Facebook Suicice

The author of this article makes a stunning point which only goes back to common sense. What are all these people doing when they spend their precious time crafting and manipulating a website to repeatedly seem more appealing to hundreds and hundreds of "friends"? Whether or not we want to admit, it's all ego and narcissism. And a waste of time.

People like to think that if they are not on one of these social networking sites, then they become cut off from the world. Nope. Just cut off from the hundreds of daily mundane updates from people who, most likely, are not their actual friends, which are usually small fraction of their online friends. There is no reason why anyone should be cut off from the world with phones, e-mail, instant messaging, and let's not forget about FACE TO FACE interaction is readily available. What Facebook does is make social connections a spectator sport. People start posting things not because they want to, but because so-and-so will see and write this-and-that on my wall.

I had already been considering cutting down my time on the site, but this article helped convince me that in reality, I'm not losing anything by committing "Facebook Suicide". Only gaining time, productivity, and real relationships.

Modernity

Opening Scene: Mid 20 yr old girl walking into a kitchen. 1 bedroom apartment, single living room and imacculate surface and dish area. Female approaches sink, head falls over shoulder gazes on refrigerator. The places her hand on the doorhandle, painfully struggling to grip. Flexing her wrists, she opens the fridge door. Stares at the contents, then swiftly opens the freezer door. She identifies the ice cream carten and grabs it. Uncontrollably she starts to use her hands in a knife like motion, and starts funneling the food into her mouth. She crumbles to the kitchen floor slobbing, hands cemented to the carten.

Facebook Suicide

I believe that the author raises a strong argument that constant, persistent Facebook checking, viewing, and chatting reflects the standard pass time of the people born in the 80s and 90s. The urge to present personal facts on one's profile through status updates and the vanity gained when other friends write comments on one's dialogue wall have become conditioned pleasure responses for the "Look at Me Generation." (bonus points for esoteric inside jokes) However, I do not agree with the author in thinking that a "facebook suicide" is the best approach this narcissistic tendency.

From a professional business and influence-based networking perspective, Facebook offers a dimension of communication unparalleled by any business card, phone number, or resume. I have seen how peers (people of similar ages, professions, and geographical location) influence each other through simple lines of text. Proper courtesy like congratulating a marriage or writing a birthday message have significant social importance. But even more central to my opposition to the author's action is that by forgetting to send a congratulation message or not even having a facebook profile is seen as a contemporatry social faux pas. I typically raise questions regarding people who don't have facebook profiles because of this fact. I understand that some people may not have one because of reasons like facebook-burnout and I respect that decision. But then I also think that the same person may not have developed the necessary multimedia social skills to operate in social networking.

Blog 9. Wk 5 Modernity.

Scene: Outdoors

Enter a 21 female. Slowly jogging and overweight in the outdoors, sweating and breathing heavily. The young female begins to slow her pace and begins to walk along the sidewalk and streets. She continuosly looks at the fellow outdoor runners that pass her by, wondering if they are judging her for walking instead of keeping a running pace. The female begins to attempt to run and push herself in order to keep up with everyone outside but knows that her body can not handle anymore and needs to recover a little. Her attention shifts to the small child in the car speaking to her mother at the stoplight, where the child appears to be pointing at the girl. The girl believes the child is judging her for being overweight. The girl overlooks this and decides to give up for the day because of her own paranoia that she is being judged for her weight while attempting to exercise. She walks home while still passing by the other runners.

Blog 8/Wk 5 – Facebook Suicide

While I do agree with some of the points raised in “Facebook Suicide,” I believe the blame for narcissism in our culture is misplace, and social networking is merely a scapegoat. Yes, it can facilitate narcissistic attitudes, but it is not the cause. In my own personal experience, I do not believe I use it for narcissistic reasons. All throughout high school, I didn’t have any social networking accounts. About a month before I started classes at UCD, I got a MySpace. I added a few people I knew on there as friends, but barely used it. In December 2008 (3 months later), I signed up for Facebook, because a lot of my high school friends had one. I signed up for the sole purpose of keeping in contact with people I knew, and to this day, that is mostly what I still do. The vast majority of my communication with friends and associates who go to school elsewhere in the state/country happens on Facebook, and I speak with many of them quite frequently.

