I've heard facebook compared to crack. Although I have no first hand experience with the latter, I'm guessing that analogy is not too far off.
Our experiment, our goal, is to go 3 days without facebook. Don't even sign in. 36 hours. No Im'ing , no status updates, no wall posts.
Before we embark on this difficult journey, you first must comment on/answer the following questions:
1. Would you consider facebook members part of a group or subculture? What are the differences between groups and subcultures if any?
2. Does Facebook facilitate a Gesellshaft or Gemeinshaft society? Explain
3. What values does facebook disseminate? In other words, in what ways does Facebook socialize its members?
4. What role does facebook play in your social network?
5. Lastly, what will be most difficult about giving up facebook for 3 days?
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1. I would consider facebook members part of a group. A group is more like people who spend time together, get together and are involved in similar activities. In my opinion subculture is "stricter" and "formal" as they share similar ritual and behaviors that the majority of people might find uncommon.
2. I think Facebook facilitates a Gesellshaft society because people are bond with "impersonal ties" as supposed to the face-to-face and close bond in Gemeinschaft society. On facebook we don't really get that close with others, instead it's more of a "how are you doing" thing and shallower chat compared to face-to-face interaction.
3. Facebook socializes its member by creating more applications, such as Groups, Games or some other applications that link friends with each other. This way, people get to know more people... And it's very simple, because we simply have to click on others' name and write on their walls to get to be their "friend".
4. Facebook doesn't play a huge role in my social life. It used to be because many of my friends were using it and i was obsessed and addicted to it. But now many people don't use it as often because we find it getting boring now, so instead we just chat online, talk at school or hang out outside. However, Facebook IS almost the only way I contact with certain friends in other countries. I feel I'm closer to them again once i see their pictures. If I don't use facebook I feel I’m really far from them because we don't know what's happening in each other's life.
5. The most difficult thing would be to resist myself typing the facebook url in my computer. Even when I don't write anything on facbook, i like to check the Home Page (like what’s happening lately, who got into a new relationship, who added cool pictures...I'm sure everyone does that...right???:P)? But I don't think it will affect my life too much. In fact I think it's a great way to make myself stop procrastinating!
1. I believe that Facebook is more of a group than a subculture. A subculture is where people interact with each other (in person) while in Facebook you interact with people but mostly just through communication.
2. Gesellshaft . I would consider Facebook Gesellshaft because without other people facebook wouldn't work. Facebook is meant for people to communicate with each other and share photos, thoughts, bumperstickers, etc. Unless you like talking to yourself, Facebook is Gesellshaft.
3. Facebook socializes their members by allowing them to communicate with each other all over the world in order to keep in touch, communicate information, or update people like us in Shanghai.
4. Facebook plays the role with helps me communicate with others. While we understand email and msn does practically the same thing Facebook is much less formal than emails and Facebook is useful in situations that involves time differences compared to msn.
5. Haha i really want to see pictures that are gonna be posted from friday night!!
Oh btw
Spencer is Cookie Monster
"(like what’s happening lately, who got into a new relationship, who added cool pictures...I'm sure everyone does that...right???:P)?"
hahaha no I don't do that.
Thats a hasty generalization.
Stephanie To
1. I would consider facebook members are part of a subculture. The reason why I don't think it's a group is because facebook members do not necessarily share the same values and folkways. I think it is considered as a subculture because the members use computers to communicate instead of using a "normal" way to communicate--- socializing and having conversations in front of each other.
2.I think facebook is considered as Gesellshaft. As I have said, I don't think communications by using computers are as "normal" as having real conversations, I don't think it's counts as a Gemeinshaft society. Besides, you may not know that if you are really "talking" to the person you think you are talking to. There may be "fake" identities in facebook.
3. I think facebook brings all the members together to socialize with each other. Sexes, races, religious faiths, education levels, etc. do not really affect the socialization between members in facebook compare to other communications resources.
4. Many of my old schoolmates from my middle school, and even elementary school, added me on facebook. I was pretty surprised and I need to take some time to actually remember who those persons are. I think this helps me to get my social network gets broader. But at the same time, there are random people adding me, but I choose not to accept them.
5.I don't really go on facebook that often. I'm not that interested in facebook at all. So I don't really think there is any difficulty for me to give up facebook.
