Friend Requests

On Facebook, at least once a month, I get a friend request. I am always excited to see who it is, because at this point, I feel like I am friends with everyone already! I like it when it is a new friend from a different class or club, but more often than not, it is some stranger. I have had fifty year old men that I have no connections with try to friend me. It is disturbing, and I wonder why they chose my profile. Did they just see a profile picture of a girl and decided to add it? It can be very creepy to think about their motives. I never accept those that I don't know, but I wish people like that wouldn't friend me anyway. It is people like that that can make the internet feel unsafe. It can make you feel targeted and it is just uncomfortable. I think their should be boundaries that we don't cross. Luckily, most people understand those unspoken rules, and it is just a sad few that try and ruin the experience for the rest of us.

Accountability

I read an interesting article a couple of weeks ago that was a real eye opener. Apparently, robbers are using Facebook and Twitter to track when potential victims won't be at home, and what valuables they may have. If you have a lot of photos with a nice television in the background, and often update your status to say you are going out with friends, you may be a target. Apparently, by doing these seemingly harmless things, you are showing potential criminals just what kind of valuables you have, and giving them information about when you will not be at home. It is kind of scary to think about. I think we all need to think twice about who we let see our profile, and I guess if all else fails, lock your doors and windows!

facebook...

i think i must deactivate my face book during finals week...it must happend, i love face-book. I think its the best way to keep in touch. But I have to do what I have to do.

Facebook Fan Pages

What’s with all of these fan pages on Facebook lately? Some of them are amusing but most of them are just pointless. Some of my friends are fans of 1000+ pages. Seriously? I don’t even have words for this. I’ll become fans of my favorite TV shows, music artists, or things that I genuinely like or enjoy, but I see people becoming fans of “ HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA NO.” or " heeeeeeeey!(:" ..."hi" nvm i dont wanna talk anymore.” I just don’t understand. All of these fan pages as well as Mafia Wars and Farmville notifications and requests are clogging up my news feed. Facebook used to be a useful tool but now it feels like I’m in 2003 again using MySpace.

Benefits

The internet is full of resources and information made available to us at our fingertips. So why is it that the most popular sites for people our age are not news sites or online encyclopedias, but Facebook, Perez Hilton, Twitter, and other substance free sites. These websites are the equivalent of empty calories. They provide us with no nutrition, but darn it if they aren't entertaining. I think that we are so busy doing research and writing for school all the time, that visiting these sites is a necessary part of our unwinding process. Sometimes it is completely necessary to shut down our minds and just have fun. I suppose there are worse things we could be doing.

An Apple a Day...

I've always had a problem with finding a middle ground in my life. If I see a movie that I really like, I have to see it again. And again. And again. If I taste a food that I really enjoyed, I go on a kick with that food, until I literally cannot stomach it anymore. If I decide to become more fit or eat better, I have a hard time not letting it become an obsession. I'll start off running twice a week, and before I know it, I have to start running twice a day. If I want to watch what I eat, I end up not eating enough. The same can be said with the use of a computer. At first, most kids our age check Facebook maybe once every couple of days, but then it becomes a habit to check it everyday. Soon, before we even realize it, it has become an obsession, one we have to check in on multiple times a day. Kids our age need to realize that there is a healthy use of social media and an unhealthy use. Sometimes, it is best to just unplug, go out, and live in the real world! At least so we can find new people to friend on facebook!

What to Give Up?

Every year for Lent, I try to give up something that I really enjoy. Most of the time, I pick a food that I really enjoy, but perhaps that is too easy. Sure I love chocolate, and it would be difficult on occasion to pass it up, but is it really a sacrifice? Does my day revolve around chocolate to begin with? No. A few of my friends are giving up Facebook, and though I am a bit ashamed to say this, I don't think I could. It's sort of embarrassing to admit, but the act of signing on and seeing what your friends are up to has become such a part of my everyday life, that I would feel almost lost without it. It fills in the moment when I am bored, and is just plain entertaining. Maybe next year I can muster up the will power to give up a silly little social media site, but for this year, I'm sticking to the candy.

Bloggin

I am blogging again today! Wahooo! Even though this is a requirement for the class, I think everyone in the class likes to know that they have a place where they can just say what they think. The things we do online these days seem to be all about narcissism, so I guess this just adds to the list for most of us. We keep hearing that everybody lives interesting lives in class because these are interesting times. I still have a hard time believing that my life is blogworthy sometimes, but I suppose sometimes i'm interesting enough (I hope).

I always feel like somebody's watchin me...

Today my sister and I had a not so lovely conversation about Facebook. I mentioned how narcissistic a society we have become, thinking that people actually care about what we are doing. She stated, rather nonchalantly that everyone has a stalker, we just don't know it yet. This is pretty disturbing to me. I guess I figured that yes, people can see my profile, but is there someone lurking behind their computer screen, desperate to look at my pictures or know what I did last weekend? I'd like to think I was interesting to people, but the thought of someone watching my every move is rather unsettling. Still, despite this uneasy feeling I got from this conversation, I don't think it is going to make me delete my account or anything like that. It is however, something to think about.

WHAT WE ARE REDUCED TO.....!

READ IT AND WEEP!

A friend request on facebook from your MOM??

In today's society the use of technology is non-stop. Because of this people from older generations are trying to keep up with us and stay updated with new technology. Our parents and grandparents are texting us, joining facebook, using ipods and smartphones and so many other things. It's getting scary. If it's not bad enough that you have to hear your parents say clean your room or don't stay out all night, now you'll get it through a text message or a comment on facebook. When my mom first texted me saying hi I transferred money into your account, I was excited for the money part but freaked out that my mother had just texted me! I said ew mom why are you texting me but now I love it. I can easily text her when I need to tell her something quick and now when she calls me while I am in class or work I can just text her "what's up, I can't pick up my phone". It's still a little weird when she tries to use "lol" or other text lingo but no matter how updated she is with our technology it will always be weird because she's my mom. Now when I go on facebook at home I see her email already entered into the login instead of mine. It's nuts. But I have seen her get in contact with her cousins and family that she never gets to speak to so that's good. Our parents keeping up with us isn't so bad but it can get weird.

My personal addiction to FACEBOOK

So, how many people feel the same way I do? That when you go on to your computer or laptop or anything with internet access, that you have to check your facebook... What is with it? I am on my laptop right now and I'm obviously blogging, but I won't lie - I have Facebook open in another window, and after I've finished writing this blog, you can be certain that I'm going to check if anything changed in the last 5 minutes or I might just look at pictures of an old friend I havent seen in a while - now known as "facebook stalking."
I have to make a conscious effort not to check my facebook too regularly, or automatically open up my facebook without giving it a second thought. I know I go on the computer to do things worth while, and things I need to be doing for class, but facebook is the one thing that I look at without even thinking about it. My hands have just gotten into the natural motion of typing "facebook.com" and then my email address and password. They navigate around the page with ease, and I can't seem to stop them.
Now don't get me wrong, it's not like I don't get work done and it's not like this is a serious issue that I need to seek help for. I'm just thinking that I could probably have a little bit more self control when it comes to me checking my facebook. I mean really, how much can happen in an hour in the world of facebook?