Now, I’m won’t say that I’m completely free of some narcissism. I do post status updates on occasion looking for a response, and spend a lot of time reading and viewing the content of the other people on my friend list. However, it is wrong to say that Facebook, or any other form of social networking is to blame for narcissism. Humanity has been narcissistic for as long as we can tell. Tools such as Facebook may facilitate this and make it help make it worse sometimes, but by no means are the sources. Humanity’s own desire to be seen and bring attention to ourselves is the cause of this narcissism.

Blog 8 Wk. 5 Ad Busters

Being an avid Facebook user, I will admit that it has become my personal ego boost throughout the day. I get excited when I see that little red alert pop up and I will admit it makes me feel a little better about myself inside. I use Facebook everyday, and my friends and I even joke about how we consider Facebook to be an internet pallet cleanser between different websites, because we always find ourselves back on Facebook just to see if we do have any of those notifications. Facebook does come with many benefits for networking, as many users use Facebook to find old friends and reconnect.

The idea of Facebook suicide personally scares me due to the fact that it is probably one of the cheapest addictions I have developed. Without Facebook, I would probably never get any event invites, or even updates about anyone. It would be literal suicide to me because I would feel so disconnected with the world. I do agree that Facebook has become a lot of users personal ego boost and we have fallen into the habit of believing that everyone wants to know everything we do. With every status update I do, I'm aware that I just made my life a little less private by sharing my status with the copious amount of friends I have. Facebook also does have its downsides in the fact that many users add friends they don't even know, just for the number of friends they want. In order to avoid falling completely into the Facebook of having a million friends and in attempts to maintain that I am not a complete Facebook junkie, I like to delete friends off my list every few months, but this is probably just to make myself feel less egotistical and self absorbed, and create the illusion to myself that I am still keeping it real on Facebook, when the rest of the world is falling into the trap of giving into the lifestyle that everyone wants to portray on Facebook.

Blog 9_Wk_5_Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

1st Scene: College Apartment
Time: 8:00am

1. Cue alarm sounding
2. Young woman (age 17-20) turns it off and gets out of bed and begins to get ready for school.
3. Camera pans across room as the woman rushes to the vanity
4. Camera switches to shot on opened unitrans bus schedule sitting on computer desk, close up on "Cowell Blvd. & Drummond Rd - 8:30", Audience should be led to infer that the girl has 30 minutes for the bus.
5. Young woman finishes getting dressed, should be wearing clothing that is not horribly clashing but not too fashionable.
6. Young woman puts hair into ponytail and gets breakfast.
7. The woman returns to the room to grab her purse, looks at her make-up container, then back to the clock.
8. Camera switches to clock showing 8:26am as the time.
9. Camera back on the young woman who sighs, puts on her black rimmed glasses, and leaves the apartment without make-up.

10. Dissolve to black and then into next scene to indicate some time has passed

2nd scene: College Classroom
Time: around 10:00am

11. The young woman walks into her second class for the day.
12. It was a hot day, the woman should look slightly out of breath, perspiration mist on forehead, stray hairs visible.
13. Classroom should be mostly full, implication that the woman arrived mere minutes before class, should look hard to find a seat in.
14. The young woman should survey the room, coming across multitudes of women with their make-up done, hair done, and very fashionably dressed.
15. The young woman finds an open seat, but must pass over 4 women to get to it.
16. As the woman tries to get to her seat, the 4 women who she must past, who should be the most attractive girls cast for this scene, glance at her infrequently with distaste and disgruntled noises.
17. The young woman sees how well the women are dressed, and feels as if they are look down at her and judging her as she pasts because of how plainly dressed and looking she is.
18. The young woman gets to her seat but is distraught. She looks around the room and marvels at how well polished all the other women in the lecture are. She is ashamed of herself for not caring enough about her appearance. She feels ugly and unstylish, unfeminine. She feels as if these women are staring at her and wondering how she could be comfortable being so homely.
19. The young woman only feels comfortable once the lights are dimmed and the lecture starts.