I don't strictly use Facebook anymore, but based on my observations on other people, I could answer the questions. I used to have a Facebook account, but I stopped using it in favor of better things.
1. For me, Facebook members are more part of a group than a subculture. These members share stuff they have in common with each other, as well as interact with each other. Subcultures are cultures within cultures, but even if they share the same things in common, they don't always get together. Not everyone's necessarily friends with one another in a subculture.
2. In my opinion, Facebook facilitates more of a Gesellshaft than a Gemeinshaft society. There's not much social interaction in facebook, and seemingly no communication. You're only pretty much limited to one level of a person's feelings.
That's why I'm 100% more in a Gemeinschaft society, I enjoy having a conversation with most people, and people get to know me more in different levels. Plus, conversations with most of my friends are longer than simple 1-minute posting in Facebook.
3. Facebook pretty much keeps other people in touch should they ever leave each other. The pictures, the messages and the Wall help other people to interact with each other.
4. None. Facebook doesn't have a big role in my social network. It doesn't help me to keep in contact with other people. I only limit my social network to e-mail, AIM, MSN, and face-to-face conversations, as socializing with my friends in conversations is A LOT more broad than Facebook.
5. Nothing at all, since I don't have a Facebook account anymore.
Good posts so far you guys ! One thing though, you all are being too general with regard to QUESTION #3.
In regard to socialization, I'm looking for you to discuss the Values, norms, folkways, ethics, morals, etc. that facebook disseminates. Not literally "how" but rather in what ways perhaps.....
I guess i worded the question poorly, but future posts ! please post in accordance with above clarification.
Thanks !
Sharon,
Do facebook members not share in "ritual" and "behavior" ? simply signing in daily, posting pics, etc. would be considered ritual and/or behavior no?
Sharon, it's also interesting that you say you think faceook creates a Gesellshaft community, but in your response to #4 you say:
"Facebook IS almost the only way I contact with certain friends in other countries. I feel I'm closer to them again once i see their pictures."
Isn't this a statement supporting the Gemeinshaft-ness of facebook?
GABE ! same comment to you as sharon. You said facebook facilitates Gemeinshaft, but then write:
"Facebook pretty much keeps other people in touch should they ever leave each other. The pictures, the messages and the Wall help other people to interact with each other."
This is certainly contradictory....so perhaps you could reflect on that and clarify your response
To clarify my clarification of Question #3,
what does facebook teach its members? What values, norms, mores, ethics, etc. does facebook teach its members?
For example, team sports socialize their members to value:
Teamwork
Sacrifice
100% effort at all times
Dedication
Respect for authority
Goal setting and long term thinking
So, what does facebook teach?
1. I would consider facebook users to be part of a subculture because they live within the dominant culture, yet cohesively tend to act and behave in ways that differentiate themselves from it. There are groups of facebook users, but they only represent one part of the subculture's whole.
2. The use of facebook undeniably facilitates a Gesellshaft society because it brings forth behavior that conflicts with the traditional (interpersonal) commonalities of the dominant culture, such as: having altered states of mind that dramatically differ from that of the 'majority,' which counters cohesiveness through dramatic difference; facebook-seeking behavior in the form of lying, stealing, and anything else that deviates from the normalities of the dominant culture; forming bonds only with other toothless facebook addicts; etc.
3. Facebook, the ultimate unifier, bonds the members of its subculture through common ground. This can be in the form of using facebook itself, "scoring" (as they say) facebook with fellow facebook users, joblessness, co-habitating rundown internet cafes, etc.
4. N/A
5. I don't use facebook, but if I did ... the most difficult parts of giving it up for three days would be withdrawal symptoms like the shakes and severe itchiness, as well as an intense realization of how much I have deviated from the traits of the dominant culture I used to try to live under. Oh, and I'd miss robbing people.
1) I see facebook members as part of a group and not a subculture. This is because facebook is like a social group. Subcultures are cultures within a culture meaning the values and behaviors would have to be distinguished from the larger culture. However this is clearly not the case with facebook because its members do not all have the same values and behaviors.
2) I think facebook facilitates a Gemeinschaft society because facebook allows our society to stay intimate with each other. If we look at facebook as the community, you are basically free to become friends with anyone you please. Facebook isnt a Gesellschaft society because it isnt dominated by self-interest. If it was why do people check out other peoples walls and pictures?
