I have a Facebook account. I signed up for it when a professional association I was a member of was all hot-to-trot about social networking for the industry. I am sure they didn’t see it coming that it was a further shove towards their obsolescence. Why do I need an $250/year association when I can just connect with people via Facebook for free?
What have I done with Facebook since then?
- Contacted someone to have an informational interview about a position I was considering applying for when I couldn’t find them any other way
- Reconnected with a high school friend
- Disabled all those freakin’ applications. No I don’t want a plant/personality quiz/poke/etc thankyouverymuch
- Found out about the breakups of friends before they were actually announced
- Integrated Twitter (useful) and Dopplr (not useful)
- Checked in on friends’ status updates
There are “moderate, positive relationships between intensity of Facebook use and students’ life satisfaction, social trust, civic participation and political engagement”, according to a study conducted at University of Texas. And, of course, “weak ties” (connections to people who are not friends or family) are better than no ties.
Still, what I have learned from using Facebook is this:
Just because I’ve seen your status updates and you’ve seen mine, just because you’ve sent applications that I’ve ignored and I’ve clicked on your photo album, does not mean that we are in contact and our friendship rock solid. It helps to know the minutiae of a friend’s or colleague’s everyday life, but it’s not a substitute for unmediated contact. Those who are predicting death of email have misplaced their forecasting. While the technology of email itself may come to an end, something equally direct will replace the means of maintaining a one-to-one connection.
There is an energy field between humans. And, when we reach out in passion, it is met with an answering passion and changes the relationship forever.
- Rollo May