Blog 8_Wk_5_Adbusters

I found the article concerning "facebook suicide" interesting, because I could see a lot of my friends represented by the author of the piece, but personally never considered the possibility of deleting my account. I am not an avid facebook user, I mainly use it as my last resort for procrastination; I rarely update my status or add pictures, could care less how big my friend list is, and primarily use it to see how some of my friends and family members (who I don't have the chance of seeing everyday)are doing. Have I felt awkward doing this before? Absolutely. It's impossible for me to shake off the feeling that I'm prying into someone's personal life, but I suppose more importantly slightly disturbed at times that they'd choose to share that with the world (theoretically). However, I don't know if I'd actually be able to delete my facebook account. It's helped me connect with family members I haven't seen for 3+ years, given me topics to ask about or stay away from when interacting with my friends, feel more connected with my boyfriend who is going to Berkeley (who, even with facebook, I still talk to and text everyday), and most commonly used as a tool to arrange an event for "real life" interactions. If I deleted my account, I would still have e-mail, but it seems to me that more people are motivated to update their facebook profile then take the 5 minutes to write an email, so I would lose this consistent connection with their lives. I'd also lose the access to pictures I wasn't present in, a way of sharing the moment with those who missed the opportunity to experience it. I'd miss being updated of the new play my friend will be staring in, or the new bathroom graffiti found in Berkeley. Ultimately, facebook has been nothing but beneficial in my life, but like all things that cause enjoyment, the problem comes from those who do unfortunately get addicted to it and lose the ability to use it in moderation. I don't feel like my ability to interact physically have suffered, as I still prefer and enjoy talking face to face, but due to the social anxiety I had as a child and still have symptoms of, I sympathize with those who don't possess this ability and rely on the comfort of the computer screen to receive the human interaction we all need to develop healthily.

Modernity .Spectatorship.Power

The scene opens on a 19-22 year old girl emerging from the gym locker room. She feels confident dressed in her shorts and t-shirt with the “runners physique” she always assumed she had. She walks in the cardio room filled with fit men and women alike. Mirrors surround her and reflect the perfect bodies moving in syncopation on the treadmills and ellipticals. These women are tall skinny, muscular and tan, no flab or cellulite in sight. The girl steps onto the elliptical and sets the time limit. She begins to sweat immediately and as she catches her reflection in the mirror she is ashamed. Sweaty, short, with thighs misshapen with cellulite, she feels the perfect bodies in sports bras starring, questioning un-acceptingly. She notices the gaze of the others the tall skinny girls and the muscular chiseled men. She can no longer take the spotlight that is suddenly upon her. She exits as quickly as possible hardly soon enough to escape the mortifying memory. She escapes back to the locker room and catches her reflection in the mirror from the corner of her eye. She wants to run, change, she feels as if everyone is still watching although she does not dare lift her own gaze. She cannot believe that she once thought herself comparable to these other girls. She questions her reasoning for going to the gym, she decides that she does not fit in and will not return. She cannot be seen there again.

