It's interesting how social networking sites have made so much smaller for all of us. While I can't exactly remember when I got my Friendster account, I remember the wild abandon with which I added several hundred of my closest friends whose email I could recall. Needless to say, I stopped using my Friendster account soon after.
While the most recent incarnation of social networking sites have become much more sophisticated in terms of allowing the user to filter the information he or she is willing to share with the people they are friends with, it seems people are still adding "friends" with as much recklessness and wild abandon as my younger, thinner self. We read in The 12 Most Annoying Facebookers:
The Friend-Padder. The average Facebook user has 120 friends on the site. Schmoozers and social butterflies -- you know, the ones who make lifelong pals on the subway -- might reasonably have 300 or 400. But 1,000 "friends?" Unless you're George Clooney or just won the lottery, no one has that many. That's just showing off.
One of the reasons why I blog, other than to host friendly disputes on the RH Bill, is to share some of the cooler things that have come my way. One of the reasons why I leave the comfortable little nest that I blog from is to share how using blogs and social networking sites can help promote legitimately enlightening, non-threatening, and reasonable discussion on important issues.
I will be giving a talk tomorrow on the 4th Youth Lens Forum at University of Asia and the Pacific. This year's theme is "Getting (Dis)Connected: Youth Engagement in Social Network Sites." Talks begin at 9 am and will continue into the afternoon. For more information, please call 634-2828 and ask for Dr. Maria Riza L. Bondal (rbondal@uap.edu.ph).
Enjoy!
5 comments:
Whatever, you're still Clooney!
You try choosing a thousand friends to delete. :(
All that said, the one thing that got me was your "thinner self". I can't imagine how you can be any thinner :D Although, I haven't seen you in a while. I hope you're doing well, sir!
@Sabs: My most current pics are on Facebook, which I would refer you to, but will not, for fear of being labeled an annoying Facebook user. :P
Nice to hear from you again! Hope to see you around soon. :)
How was the talk? What points came up? I'm curious as to how much teens see social networking sites as something that helps them "connect" and in no way "disconnects" them.
Post a Comment