Facebook: Social Network or Anti-Social?

Facebook redefined the way in which we interact with those around us. It innovatively combined email, instant messaging, MySpace- like profiles, video messaging, twitter-like status updates and the ability for users to access hundreds of thousands of free apps. Facebook allows us to keep in touch with huge groups of people with the simple click of a button. It redefined the terms of being social by allowing us to build up larger friend circles and giving us several new ways to
keep in touch with them. Facebook has already become a huge part of our lives. Any funny video or interesting news is almost immediately uploaded to Facebook, and hundreds of people can instantly see it.

While I have always been a firm believer in the fact that Facebook gives people the ability to connect to more people and in turn makes them more social, I am beginning to question it. One of my friends pointed out that Facebook is supposed to be a social networking site, yet it drives people to be antisocial. Although I didn’t fully agree at first, the more I consider it, the more it is starting to make sense to me. The problem with Facebook is that it is just an internet site, so no matter
how well you seem to connect with others, it is in a way artificial. Through evolution, humans have been psychologically wired to respond to certain traits like facial expressions and body language. Signals like these trigger the release of certain hormones like oxytocin and allow people to bond to one another. Without these elements present, we are only getting a fraction of the stimuli necessary to truly "bond" to those around us. Although social networking sites like Facebook allow us to contact several people quickly, they can never truly replace real-life interactions.

Blogging

Blogging is like recording your thoughts in an online journal that everyone can read. Its like writing in a diary and letting everyone see what's in it. So for obvious reasons, blogging about your personal life may not be the best idea (unless like the lady on House, you WANT everyone to read about your life and make comments). On the other hand, the highly public nature of blogging has its advantages. Blogging connects different people and ideas. When you blog about something (such as my immense love for CNN's Anderson Cooper!) you're bound to find someone else who shares the same view. Blogging is a quick and easy way to spread the word about something and find people similar to yourself. It is an effective way to quickly share ideas with a large amount of people.