Facebook.Suicide

Social networking sites often have the ability to draw one in to an alternate reality a world where one can author their image, and the way in which others will understand them. For many this is true and I think that it is true for everyone in one way or another. Similar to the way we manipulate our bodies and our features as we prepare to venture on our daily routines, through these sights I believe each one of us alter our own images whether we do it consciously or not. Some may take this to a whole new level where they no longer live in reality but in these artificial worlds created through the computer screen with photoshopped images, brainy quotes, and fictitious half-truths that one uses to make his/herself seem cooler or more cosmopolitan. For these people the idea of Facebook Suicide seems like it would be shocking and difficult. I am not arguing that I am much better. I do recognize that it would be difficult to delete my own Facebook page, however, I do not feel as though I live an alternate life through my social networking site. The thing that would be most missed for me is probably the most artificial aspect of Facebook—my “friends”. Admittedly, I do not talk to everyone of my 158 friends on Facebook, but I do however try to edit my friendslist in order to get rid of people I really do not talk to ever. Losing my “friends” in a way is like losing a connection to the places I cannot occupy while I am away. Through Facebook I am able to stay updated with my true friends from all over the place so losing that would mean that I would have to truly make an effort to keep in touch in more conventional and down to earth ways such as phone calls and real life visits. It is really more about the convenience that Facebook provides that I think attracts so many people—but it is also very easy for one to get pulled into the ersatz world of cyberspace.

Blog 9_Wk_5_Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

Enter medium sized male, age 17-20. Walks into gym. Full of hard-muscled, well shaped people. The young male walks over to the weight stack and slowly starts to lift the weights. Yet he continuously looks around the gym, not focusing on his own lifting because he is too obsessed and paranoid by what the others are doing in the gym. The bigger men are using more weight the young male thinks. But if he adds more weight, he won’t be able to do it, and then look even more amateurish. He can feel the “Gaze” strongly. The perception that his body is flawed and not good enough. The mirror bounces back an image of insufficiency and a lack of body shape. He spots one of the muscle-bound men with a colorful bottle that seemed to be a tasty supplement. Maybe if he took that, he could be like the others in the gym. But probably not. He leaves the gym without even finishing his workout, and so the cycle continues.

Blog #9- Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

Three girls nervously walk into the pool area. They are all in the 19-22 age range. One girl is very blonde, extremely tall and gorgeous. The other is of short stature, curvy and very cute. The last is average build, between the heights of her two friends and has blonde hair. As they enter they take in the whole scene. There are about a hundred other girls lying out. They all are focused on how skinny they are what their hair looks like. They are constantly comparing how flat their stomachs are or how toned there arms may be. They are all trying to be the idea of a picture perfect girl. The one that is not only beautiful but skinny and popular as well. They gaze upon each other critiquing every little thing. “The gaze” is the criticizing look that everyone feels it directed towards him or her when they are put in situation where they do not feel comfortable. It is very common amount girls when there are other people around. It is especially common in an environment where everyone is out in the open. It gives them an opportunity to tear people down and built them selves up or to team them selves down and desire what another person has. But, due to the influence of the media, girls just want the “perfect body” even though it really does not exist. They look for the flaws in themselves and don’t realize that everyone else has flaws as well.

Blog #8- Adbusters

When I first got my facebook it was because my friends told me to. I was never one for social networking. I still hold strong to my belief that text messaging, iming and emails are just a way of keeping the lines of communication open. They should not be used as a primary form of communication unless that’s the only means plausibly for the situation. In the article “facebook suicide” by Carmen Joy King the vanity of social networking, facebook specifically is brought to light. She discusses her experience with deleting her account from the very popular sight and personally I wish that I could do the same. But, although I love the idea of not being a part of this giant social networking movement it is still a good way to keep in contact with people that you would loose contact with otherwise. I have friends in different states and different countries that I am only able to communicate with through facebook. It provides an open platform for communication, a way for people to stay in touch. On the contrary, facebook like any other fad has its down falls. People spend hours upon hours looking through people’s pictures and reading conversations that they are not apart of. Members additionally spend hours posting pictures of themselves and editing there “about me” information to try and create an accurate image of who they are. It is a vain act that just leads people to care more about how they look in pictures or how people perceive them based on their profile. But the real question is if we create an image of who we really are or who we want to be.

Blog 8_Wk_5_Adbusters

As a Facebook user I thourouly enjoyed this article. It pointed out many questions that I ask myself all the time about my use of Facebook and its’ applications. There is a fine line to walk though that is not included in this article, and that is the issue of just basic networking. I first joined in order to keep in touch with people that lived down in Los Angeles, but soon found myself absorbed into it. Facebook is akin to a double-edged sword and it is very easy to fall on the wrong side of it, but how else could I keep in contact with people far away? The phone bill would be off the charts.

