all of it, has become a double-edged sword, especially as of late.

What made me really question so strongly was the fact that I hadn’t talked to one of my best friends in awhile because I’ve been so busy. So what did I do? Did I call? Did I text? No, I posted a message on her Facebook wall. And after I did it, I was a little disgusted with myself. I know part of me though ‘I know she’s busy so I don’t want to bother her and she’ll get back to me when you does’ but a part of me was aghast that I couldn’t even send a text, let alone, make time to call her.  Yes we share a certain portion of ourselves online and I will delve further into that aspect of it, but I feel like I contact my friends less by phone or even in person when I was home, and chose to comment on Facebook statuses and pictures instead of just calling the person up and going out and doing something. I feel like the Internet is making me even more lazy.

On the other hand, I love that Facebook allows me to learn about people more in-depth. I love the fact that I can read a profile or look at pictures and see places they’ve been, or what their favorite books and movies are and be able to talk to them about it later. I love that people I might normally be a bit too shy to really talk to or haven’t had the time to get to know better, I can still be Facebook friends with them and quickly get to know at least a little bit about them.

And I do feel that Facebook makes us, in a way, more compassionate. We are concerned with the well-being of people we barely know. People who may not tell us something is upsetting them in person may mention it on Facebook and we are now aware of it. But it also depends on the user and how open they are on these networks.

And the danger as time goes on? We have to censor ourselves to an extent on these websites. Yes, now we have increased privacy settings on a lot of sites, but say some distant acquaintance who you are friends with on Facebook works at a company you are applying to. Say the employer is doing a background check and demands they give them access to your profile or they lose their job (ok, maybe not that bad but you get the picture).

We put ourselves on a lot of these sites, but what version? It feels like a squeaky-clean photoshopped version of only our politically-correct aspects so as not to offend future employer possibilities or parents or relatives or even teachers. I know after we learned in school teachers could see our profiles, I definitely cleaned my up.

What does any of these mean in terms of how we interact with people? I don’t know but I do know I hope the future doesn’t become like the recent Bruce Willis movie “Surrogates” where we never leave our rooms and send out robot copies to face the real world each day (once again, a little exaggerated but who knows what the future really holds?)

Knowing what we discussed in class this week, I would change my three questions to incorporate the idea of agenda setting in today’s society. The compare/contrast of the different news sites’ versions of the same story really intrigued me and freaked me out at the same time. In this case, the agenda is definitely set by the media, but told in a way to please the specific reader of each site. If a reader of site A slips onto site B, he could be offended by the way the story is told, even though it’s the same news. From this, it seems like there will always be a left/right element of storytelling. You just have to find the one that fits your own views, because otherwise it becomes a sporting event.

As for my actual questions, I think it’s most fitting to answer my third based on our discussions in class this week. On Monday, I asked, “What are some ways we see propaganda being used in today’s social networking sites, such as on Facebook and Twitter?”

Even though we discussed this based mostly on news media, propaganda is all OVER these websites. Look at your Facebook page for example. Open your profile, and the right side is a column of advertisements that involve items and programs YOU are interested in (how do they DO that?).  MySpace has ad campaigns on every page you open, and YouTube ALWAYS has a current preview for a movie or message about a cause at the top of the page.

Why do they do this? They want you to get INVOLVED and spend your MONEY. The sites are free, and they have to pay for everything somehow.

Several aspects of the Institute for Propaganda Analysis’ “The Fine Art of Propaganda” are seen in the way these sites advertise. First off, bandwagon is EVERYWHERE. The movie trailers boast reviews and several of the ads (especially the fitness-based programs) claim to be “the #1 way to do whatever it is we’re advertising!” Well, if that’s the case, I better get on board! Twitter doesn’t directly advertise using this technique, but the feature of the “Trending Topic” makes it hard t o miss the most popular items and discussions of the day, making you feel left out if you don’t get involved.

Transfer/Testimonial are seen in MySpace ads involving celebrities and their interest. These often feature actors and musicians interviewing each other based on what they like, conveying the message of “I’m famous and I enjoy this, so you should check it out.” This occurs all over Twitter as well, but from the celebrity tweet as opposed to direct advertising.

Card-stacking is relevant as well, and mainly seen in before/after images of fitness program advertisements. By showing the after image, they say “this is how YOU could look if you got onboard with our program,” and it makes the idea of getting into better shape more appealing. Of course, they never mention the hard work and commitment that’s involved. They just want you to check it out.

We are definitely bombarded by propaganda every time we look at our social networking sites. Granted, it doesn’t mean we have to fall for the advertisements, and they’re not always in the foreground, but sometimes those random 80’s t-shirts look pretty darn cool.