3) Facebook socializes their members to value friendship. I think this is the only thing facebook can teach us because it is used to stay in touch with people.
4) Facebook plays a pretty large role in my social network. Because it allows me to stay in touch with my friends that are not in Shanghai. This is especially useful when you have friends in different time zones. Being able to look your friends pictures creates a sense of "being there with them". So thats why facebook plays a large role in my social network.
5) The hardest thing about giving up facebook is that checking facebook has almost become a natural thing to do. I never sign off my facebook account and i never shut my computer down, so once i get home its there waiting for me to see whats going on in peoples lives. It's sad i know..
so i basically forgot we were doing this experiment and so i signed on multiple times. i think i did this because as i said in q5, its become such a natural thing for me to do.
1. I think that facebook members are a part of a group.i think its a group because it is a way for us to communicate with our friends who we spend time with and at the same time tag photos and albums to share happy memories with. i dont believe that it is a subculture since i belive that if it were then we would be having to talk face to face...and even though facebook is pretty high tech not high tech enough to do that just yet.
2. in my opinion facebook is a Gesellshaft. since we like i stated earlier upload photos, talk to our friends say the typical how are you and just talk without getting to personal.
3.Facebook socializes members by letting us communicate with people who go to shanghai. they create aplications such as groups,top friends and fun games.
4.facebook is a huge part of my life im obsessed with it ill admit. i like being able to talk to people from poland and some friends who dont go to sas pudong. its a way to communicate to my friends from all over the world.
5. the hardest thing about giving up facebook is not being able to reply people who might have written me. it also wont let me see what events/birthday parties is coming up
ill admit im a facebook addict but i suprised myself and didnt go on facebook at all for 3 days:)
So I did the questions on friday, but thought that it would be handed in on paper until I opened my agenda and wonder why I wrote down this blog's link. Then I was enlightened.
1. Would you consider facebook members part of a group or subculture? What are the differences between groups and subcultures if any?
I believe facebook members are part of a group. It should not be a subculture because many people in facebook have different values, folkways and norms of behaviors that would be similar if they are in a subculture. Also, the norms and values that members share may not necessarily differ from the dominant culture. Facebook members are more part of a group because facebook members share similar interest. They all want to socialize with people they met 20 years ago and barely recognize their face now or they want to socialize with new people that they do not even know the face of. All of these interests bind the people together and form a group of facebook members.
2. Does Facebook facilitate a Gesellshaft or Gemeinshaft society? Explain
Gesellshaft would be the term to describe Facebook. This is because most of the 200 friends a person has on facebook are not friends they talk to everyday or even talk to more than 30 minutes in his entire life. This means that the relationship between the person and his "friends" are more of an impersonal relationship, one that is more short term but stamped to be permanent on facebook. With these short term relationship, the person can never truly know all his 200 friends. This shows a gesellshaft society.
3. What values does facebook disseminate? In other words, in what ways does Facebook socialize its members?
The values that facebook disseminate is the facebook profile itself. Many facebook members value the profile because the more friends, wall posts, bumper stickers, other stuffs they have, the more sociable they seem. This created some similar norms of behaviors. For example, when they see a friend request, they press accept regardless of who they are. They also reply on wall posts as a folkway. If one does no reply, he will receive negative sanctions as I have before. This "fake" society give users the impression that everyone on facebook is as nice and as harmless as the users themselves, to the point where they would accept friends to their profile when they do not even know them. It is reasonable to say that facebook socialize its member into valuing friendship, however non-existence it could be.
4. What role does facebook play in your social network?
People that, after I left Hong Kong, do not talk to me at all or on msn expects me to write "happy birthday" on their facebook wall when it is their birthday. I guess they believe that facebook is the link to which they can talk and reply to me since I am no longer available for face-to-face conversation. However, facebook does not play a big role in my social network because we simply do not need to rely on it since we have MSN, which is much faster and much more convenient. It is true that with facebook, I can stay in touch with people that are not in shanghai. However, I do not see much "staying in touch" going on in my facebook profile. Also, with at least 100 people that I knew and are not in Shanghai, how do I stay in touch with all of them anyway. I guess we, my social network, prefer not using facebook after all for socialization.