Yet committing “facebook suicide” would definitely be a welcome relief, because I strongly agree, it starts to feel “egotistical” and it is always on your mind. Honestly, how much do you really need to know about someone? It is just one big race of trying to impress someone, and it can definitely add stress to your life and eat up a good chunk of your time. Either way, it is up to each individual person to distribute their time evenly so as to reap the benefits, but not get sucked in. Well, I would write more, but I have to go update my status!

Modernity- blog #9

Setting: Pool. Time: 130pm

Opening scene: A tall blonde girl, 19-22 enters the pool area in a blue sundress carrying a large pink beach bag. She tosses her long hair nonchalantly laughing at a slightly funny statement her short brunette companion says, masking her discomfort at the impending near-nudity that lies before her. She walks past the oiled and tanned rows of pecs and legs that stare at her, praying that no one sees any part of her that appears flawed or substandard. Cue a tan, perfectly muscled man stepping rudely in front of the girls' progress, rushing to the pool. Barely saving them both from collision, he profusely apologizes, to her embarrassment and increasing discomfort. She snidely responds to hide her mortification at the heads turned in her direction. She rushes her companion towards an open space on the grass, trying to retain her composure and uninterested facial expression. In an effort to force confidence she stays standing while removing the dress and despite her slight frame, she feels largely inadequate and flawed under the gaze of her near-by neighbors. After laying down in relief upon a large blue beach towel she looks around and cannot help but notice the perfect tans and physiques which surround her. Under the gaze, or the pressing observation each poolside resident endures she longs to be confident but images of the unattainable ideal flash through her mind. The gaze is the pressing judgments that even those who feel less -than -perfect place upon every other member in their presence. She compares herself not only to those around her but to the images she has seen in the media and on tv; the perfection she knows is manufactured but still longs for.

Blog#9: Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

Scene: The Beach
An average looking girl who was stung by a sting ray is being attended to by an attractive lifeguard. Although she is embarrassed from the injury, the girl feels attractive because such a striking lifeguard is flirting with her while bandaging her wound. Enter group of attractive girls in string bikinis. They strategically place themselves next to the lifeguard tower. The girls lay out their towels and begin applying tanning oil. The lifeguard starts observing them and gets distracted from helping the average-looking girl. She then begins “gazing” at the girls as well and can’t help but compare herself to them. Their legs and arms thin and their stomachs toned, with shiny long hair and flawless faces. She then throws on her towel to cover up and limps away from the lifeguard claiming she would rather go to the doctor just in case.

The modern era has painted this standard picture of beauty for current society to be brought up with. It is only natural curiosity which causes humans to “gaze” at other humans and objects of interest, but the thoughts and connotations associated with this “gaze” stem from the ideals of modern culture. Therefore, when people “gaze” at other people who meet these ideal criteria, they cannot help but be transfixed by them, and likewise judge others who do meet modernized standards. This tragedy causes many to feel subconscious and objectified within their own society.

Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

Inside a dressing room at Marshals. A 20-23 year old girl walks into the dressing room holding a few articles of clothing. She is very excited to try on the clothing and anticipates the way the clothes will fit on her. She swings open the door to the dressing room and enters the small narrow room. The mirror faces her as soon as she enters the dressing room. She immediate regrets her decision to try on these clothes. The mear image of herself reflected in the mirror sends a sense of dread through her body. The "gaze" of the mirror reflects back to her all the ideas about the perfect body. She knows that her body is far from perfect. She goes through with her decision and starts taking off her clothes. The first article of clothing in a plaid dress size 11. She zips the dress in the back and looks in the mirror to see how the dress looks on her. Her eyes start to well up with tears as she begins to notice every flaw on her body. The sub-conciouness images of the "perfect body" are her guidelines for the way she criticizes her own body. She feels like she will never be able to fit in to the perfect image. The gaze of the mirror is to over-wellming and to much to bear. She is uncontrollably crying and remembering all the reasons why she hates herself so much. The 'gaze' has penetrated into her deeply.

