2008 Woodie Awards
About me: Quitting Facebook
By: Abigail Faulkner
Issue date: 3/28/08 Section: Opinion
"Hello. My name is Abby. I enjoy writing, dancing and riding my bike. My favorite books are Lolita and White Noise. I'm an infamous regular at Coffee News. I'm into video editing. I smoke like a chimney. I hate cooking. I like puns. I love my family."
Check it out. This little bio is made up of the tidbits gleaned from the "about me" section of my now defunct Facebook profile. Two years ago, this was my rather desperate attempt to appear quirky and likable.
We all want friends - there's nothing more exciting than meeting a new person with whom you feel a real connection. 'Well no shit, Abby,' but looking back, I can honestly say that none of this drivel ever directly contributed to the formation of a real friendship. Frankly, I'm not surprised. Count how many times the pronoun "I" appears. It's self-involved, completely predictable, and, as it exists outside of an interesting, dynamic conversation, doesn't really accomplish anything. Honestly, I think I designed and edited myself into that little box…for myself. Then, I wasted many solitary hours learning nauseatingly similar information about other people. People I didn't know. I still don't know most of them, and they live right here in my neighborhood. When all was said and done, Facebook just made me feel like the host of a great big flop of a party; I spent hours getting dressed up for it, but no one came.
Facebook wants us to understand it to be a springboard into our communities, a way to quickly and conveniently pair up with like-minded people that we'll soon be meeting for coffee and friendship. Sounds good, but have some of us gotten so preoccupied with trying to define ourselves online that we've lost some of our interest in real, interpersonal exchange? If yes, then what's the point of Facebook?
Good question. The purpose of the current Facebook system is - to me - vague. What began as a small, intercampus network serving the Ivy League has, in just a few short years, skyrocketed to become a network of 64 million users worldwide. The network has expanded to include anyone with a valid e-mail address. Everyone uses it. And hell, why not? Facebook is just this big, sweaty, can't-miss-it virtual celebration; it never ends, and it's crammed with enough sassy applications to delight even the shortest of attention spans. Great. So what's the catch?
Check it out. This little bio is made up of the tidbits gleaned from the "about me" section of my now defunct Facebook profile. Two years ago, this was my rather desperate attempt to appear quirky and likable.
We all want friends - there's nothing more exciting than meeting a new person with whom you feel a real connection. 'Well no shit, Abby,' but looking back, I can honestly say that none of this drivel ever directly contributed to the formation of a real friendship. Frankly, I'm not surprised. Count how many times the pronoun "I" appears. It's self-involved, completely predictable, and, as it exists outside of an interesting, dynamic conversation, doesn't really accomplish anything. Honestly, I think I designed and edited myself into that little box…for myself. Then, I wasted many solitary hours learning nauseatingly similar information about other people. People I didn't know. I still don't know most of them, and they live right here in my neighborhood. When all was said and done, Facebook just made me feel like the host of a great big flop of a party; I spent hours getting dressed up for it, but no one came.
Facebook wants us to understand it to be a springboard into our communities, a way to quickly and conveniently pair up with like-minded people that we'll soon be meeting for coffee and friendship. Sounds good, but have some of us gotten so preoccupied with trying to define ourselves online that we've lost some of our interest in real, interpersonal exchange? If yes, then what's the point of Facebook?
Good question. The purpose of the current Facebook system is - to me - vague. What began as a small, intercampus network serving the Ivy League has, in just a few short years, skyrocketed to become a network of 64 million users worldwide. The network has expanded to include anyone with a valid e-mail address. Everyone uses it. And hell, why not? Facebook is just this big, sweaty, can't-miss-it virtual celebration; it never ends, and it's crammed with enough sassy applications to delight even the shortest of attention spans. Great. So what's the catch?
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