5. Lastly, what will be most difficult about giving up facebook for 3 days?
The most difficult part of giving up facebook for 3 days would probably be looking at jokes in the Cantonese facebook group that I joined. Or when a friend of mine send me a facebook link asking me to comment on their photos or look at how funny this photo is. Then I would have to explain that I cannot go on facebook for 3 days. What follows would probably be negative sanctions.
1. I believe that facebook is more as a group then a subculture. The reason why I state this is because like most of the other students in this blog said, group is something we interact with each other through internet and network. It is true that the member of the facebook all share the same interest in facebook, but that doesn't mean they share the same values, norms, folkways like the rest of the other members. But what we all share is probably the the keen for friendship. Wanting to be able to communicate with your child friends, your current friends, sometime even your family.
2. I would say it is Gesellschaft. Because are bond of friendship is little bit weaker then when we socialize and interact with each other face to face. At school or outside in the city it would be considered as Gemeinschaft since we actually are socializing face ti face. While when you get back home and you get into your computer and start chatting with your friends, that would be Gesellschaft.
3. I guess everybody in facebook values friendship. Keeping in touch with your old friends, your new friends, basically the people you want to be with. The norms and folkways would be respect and posting a nice comment on your wall. I mean seriously we do expect from our friends some nice comment on our new photos are some update on our facebook (whatever I don't care about this). We would find it uncomfortable if one our friends wrote a bad comment on the wall and people can actually "see" the comment. Other then that yeah I guess friendship comes first then anything else, I think that's the main priority of what facebook is all about, valuing the word friendship.
4. All those online socializing with your friends was never in my interest when I was back at the State. It was until I moved to SAS that one of my friends suggested me I can try facebook. Then as the few weeks past by I got interested in alot. I was able to communicate with all my friends back at the State including my childhood friends who I haven't had contacted with them in ages. The facebook itself plays the important role in my role as friend. Now I am able to gain back the friendship that I lost ever since I moved here to Shanghai.
5. Nothing particularly, it's just before this rehab of crackhead addiction process, every since I got interested in facebook, when the network opens up I used to go to facebook most of the time. Now I barely chat with someone because of the work but I just wanted to see what was going on with everybody else. But beside that I was just contacting with my friends through msn and I think more of interacting with one of another. I guess it was fun. But I suggest that if we would repeat this same kind of process it would be a better experiment of cutting out all the online social network. See how that would work.
P.S. I am just kidding but it is just a suggestion of what it would be like if we cannot contact our friends through online.
Please do not hate me for this. :P
1. I think facebook is more of group, specifically a secondary group, than a subculture. Members of facebook have very little in common because they have a facebook account, unlike a subculture where members have specific behaviors and values in common. However, facebook is a large group of people with a shared interest, online social networking. Groups are more spontaneous while subcultures seem to be specific about membership, however, there are many overlapping qualities.
2.I believe facebook creates a Gemeinshaft society. It encourages members to socialize with one another and allows people to communicate litterally anywhere and anytime in the world for free, assuming internet access can be found free. Where other methods of social communications(phones, face-face, letters) require much more requisites in order to be succsessful.
3. Facebook socializes its members to be open and social. It allows its members to post pictures and write comments that could be viewed by the world.
4.Facebook plays a very important part in my social network. Events are often planned on facebook. Facebook is an excellent way to contact people who arent very close friends. Facebook also legitimatizes relationships, hence the phrase "facebook official".
5. The most difficult part of giving up facebook will be filling the time i spend checking facebook with another activity. When on the computer, if bored, my first reaction is to check my facebook.
OK im sorry, i forgot that we had a blog to do. I made it three days but unfortunately i am only getting to this blog now. thank you tyler for reminding me.
1) I would consider facebook members as part of group because it is not a subculture. Members of online networking sites would be considered members of a sub-culture (facebook, myspace, xanga, etc...) however users of facebook would be a smaller component of that subculture and therefore be considered a group.
2) Facebook facilitates a Gesellshaft society. Sure we have a couple close friends that use facebook, but a majority of the "friends" we have on it are merely acquaintances that we know but dont really have any close ties with. We dont have a warm and active relationship with everyone therefore it cannot be a Gemeinshaft society.
