THE POWER OF FACEBOOK
by Taylar Wheeler
by Taylar Wheeler
The concept of power has an extremely large
influence on not only how we as individuals respond and act to the world around
us, but also how society as a whole is conditioned into behaving a particular
way – specifically the way those in power desire. As discussed in the lecture
by Dr Theresa Petray (2013), there are many different sources of power such as
wealth, knowledge, and social class. Allen (2003) further adds to this idea by
exploring the relationship between geography and power, and how the two run
together in such forms as land and territory disputes.
Image
1: Facebook-exposure
One of the major places power takes from is online amongst virtual networks. Virtual networks offer users the chance to explore and connect with people and topics that would otherwise be inaccessible (Turkle, 1995). The virtual network I have decided to become a part of is Facebook. I am relatively new to this virtual network, only becoming a member earlier this year. One thing that was almost immediately apparent to me was that power plays a major role, specifically in offering users the ability to share their personal views freely to a large audience. It was clear to me from the beginning that the more people you have as your friends on Facebook, the more opportunity you have to share your opinions and thoughts to not only your specific friends, but also to friends of friends. This way you can have hundreds of people, some who you have never even met, see your personal views and beliefs on a particular topic. An article by Harris (2013) further explores this concept of sharing your personal opinions and values online to a large amount of people and the impact it can have.
By allowing us to freely communicate how we personally make sense of the world around us, Facebook can thus be considered an extremely influential form of power.
One of the major places power takes from is online amongst virtual networks. Virtual networks offer users the chance to explore and connect with people and topics that would otherwise be inaccessible (Turkle, 1995). The virtual network I have decided to become a part of is Facebook. I am relatively new to this virtual network, only becoming a member earlier this year. One thing that was almost immediately apparent to me was that power plays a major role, specifically in offering users the ability to share their personal views freely to a large audience. It was clear to me from the beginning that the more people you have as your friends on Facebook, the more opportunity you have to share your opinions and thoughts to not only your specific friends, but also to friends of friends. This way you can have hundreds of people, some who you have never even met, see your personal views and beliefs on a particular topic. An article by Harris (2013) further explores this concept of sharing your personal opinions and values online to a large amount of people and the impact it can have.
By allowing us to freely communicate how we personally make sense of the world around us, Facebook can thus be considered an extremely influential form of power.
Allen, J. (2003). Introduction: Lost Geographies, in Lost geographies of power (pp. 1-12).
Malden, MA: Blackwell.
Harris, R. A Late
Adopter Learns The Power of Facebook After The Boston Marathon
Bombing. Retrieved 13 August, 2013 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenu
e/2013/04/17/a-late-adopter-learns-the-power-of-facebook-after-the-boston-marat
hon-bombing/
Petray, T. (2013). BA1002:
Our Space: Networks, Narratives, and the Making of Place, Bombing. Retrieved 13 August, 2013 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenu
e/2013/04/17/a-late-adopter-learns-the-power-of-facebook-after-the-boston-marat
hon-bombing/
Lecture 2: Power. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au
Turkle, S. (1995). Panopticon, in Life on the screen: Identity in the age of the internet (pp.
246-249). New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.
Image Credits:
Image 1: Reilly, B. (2011). Facebook-exposure. Retrieved from
http://socialmediaseo.net/2011/04/20/web-a-neur-series-part-3-facebook/
Well written Taylar. Social Networking is so interesting! I joined in 2008, which now Is cringe because when I was 13 I thought everything had relevance and was worth posting (yikes) Now I think about it, I don't think many people would have seen what I posted as I didn't have the power of alot of friends. Now that I've been a member for awhile my friends list has grown, and it would be almost too easy for people you have no clue about to see what you are posting. At the beginning of my facebook days, mum made me put security settings on there which I realised is so worth doing because it is so creepy to think that people can see all your details. Facebook is ideally the same as twitter, the amount of friends or followers you have makes such a big difference to what is seen and what is not!
ReplyDeleteGood analysis! I joint Facebook in 2008 too and it was very addictive since you have a lot to update: your statuses, favourite moments through photos, comments and so on! And the best is that there's no misunderstandings about what they write..like it is clear for you to understand! I've spent hours stalking a lot of people because you want to know what's happening in their life, you want to have something to gossip about, during classes tomorrow morning when you'll be at school with your friends! Virtual networking encourages our curiosity thus influencing us and the way we think but we are unconsciously controlled by the power of social networking!
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