The Great Facebook Addiction (revised)

Is Facebook the drug of our generation? The answer is a big embarrassing "yes" says an interesting new study by Ars Technica.

Except we youngsters can't even say that anymore, now that we're Facebooking our moms and whatnot. As a direct quote from the study explains, "Students from 10 countries... all reported distress, isolation, confusion, boredom, and a feeling of addiction when they had to go 24 hours without any form of media, including Internet."Apparently a large amount of this distress was in reaction to not having access to Facebook.

Lets take a moment to think that one over. What is it we do on Facebook? Post status updates about our fun Friday night? Whine about final exams? Boast about our vacations and semesters abroad through cleverly titled photo albums? I'm an addict and I'll be the first to admit it, but I've never felt so silly about that until just now. In fact, now that I really think about it, not once since I became Facebook active have I gone more than a few days without checking in. And now that I have my trusty iPhone in my pocket at all times (God help us all if I don't) it's certainly less sparatic than a few days. Maybe more like a few hours?

This study has really got me thinking about deleting my Facebook account and seeing how long it takes me to start "itching like a crack head," as one study participant put so eloquently. In fact, earlier this semester in my Media Communication class we had an assignment to watch one movie from beginning to end to see how long we could make it without signing on to any sort of social network. Sounds easy enough, right? Turns out I was a bit optimistic starting out this assignment. I decided to watch the cult classic “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead”, thinking it would be silly enough to hold my attention and keep my idle hands from wandering to my keyboard. Thinking ahead, I made sure to keep my laptop in my bedroom far out of reach... Ten minutes later, I found myself grabbing my iPhone and opening the Facebook application, completely out of habit. Here's how is played out: What was new? Not much, the usual friend connection in my newsfeed, a comment on my latest mobile upload of a puppy at Town Lake, a new photo ablum of my old classmate Lindsey's trip to Spain. Interesting, I haven't seen her in about five years, lets see what she's up to. Spain sounds so fancy. Sorry to end the story early, I know it was a real nail-biter, but in the essence of time I'll keep it short.

Of course I had to report to class the next day and embarrassingly admit to my Facebook addiction – only to find out that it was the case with almost the entire classroom. If Facebook is a drug, then we are all addicts. But to be realistic, the Facebook addiction isn’t something to laugh off – it is gaining attention from credible institutions who are worried about the outcome of over exposure to the social networking site and what it can do to a persons personal life and general productivity. Says Elizabeth Cohen of CNN, “Although there are no statistics on "Facebook addiction" -- it isn't an actual medical diagnosis -- therapists say they're seeing more and more people… who've crossed the line from social networking to social dysfunction.”

As you saw in my description, my Facebook experience that evening while I should have been watching a movie uninterrupted by social networking was less than exciting or informational (about things that actually matter, that is). Yet, when is it ever either of those things? In the study on Facebook addictions detailed in the CNN article, a woman named Cynthia admits to being a Facebook addict. She spends an unbelievable amount of time every week dedicated to Facebook. She does use it somewhat for work related needs, as she is the owner of an online retail store who likely promotes through and advertises on the site, but the rest of the time is merely recreational use - the same as what most of us use it for. How did she get on Facebook in the first place? "My daughter just got married, and I got great happiness posting her wedding pictures for all my friends to see", says Cynthia. That's how it all began, that's how it gets you. The same certainly goes for me - I created a Facebook account for the same reasons that I check in daily now, to keep in touch with my friends at home while I am away at college as well as to build connections with the countless new people I meet in Austin all the time. Facebook has so many benefits - it really has become a new way to network socially - but what happens to the old fashion kind of social networking? The kind where you call people when you miss them so that you can hear their voice? Is that being replaced by interactions of the digital age?

As seen in the CNN artivle as well as in countless others like it on the subject, you know you're a Facebook addict when you are effected by the five red flag symptoms (taken from the CNN article):

1. You lose sleep over Facebook

2. You spend more than an hour a day on Facebook

3. You become obsessed with old loves

*(one of my personal favorite topics, see below!)

