Centred on our own FACEbook.

“What?! You don’t have Facebook?!”

I (of course!) have a Facebook profile. On my profile, I have information in my ‘About’ section that details the most important aspects of my identity. These are characteristics that would usually be discussed in an introductory conversation. I have been a member of Facebook since 2009. I signed up because all my friends had it and it was TOTALLY better than 'MySpace'. Last year, I deactivated my profile for a period of six months as a personal strike against the mainstreaming of ideas on social media. However, in January this year I was pulled back into the sphere so I could connect with relatives interstate.

The main feature of Facebook is the individual profiles that have an ‘About’ section, a photos tab, a timeline, cover photo and friends section. An individual is able to specify what aspects of their profile they want ‘friends’ or the public to see (the public are the profile users that have not become friends with you on the network). Facebook also has groups that users can request to join. An example of a group that I use all the time (and for educational purposes too!) is the 2015 education graduates group. Facebook also houses apps and games that allow you to play against/with other profile holders, even if they are not your ‘friend’. Overall, the main purpose of this community is to connect people virtually, ultimately encouraging social interactions and connections.

Facebook as a space is an interesting concept. It has been mapped so the centre of your account becomes a ‘news feed’ that is customised by what your friends are posting as ‘status’’and what pages you have ‘liked’ or ‘shared’. Consequently, our Facebook account could be coined our own, virtual, ‘home range’ because it is defined by how we interact online (Petray, 2013). The mapping of the network (I think unintentionally) fosters egocentricity through this personalisation of the space. As Wood et al. (2001) states “Maps are descriptions of the way things are,” and in this case, Facebook reflects an increasingly individualistic society.

Reference List:

Image 1 Retrieved From:

       http://www.geekinsider.com/2013/05/13/facebook-home-now-supports-galaxy-s4-and-htc-one/

Petray, T. (2013).  Maps: Seeing and representing the World [Lecture Slides Week 3]. Retrieved From:

           https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/bbcswebdav/pid-1239820-dt-content-rid-951965_1/courses/13-  BA1002-TSV-INT-SP2/BA1002%20Lecture%203.pdf

Wood, D., Kaiser, W.L., & Abramms, B. (2001). The Multiple Truths of the Mappable World, in Seeing Through Maps: Many Ways to See the World (pp. 1-12). Oxford, UK: New Internationalist.