LOL! Uhhh, I have a facebook and every single friend on there I know in REAL LIFE. So how are you going to tell me to "get a life" when it's probably the easiest and fastest means for me to keep up with everyone? WTF! That scientist can kiss my bum, he's being absolutely silly.
There really isn't anything to say that hasn't already been said. But I'll say it anyway Like Emily, my mom has used facebook to reconnect with people she doesn't see anymore, and I have used it to try to stay in touch with friends from my old school. There is no harm in any of that. Also this scientist is almost implying that people woule rather chat online with their friends then actually go out and do something in person. That is really stupid. Seriously I would rather hang out with my friends anytime above talking with them online, thats a no brainer, and I do go and do stuff all the time with my friends and family. However that's not always possible and the internet is the next best thing. I mean seriously what does this guy expect? One of my best friends lives in a whole other part of the country, I can't see her everyday so we use text and facebook to stay in contact. How else am I to stay in contact with her? I can't exactly get a plane ticket whenever I feel like it, and talking with her for 15 minutes online is not going to give me cancer. And if it does...well that sucks but I'd really rather keep my best friend. Wow, I really didn't mean to make my post into a rant...sorry :redface:
Thing is, the argument that "hey, we're still fine after TV, rock & roll, and drugs" assumes that we're a working society right now with no more problems that we originally had. I don't mean to rain down, but seems like we're more stressed out than ever. It's not like we run around losing our heads, but we're almost used to the fast pace lives by now. It's not good for us.
I can't speak too much to the physical/medical effects of social networking sites (immediate or otherwise), but I do think it's silly to be completely dismissive of the findings when you look at it from a purely social standpoint. (And here, I refer to those that substitute web interaction for most, if not all, of their socialising). Even after all our evolution, we are still social animals, and the effect of merely being touched (not in that way ) by another human being can be profound, just on an emotional level - and our emotions can - and do - have a hand in our well being.
The thing is, though, can you really blame things like rock & roll, TV, or Facebook for the crazy, stressful fast pace of our society? It could be any number of things or combinations of things that make life the way it is...like many others have said, people are just finding a scapegoat. Why not try to make real connections and figure out what REALLY causes stuff instead of looking for the simplest thing to blame?
Because finding what REALLY causes these problems is not going to help. We're going through social progressions like modernism, postmodernism, post-postmodern, etc. and everyday we're quickly moving forward with it. Social movements like these are too powerful to counteract. We just have to let them do what they do. We can either go with the flow or fight it. Fighting it is futile; we've already been affected and we don't even know it. And going with the flow you can accept society how it is. If you're going to go with the flow, you don't necessarily have to follow everything (Facebook, MySpace, drugs, rock & roll, fast food, etc). Like any sensible person, you do what is healthy-ish and throw away the rest. If fast food is making you fat, then you've got an underlying problem, because food doesn't hypnotize you into eating it; but does fast food really need to exist? Why do we need all these unhealthy things floating around in society? Facebook is just another unhealthy thing. But like fast food, if you can limit yourself, then it's fine. But for many people, that's just not the case. Really, if anything, the only thing to blame is the scapegoat, because in the long run, the next social evolution builds upon it. It isn't so easy as "go find the real cause."
If facebook is bad...then this site must be a trillion times worse. It's way more fun here. Great--I'm going to be dead in a month.
I recently opened a Facebook account for one reason - so I can post editorial comments to my preferred local news station's Facebook page.
I've made some amazing friends through my blog (who are also on facebook with me) and am arranging to meet up with them this year. Who can say that's going backwards? Social networking sites give you neighbours all over the world. It just takes a tad longer to visit them for that cuppa and hug. As with anything, I would say it's each to their own. What works for one person may not for another.
These youngsters today with their Facebooks and skateboards. Really it seems to me that Facebook is a part of society now, as much as TVs and DVDs. In this modern world we've made, we have to adapt VERY quickly to new situations, and some people don't like having to change themselves so often.
it's semi-true, people talk to each other online, but dont talk to each other face to face, and all the kids have like cell phones, texting each other and whatever
As far as I'm concerned, the Internet IS a means of communication. Social networking sites are just that --social. Whenever I talk with someone here on WF --or Facebook, I only see a person who might be anywhere in the world with the same tool I have (a computer). I dont think it's a good idea to live your entire life digitally, but this is the digital age we are living in, and people are going to live at least part of their lives technologically. As for causing cancer... I spoke with a top oncologist recently for a news article I'm writing, and (while a radical scientist) he believes there will be a cure for cancer in our lifetime. So I'm not worried. Besides, if I dont "catch" cancer from Facebook, I'll catch it from cell phones or microwaves or certain foods or from secondhand smoke or from family heritage. However... I do appreciate the title 'Get off Facebook and get a life.' It's true... the fine art of conversation is dying out, though I contest that the culprit is not Facebook, it's that damned text messaging. Something so impersonal, so lacking in grammar, and totally devoid of purpose. (Use your phone for it's superior purpose, dial the number, and use your vocal cords. Kthnxbye. ) And. Some of them are totally pointless. "I'm on an airplane," one reads. What the heck do I say to that?! And why the heck would I want to say something to that? Thanks, buddy. You owe me ten cents for that. Touched a nerve.
Ha, I make all of my friends spell things out and use correct grammar when they text me. It bugs them so much.
Well here's my take on it. https://www.writingforums.org/showthread.php?t=18328 There are some on here who appear to have taken this thread pretty badly.
Facebook will kill you. Really? Me thinks Mr. Headshrinker is merely disgruntled because his friend requests were consistently denied. I mean, who wants a psychologist analyzing your status updates as a way to profile you?
I realize that just a day or so ago I said that I did like the title, but after seeing the thread again, I have to wonder. Whether you like it or not, whether you use it or not, Facebook, Myspace, and other social networking sites are now integrated into our lives; they're household names, and it's not just a teen phenomenon. Older people have accounts to keep tabs on their children and / or to interact with other people, and if I'm not mistaken both major social networking sites have trickled down to middle school students as well. Companies, musicians, and other entities requiring promotion have Myspace or Facebook pages now. Kids in elementary school have cell phones and laptops, and (I just had this discussion today in a free period during class, actually) more and more people are interacting via the Internet --not just people they know in real life, but globally --much like we do here. We have Americans, Australians, British who all interact here, and many of us (albeit on different levels) have extended friendship to one another. I think that's fabulous. People are understanding that people are people; it's their thoughts that count --not where they are or what they look like... I consider that instance, at least, progress. Technology is the modern lifestyle. A deterioration in conversation in 3D has led to an increase in the Internet world (or was it the other way around? Moot point). This culture has its pitfalls, but it also has its saving graces. So my argument is "Is Facebook (or Myspace or whatever else is out there) separate from life?" Regardless whether I think it's right or wrong, I must beg to differ; it is very much a part of modern life today. (Although in my opinion, because I simply have to add it, I find it sad that with the increase in technological usage, the fine art of conversation dwindles while the desire --and often times failure to receive-- of physical interaction heightens. If only we could find a happy medium.) Either way. I think this psychologist has two options now: A) Whine quietly and refrain from publishing the paper, or... B) Take action. The one thing I have a problem with today is that people have no qualms whining about something but completely lack the motivation to do anything about it. (Of course I'm generalizing.)