4. You ignore work in favor of Facebook

5. The thought of getting off Facebook leaves you in a cold sweat

As promised, I must touch on my favorite negative outcome of Facebook use. Drama. Specifically in your relationship. This website is like love-eating poison to relationships, and it seems that Facebook is becoming the true sworn enemy to love birds all over the world. While its true that sometimes Facebook reunites old flames, sometimes it does so with people who are already married. It's true - according to US lawyers, "Facebook is a top cause of relationship trouble". Two-thirds of those lawyers say its a "primary source in divorce evidence".

Now that we have all the facts, let us all take a moment to reflect on our own Facebook use. Maybe some of us are addicts. Perhaps some of us use it merely recreationally - pffft, heard that one before. And for the rest who are just too cool to be on Facebook - the whole world thinks you're a snob.

Social Marketing Compass & Conversation

Hey COMM 3309, we're almost done!!! Lets just take a second to virtually high five one another and breathe a sigh of relief.

Alright, back to business, lets talk about the final chapters of Brian Solis' Engage. We've certainly learned a lot from this man and I think we can all agree it will help us tremendously in our future endeavors. For those of you tuning in from outside our class (I know that at this point I must be one of the most famous and sought after bloggers in the blogosphere) Engage is the "complete guide for brands and businesses to build, cultivate, and measure success in the new web."

I found chapters 19-23 to be some of the more interesting chapters we have covered this semester. I especially enjoyed the information describing the Social Marketing Compass and the Conversation Prism, mainly because I can really see us applying this in our future PR classes and in work related research.

Among having other benefits, the Social Marketing Compass is extremely helpful in understanding how brands can better communicate with their customers, peers and influencers. However, what I found most helpful from this entire segment was the Conversation Prism. The Conversation Prism allows a to understand "a whole view of the social media universe, categorized and also organized by how people use each network." Also explained as the art of "living, listening and sharing," the Conversation Prism allows brands to better themselves by understanding what is being said about them and how they can respond, thus benefiting from the conversation.

The Great Facebook Addiction

Is Facebook the drug of our generation? The answer is a big embarrassing "yes," says an interesting new study by Ars Technica.

 Except we youngsters can't even say that anymore, now that we're Facebooking our moms and whatnot. As a direct quote from the study explains, "Students from 10 countries... all reported distress, isolation, confusion, boredom, and a feeling of addiction when they had to go 24 hours without any form of media, including Internet."Apparently a large amount of this distress was in reaction to not having access to Facebook.

Lets take a moment to think that one over. What is it we do on Facebook? Post statuses about our fun Friday night? Whine about final exams? Boast about our vacations and semesters abroad through cleverly titled photo albums? I'm an addict and I'll be the first to admit it, but I've never felt so silly about that until just now. In fact, now that I really think about it, not once since I became Facebook active have I gone more than a few days without checking in. And now that I have my trusty iPhone in my pocket at all times (God help us all if I don't) it's certainly less sparatic than a few days. Maybe more like a few hours?

This study has really got me thinking about deleting my Facebook app and seeing how long it takes me to start "itching like a crack head," as one study participant put so eloquently.

personal branding & instant news in the digital age

For our COMM 3309 assignment this week we are focusing on chapter 12-18 of Brian Solis' Engage, which was especially interesting as I found two specific topics that apply to my own life.

Solis covered a topic which ties in with my semester-long personal learning project (PLN). The project involves creating an online resume/digital portfolio, and for it I have had to find experts in the field on Twitter, Delicious, blogs and other internet networks. Most of the experts I have connected with have a similar interest: personal branding.

 

Solis discusses personal branding at length in this segment of Engage. Even though this information is actually geared towards companies, industry professionals and management, it is still been very useful for my project and has helped me to better understand what everyone is talking about on Twitter. Hooray!

Another point made in this segment which resonates with me is the recent advancements of instantaneous, constant flows information. Like the rest of you, I have become extremely spoiled in recent years with technological advancements that allow us real-time updates of what is going on when, where, and with who. It all ties in with social media as well, allowing for a web of instant information that we have not only grown to expect at all times but have become very dependent on. Just this morning, I found myself annoyed at the fact that NPR hadn't updated their Facebook feed in the past 5 minutes to tell me exactly what was going on with the government shutdown situation and the deals being made regarding federal spending. In reality, I'm spoiled rotten by technology, and nothing new had happened in the 5 minutes since I had checked last.

using Facebook to find terrorists?