Blog 9_Wk_5_Modernity_Spectatorship_Power

Scene: The Infamous Rec Pool at UC Davis

Opening shot-

Three average yet attractive, college girls enter the pool area. Dressed in plain t-shirts and sweat shorts. As they walk towards the beach chairs, they survey the scene around them.

Cut to gorgeous, perfectly toned blonde girls walking past the three heroes. One of the heroes is shown watching them in envy. Close up to hero looking down at herself.

Three heroes walk to chairs and look back at the pool. Cut to muscular, tan, strong featured college men looking their way.

The same hero looks nervous to undress. She does not feel like she compares to the other girls, and she knows that the men will not be attracted to her. She is self-conscious of her body.

Hero turns away from the men, quickly disrobes, and immediately lays on the beach chair. She does not stand up until her clothes are back on.

This represents the gaze. The girl feels pressured to look like the other "model-like" spectators. She feel inadequate because she does not represent the body-type that society considers acceptable and beautiful. The gaze affects her, and she is not able to have a good time at the pool because of it.

Facebook Suicide

Having a Facebook profile is extremely self absorbing. I didn't want to read this article because it articulated the way I feel about Facebook, and I knew It would inspire me to jump off the Facebook cliff and delete my profile. I wish I had never joined and got sucked into this mindless selfish world. I constantly check to see if people have posted comments on my posts. I often wonder "How do I find balance between my online life and my real life?" I wish I had no computer, no Facebook, and no on-line life. I want to live life free of viral connections. Instead I want to live in a world of real connections with other human beings. "How much exposure is healthy?" I don't think any exposure is healthy. I think Facebook distracts people from facing themselves. It detours them from their own boredom and depression. I hate social networking sites because It completely ruins true interactions between people and it promotes alienation. The more people interact on the internet the more they lose the ability to connect with other people. Facebook profiles are constructed out of self-interests and selfness. I still feel like I physically can not delete my profile. If I do that some of my friends will have to actually call me! I need the strength to finally get out of this stupid, ridiculous online world.

Blog #8: Facebook Adbuster

Like so many others, I have given in to the Facebook phenomenon and have become a frequent member of the Facebook community. Concerning the suggestion of “facebook suicide,” the term serves relevant purpose to the act of deleting one’s Facebook; once one becomes addicted to Facebook it integrates itself into one’s daily routine, making it difficult to eliminate. However, I feel like article author Carmen Joy King over exaggerates the self-absorbing aspect of Facebook. She mentions she is really narcissistic at promoting herself on Facebook, but I lead a different Facebook experience than she does. I tend to look more at the profiles and information of others than of my own. I prefer to use the social networking site to do just that, socialize, in other words I take a greater interest in other people than I do my own self. Especially as a college freshman, I do not get to see the majority of my high school friends on a regular basis, and Facebook is a convenient substitute over waiting for breaks and summer vacation to communicate. I am not denying I don’t update my quotes from time to time and switch up my profile picture when I get sick of the old one, but I don’t worry over my own information as much as King seems to stress. As for the ridiculous amount of time Facebook consumes, I openly admit at being a victim of that crime. However, despite the amount of time I spend on Facebook, I still manage to lead a successful life outside that window next to my computer. Furthermore, King mentions that one of the reasons it is so appealing is because it alleviates boredom as well as stress from the issues of modern day life. King implies that this “relief” is unhealthy because the pseudo comfort is just a tease and prevents people from facing reality. However, as long as I engage with my close relationships outside of the internet world and accept reality, I find it acceptable to allow Facebook to temporarily disillusion me from reality and relieve my boredom. True friends, true family, and true experiences are all a part of the real world, and as long as I continue to acknowledge that, I don’t see myself committing “facebook suicide” anytime in the near future.