3) Facebook trys to teach its members "openness". If everyone using facebook was like me and shunned people that they didnt know than facebook would be much less lively. The fact that there are countless applications, groups, and games that allow complete strangers to interact shows that Facebook is trying to teach people to be open to completely random people. which i dont agree with sometimes...
4)Facebook plays a semi-vital role in my social network. I could go without it but it would just be less convinient. I use facebook to:
Keep in touch with my friends overseas.
Plan out my weekends.
Check out events
And look at embarrassing photos of other people and myself.
Of course we do say hi to out friends walls from time to time but i find that such talk is very brief and shallow.
5) The most difficult part about giving up facebook was the fact that it was just impulse for me to get on my desktop and check facebook. i caught myself many times typing in the URL address just because i had nothing to do.
Once again im sorry that this was after the three days rather than before, i misread the instructions.
peace
1. Would you consider facebook members part of a group or subculture? What are the differences between groups and subcultures if any? I believe that facebook is part of a group, not a subculture. We have something in common- we all use facebook, post on others’ walls and multiple other things that you can only do on facebook. Our stereotype is that pretty much everyone owns a facebook account because it is something common for us to have. Facebook is available to anyone. Facebook isn’t something that only a limited amount of people could have. Even our vice principal has one.
2. Does Facebook facilitate a Gesellshaft or Gemeinshaft society? Explain. I believe it’s part of the Gemeinshaft society. Everyone can read what’s on the wall and interpret what’s going on. I noticed that most people that are in a relationship don’t post on each other’s walls. I believe they just talk together on phone and msn. Facebook is too revealing.
3. What values does facebook disseminate? In other words, in what ways does Facebook socialize its members?
There are many things that you can do on facebook. The main aspect of facebook is the wall where you can communicate with others by posting. The way we socialize is that others can see what we are talking about and they sometimes can be a part of the conversation on the wall. Facebook helps friendship to grow among people. The pictures helps because everyone can comment on one picture.
4. What role does facebook play in your social network?
Facebook is one of the main roles that takes part in my social network devices. It can’t be deleted from my social network. I can post on my friend’s wall so we can start a conversation from wall to wall. I basically socialize by facebook if I’m by myself at home or generally just not around my peers. Facebook plays quite an important role in my social network. If were to say Happy thanksgiving or merry Christmas on facebook, it would stay until my friend can read once he or she signs on facebook. Msn doesn’t work like that.
5. Lastly, what will be most difficult about giving up facebook for 3 days?
The most difficult part of giving up 3 days of facebook would be that I can’t check up on new notifications. The thing is that, I don’t really go on facebook that often so I quite fine with missing facebook for 3 days straight. I find facebook quite a distraction.
1. Back in the days when facebook just went online, I would consider facebook a group, where only a TINY fraction of North Americans would use facebook, now at the end of 2009 and many upgrades later facebook is used in American there are 303,824,640 people and of those 27,811,560 use facebook that’s roughly 9%, this may be small, but in Canada 28.88% of the population uses facebook. It IS a subculture now, when almost 30% of a country uses it. My belief is that groups are rather small, whereas subcultures are HUGE.
2. I think facebook facilitates a Gemeinshaft society, facebook brings people back together, networking their relationships and etc. One such example is that facebook has brought me in contact with friends from elementary school, if it weren’t for facebook; I doubt I will be visiting Hong Kong this coming break.
3. I think facebook utilizes the idea of popularity to socialize its users into believing that the more friends they have the more wall posts they have and the more pictures of them doing “stupid” things, the more popular they become. This false sense of popularity is why websites such as MySpace and facebook are so popular.
4. Although I access facebook every day, I do not actually “use” it, I don’t communicate with people frequently, I use it as a back up to my MSN, just in case if MSN does not work. Therefore facebook does not play a large role in my social network.
5. I really don’t think it is that big of a challenge to NOT use facebook for several days, all I had to do was leave a message on my “status bar”, telling them I am performing an experiment and can’t use facebook. In fact this is doing me good, instead of wasting those 10 minutes on facebook, I can do something more productive.
