Facebook: Space or Place?
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Every single place we experience in our day to day lives, whether it be a physical location or just a virtual world, is shaped and effected by our actions and contributions that essentially, make it what it is. As stated by Ariella Van Luyn during this week's lecture, "Space becomes places through humans imposing meaning on it." (2013). This exact same thing can definitely be related to my chosen virtual networking site, Facebook.
Facebook, through its many aspects and functions, has been transformed from just an online website to an internationally known and used network that involves the online interactions between over one billion people throughout the world. I think it is safe to say that this space, has now become it's very own place. "All places are small worlds: the sense of the world may be called forth by art as much by the tangible web of human relations." (Tuan, 1979). For example, if it weren't for the number of friends you have on Facebook, the status' you see in your news feed, and the familiar photos of family and friends... Where would that sense of 'place' be found? All you would have is any old networking site that proves to have no emotional or personal connection to yourself.
However, in saying all of this, the contributions of humans upon this online world can cause the development of a place, yes, but the impact can be a negative one. For example, when you log on to your account, how often is it these days that you are confronted with nasty words being exchanged by those in an online fight, or even explicit photos and videos that just take away from the positive connection each of us have with our Facebook place. I recently read an online blog about how to handle these kinds of online disagreements, and this blog provided all the answers that would allow anybody in this situation to ensure their Facebook remains a 'place' of peace and personal connection. Not a battle ground for those who choose to use it as such.
References
JackieC1989.
(2012, August 22). Respectful Disagreement. Retrieved 2013, from The
Truth as I Understand It:
http://jackiec1989.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/respectful-disagreement.html
Tuan, Y.-F. (1979). Language and the Making of Place: A
Narrative Descriptive Approach. In Y.-F. Tuan. Wisconsin, Madison: Taylor
& Francis Ltd.
Hey Emily!
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I agree with how you argued would there be a sense of ‘place’ on Facebook if we had no friends etc. I personally don’t think there would be a sense of place. And I also don’t then see the purpose of even having a Facebook profile if it wasn’t for the sense of place that you feel with it. I mean, that’s the whole point of virtual networks, to connect with people from different places, even if you don’t know them. I think that online nowadays, we have a fulfilling need to find a place to fit in, so we do it through online. I mean, I keep thinking back to this weeks lecture recap, power is relational, we connect constantly through these networks.
You say that people can transform Facebook into a negative place through the use of crude, abusive, or offensive language. This is completely true, however, is this because users of social networking sites are not regulated or punished? There is no authority figure online, just disapproving friends and family, and this gives adolescents and children power which they are not given in any other space, or place, in 'real' life. Yes you may be able to block, unfriend, or report people, but does this really ever do anything within our own virtual 'place'? We never actually find out if our complaints are followed through. In many different ways this makes us extremely powerless.
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