The
virtual slope.
Facebook is a social network that presents a visibly unequal perspective of
global relations. Of the 1.5 billion Facebook users, 230 million are based in
Europe (Noyes, 2013). This implies that Facebook is not only a major movement
in the United States but the entire western world. Interestingly, when
researching statistics regarding user origins, Africa has more profile holders
that Oceania (World Geographic Solutions, 2012). This may be surprising but
relative population size must be taken into account in order to get a true
representation of Facebook access in multiple countries. As a western user of
Facebook, my newsfeed is noticeably deprived of global current affairs and
perspectives of developing nations. Additionally, the customized newsfeed
consists of predominately national (Australian) affairs with the occasional Best Vines video from the United States.
Image Retrieved From: http://ritmos-de-rennea.blogspot.com.au
Global inequality can be easily missed on
social networks such as Facebook, because of the egocentric nature of profile
creation and the targeting/shaping of personal advertising. This customization reflects
the changing nature of consumer demands in the modern age. Sites like Facebook
allow consumers to shop on demand through advertising targeting their
interests, as well as originating in the same region of the world (The
Economist, 2012). The global shift from traditional, foreign factories is
silenced on such social networks through a new focus on products that suit our
regional, contemporary lifestyle.
Does the silence of global affairs in our
newsfeeds promote a seemingly utopian narrative (Kuttanien, 2013)? Unfortunately,
this aspect of Facebook seems to exacerbate a problem that could be easily solved
through the network concept. Networking allows the exchange of communication;
Facebook could easily be used to globalise and prioritize world affairs. The
nature of the site however, focuses on the small sphere of individuals and
thus, attempts to promote a utopian virtual world.
References:
The Economist, (2012). Manufacturing: The Third Industrial
Revolution. Retrieved From: https://learnjcu.jcu.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_312_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_42849_1%26url%3D
Kuttenien, V. (2013) BA1002: Week 8 Stuff [Lecture Slides].
Retrieved From:
Noyes, D. (2013). Top twenty valuable Facebook statistics. Zephoria:
Internet Marketing Solutions. Retrieved
From: http://zephoria.com/social-media/top-15-valuable-facebook-statistics/
Ritmos, (2013). Short Biography of my egocentric self. Retrieved From: http://ritmos-de-rennea.blogspot.com.au
World Geographic Solutions,
(2012) Facebook users in the world: Facebook Usage and Facebook Growth
Statistics. Internet World Stats: Usage
and Population Statistics. Retrieved From: http://www.internetworldstats.com/facebook.htm
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