1.) i would consider the members of facebook to be in a subculture rather than a group. A subculture is basically a group, but it is a group that shares common interests and beliefs that vary from the whole culture, but do not go against the culture. Members of facebook all share an interest in facebook, which varies slightly from the rest of the whole culture because some people are not interested in facebook. Also, facebook doesn't go against the culture, like a counter-culture does.
2.) I would say that facebook facilitates more of a Gesellshaft society than a gemeinshaft society. Facebook is not face-to-face, and isn't very personal. normally, people only interact with people they already know on facebook, or at least all the people i know do that. you aren't meeting complete strangers and finding out exactly who they are or anything like that. You can even set your facebook so that noone can see picture of you and personal information. its just a way of keeping up with friends, whether they are near you or far, which is convenient for international students like us.
3.) Facebook socializes its members by giving them many different ways to communicate, whether its a simple message, a wall post, a graffiti drawing, or even a bumper sticker. This lets the members be creative when interacting with others and makes it fun for them.
4.) Facebook plays a decent role in my social network. Since i moved away from friends a few times, it easily lets me communicate with them and keep up with them. i can see pictures and videos of them to see how they are doing and what they have been up to. although i have been using it less and less to communicate with old friends, i still have the option of doing it, and whenever i feel like it i can. I dont really use facebook to keep in touch with people that are real close to me. I dont use facebook to communicate with people im friends with in shanghai, and i dont use it too much to communicate with my girl friend in Austria.
5.) I really dont think it will be too hard to not go on facebook for 3 days, but some things will be tempting. Mainly just checking the home page will be the hardest part. I like seeing what's going on with other people easily with my homepage, it shows pictures and videos that people have been tagged in, which are always fun to see. and also having gone to a birthday party this weekend in which many cameras were present, i would like to see the pictures me and my friends were in.
1. Facebook members are part of a group, because a group are people who participate in similar activities, but a subculture is made up by people who share norms and values. The users of Facebook have quite different norms and values, but they are united by the fact that they use Facebook.
2. Facebook is advocating for a Gesellshaft society because people talk less face to face and rely more on impersonal relationships. Also conversations on facebook are a lot less personal than those in real life.
3. Facebook teaches us that it's not necessary to hang out with your friends to socialize with them. It also teaches us that mild voyeurism is okay. It also redefines our perception of the word "friend", as many people have friends on Facebook (myself included) that they've never met.
4. Facebook plays a minimal role in my social network. I don't I've been on Facebook for the last three weeks. I guess the only important function of Facebook for me is that it keeps me closer to my friends from other countries. Aside from Facebook, I would never get a chance to talk to them.
5. There was nothing difficult about avoiding Facebook for three days. It was up there with challenges such as tying my shoelaces. But if I had to pick something, it would be when someone I was talking to said something funny. I wanted to put it on my funny quotes section of Facebook, but I couldn't and I forgot what it was now.
1) The people who interact with others using the website are in a group not subculture. A group is a set of people who have something in common and everyone who uses facebook does. Subcultures are just related behaviors but not as close knit like group is.
2) I believe facebook demonstrate a gesellschaft type society where most relationships are impersonal. The other side of it, gemienschaft, definitely does not not match facebook's characteristics. Relationships we have on facebook are generally not intimate. The closet thing u get to intimate is superpoking others or girls setting their relationship status as married for eachother.
3) I don't believe facebook does anything to socialize as personally, but the way it brings others together who reside in this group to help socialize eachother. The wanting we have for others to make post on our wall and to post pictures that were taken over the weekend is what socializes us.
4) Facebook does not play big role in my social life. When people make post on my wall I take days sometimes even weeks to reply, which leads to them not wanting to reply me back. I'll mainly use it to look at pictures, but for my friends who don't live in the same country as me it is vital for me too have facebook. It is an easy portal for me to communicate with old friends.
5) Personally there will be nothing difficult about giving up facebook for the next three days. Generally i will go on facebook everyday but I don't actually do anything on except look at the home page. It is definitely a luxury that for the next three days will not be needed whatsoever
1) i would consider facebook members to be part of a group. A group normally contains people that share common interests while a subculture contains people that share the same but actually socializing and interacting with eachother in person.
2) Facebook in my opinion facilitates a Gesellshaft. This because on facebook the friends we have aren't always friends we talk to, and more so as friends we just know or have met before. Normally on facebook we don't get too personal with eachother and our comments our very brief as to what we would be saying to eachother on msn.
