Growing Up Online - in response to

I think that social networking has not actually changed that much since the advent of MySpace and Facebook.  Before such phenomena, social networking, through technology, extended to phone calls and emails and fax machines.  These were used to contact friends and acquaintances, send information, and perform tasks that had previously been carried out all on paper.  Really, MySpace and Facebook could be seen as the next logical step in this progression.  For that is what it is.  It is not a break from the way things were done, it is merely the result of the incorporation of newer, more advanced technology.  This new technology has made these previously difficult process of exchanging information a breeze, extending the possibilities and creating a more immediate experience for those using these technologies.  Thus, we have virtual worlds.

Friend: It gives you a personal web page where you can basically put however much or little information you want about yourself. Mostly its a way to be able to connect with people, especially people you don't see everyday, like friends who went to a different college or something.

Parents: Its just a really convenient way to be able to talk with friends not going to college; to be able to stay somewhat in touch with them, its good.  And its safe, too, you can set it up so that no one can see your information without you accepting their "friend request."  

Grandparents: It allows me to talk with friends far away, to maintain that contact.  Haha, the world is still getting smaller.

Teen from the 50's: Imagine that chick you dig, right, the one from up town, goes away to college in like California or something, k?  Now imagine that you could still talk to her, every night even, if you wanted to, and she wanted to.  You wouldn't be able to hear her voice, but you would send her a note and she'd see it immediately, and then write back! And she would able to read your handwriting too haha. cool eh? 

Obviously Facebook compartmentalizes the way one displays images and/or info on the page, but that because it is basically a template.  I think this is a good thing, personally, just because it makes the exchange of that information more efficient and effective, because everyone's page is constructed the same.  I think if one wished to alter the design of the page then they should probably make their own actual page.  

Marshall McLuhan's statement that "medium is the message", in regards to a Facebook page, is implying, if I understand it correctly, that this phenomena of social networking through the world wide web will have similar consequences, regardless of the information/images that are or aren't displayed.  For the essence of McLuhan's argument is that it is not what you present but how you present it that makes all the difference.  Now, this has also been said in terms of quality: obviously something will have a different impact depending on the level of professionalism that is put into the work.  But McLuhan is referring specifically to the medium, whether it be film, paper, online, as the ultimate decider of the type of influence whatever is being presented will have.  For example, because communication through Facebook is so relatively immediate, language has been adapted to suit that speed, and thus we have btw, lol, brb, etc.  Not only is the actual communication immediate, but so is the accessibility of the information: birthday, school, favorite bands, email, and everything like that.  This makes everything very open.  Which is interesting because, at least in the documentary, many parents feel that as threatening, a sort of nakedness, if taken too far.  I think if these parents have grounds to argue that point, it is in the proliferation of images and pictures.  These are highly accessible, at least to accepted friends, and in some cases document far-reaching details into the individual's life.  However, in my experience, this openness seems to be largely confined to the web, and the traditional western standard of personal space and everything like that is very much still alive.