Ever get freaked out about the lack of privacy on Facebook? Do you feel like "big brother" is able to watch us a little too closely through our social network profiles?

Normally, I would be the first to agree about being concerned with what we are accidentally sharing (and to whom) on Facebook. Not everyone needs to know what I decide to share with my network, and I believe we should keep our sharing to a minimum anyway, mainly to spare everyone else the boredom and ourselves the embarrassment.

Speaking of people who share too much, lets discuss the case of Sundullah Ghilazai - an alleged terrorist who boasted his dastardly plans all over the internet, and thankfully for us, got himself arrested.

Back in December 2010, Facebook user Sundullah Ghilazai was arrested by US federal authorities after boasting on the social networking site that he'd use explosives on the Washington DC public transit system. Several bomb threats were made in the area, and Ghilazai and his internet boasting fit the profile for the prospective terrorist. Even if he wasn't - the details he shared publicly on his profile are enough to raise several red flags. However, it wasn't until an informant contacted the authorities that Ghilazai was arrested.

The informant reported that Ghilazai disclosed to him some disturbing details about his possible violent plans through the private two-person Facebook chat feature. Ghilazai's Facebook interests and photo albums  contained a lot of material regarding AK-47's, tents filled with explosives, and hateful commentary. Had Facebook's privacy controls been even looser than they are, would this man have been pinned as a terrorist sooner?

Granted, terrorism will exist Facebook or no Facebook, how do you feel about the sites' privacy issues now? Would you rather have everyone's information be somewhat public in order to catch people like Ghilazai, or do you value your privacy above potential safety threats?

from sketchy to squeaky clean (for a price)

These days it's impossible to get accepted to college, land a great job or even be considered for an interview if you have incriminating results on your Google search.

Those Facebook photos of your keg stand at last years 4th of July party? They'll be back to haunt you. And that hasty Tweet you made with all the cuss words and inappropriate context? I doubt think your future boss will find it as funny as you did. Maybe you're not a party animal - but your online presence says otherwise. It says screams "do not hire."

Now, this isn't exactly news. Internet searches have been causing a stir in the job search/college application world for a few years now, and lots of people have smartened up about what they post online. Most of us have already done what we can to clean up our image, should we have even the slightest of questionable content linked to our names on the internet. But for what we can't get rid of, what is there to do?

Thanks to Reputation.com, we don't have to do a thing! If you can afford to pay the fees, that is. For an annual fee of $120-$600, the busy bees over at Reputation offer to "expunge negative posts, bury unfavorable search results and monitor a client's virtual image." Acting as PR rep's of a certain sort, Repuation.com allows your new squeaky-clean image to shine through all the negativity you have uploaded over the years, assuring prospective bosses and college admissions staff to see the "real" you.

The only question is, what happens to all the people out there equally guilty of questionable content but who cannot afford to pay for this service? We all (hopefully) know better than to post anything lewd or incriminating on the internet these days - is it fair that only the ones who can afford it are allowed to erase their past?

where social media & PR collide

In chapters 3-6 of Engage, Brian Solis discusses our use of social media and the "next web" and their implications on our lives.

In our expanding world of social media, which most of us practically live our lives on, there exists many words, terms, and phrases having having to do with the practices of our online network activity. Solis brings to mind the fact that it is important that we not overuse or misconstrue such terms or they will lose their meaning or take on new ones.

The term "next web" refers to blogs, wikis, podcasts and the like. Far and wide people, corporations and organizations are mastering the fine art of the next web to their public relations advantage. Doing so can veil the fact that it is actually the person/corporation/organization behind the online project, like in cases of blogs that seem to personal to be corporate, or wikis that support a specific company or organization because it is actually their property and under their direction.

Engage has given us a lot to think about in our world of social media. I'm sure I will think twice next time I see a company-driven blog or wiki or misuse a word associated with networking.