3) i agree with most people and i see facebook as a source of friendship. we all value friendship and using facebook helps us keep in touch with one and another and lost friends of ours from back in the past. It allows eachother to see how their old classmates are doing and through photos allows them to connect to them virtually.
4) Facebook in general is pretty much a daily part of my life. I would go home and first thing i would do is check facebook when i log onto my computer. I guess it started off as a weekly thing into becoming a daily habit. Even if i sign on and i don't do anything, i still check out events, photos from last night, or just see what's going on.
5) Giving up facebook for 3 days, the hardest part would be not being able to control myself. Since facebook became such a habit, it would be hard to not sign in without even thinking. Also other difficulties would be wanting to see pictures posted from few nights ago, events coming up, and etc. Also because facebook directly sends notifications to my email, if i have my msn opened it would be hard to resist whenever i get a pop up notification from facebook.
I made it through a day due to work but forgot about this experiment due to what i previously said of how signing in on facebook became such a habit that i can't really control myself in doing anymore.
1. I would consider facebook users a group. Subcultures have different beliefs, norms and is much more structured than a group. It is also significantly different to the dominant culture whereas a group is considered a group because it is loose and not different enough to be considered a subculture.
Facebook is composed of many different people who belong to different subcultures. The only thing that is a universally the same for a fact between all these people is that they have a facebook.
2. Facebook facilitates a Gemeinshaft society because it encourages community between people whether they be childhood friends or your current best friends and people you don't even know. It extends your friendships beyond time differences and work hours because you can access them whenever and they can answer on their watch too. This is the case with emailing too, but Facebook allows threads which can contain more than one person being kept up to date on what is being said. It also allows a community for strangers with similar interests with the groups application.
3. Facebook socializes its members by teaching them how to keep in touch. Especially with family members. It also keeps people who are generally out of the loop in the loop because if something major happens in the world people on facebook refer to it and create groups about it. It teaches people to be more involved with people around them (or on the other side of the globe)through "Events", "Groups" and certain applications.
4. Facebook is my homepage. I like knowing what is going on with my family and friends around the world. I moved away from my home of 12 years so I still have a lot of feelings for and ties to Korea.
I also feel it is the quickest way to get into contact with people in case of an emergency. This is why it plays a large role in my social network.
5. The most difficult thing about giving up facebook for 3 days is the habit. I'm so used to procrastinating with facebook and checking it everyday. I did change my status before I started the experiment but I haven't gotten on since.
1. I believe that Facebook members are considered as part of a group rather than a subculture. Facebook allows individuals to connect with each other through social relationships, thus meaning that two or more humans can interact with each other. However, the ideal that Facebook is coined as a subculture may not be accurate in a sense that everyone does not share the same values, norms, and/or rituals.
2. Facebook can be considered more as a Gesellshaft rather than a Gemeinshaft society. The main underlying difference can be found in the distinct example of how the relationships we have with our Facebook friends are generally impersonal. On a personal note, it’s not like I can honestly say that out of the however many friends I have on Facebook, I know each of them to the same extent, The relationships are deemed as secondary relationships rather than family or community ties, therefore Facebook cannot be considered as a Gemeinshaft society.
3.In terms of the socialization aspects that Facebook teaches, Facebook shapes our folkways, values and norms within this particular group. For example, the folkway of replying promptly to others whenever someone writes on our wall is a learned process, and thus we all assimilate into accepting this particular value through gentle peer pressure and assumed expectations. Thus in turn, the value of promptness is brought to light as a result of this created folkway within the Facebook group. The ultimate value that Facebook teaches us revolves around personal branding. The ways we present ourselves through our profiles generally lead to how others take interest and thus accept us as Facebook friends. The behavior of constantly updating our profiles with new pictures, notes, bumper stickers, and etc, reveals how personal imaging is viewed as a significant value as a result of being assimilated into the Facebook group.
4.Facebook plays a great role in my life only through means of being in touch with the people that I have met. It especially differentiates itself in this manner because Facebook is a social entity that keeps us notified within its social circle. Aside from it, it does not play any greater role in my life, since I have the capability to reach my closest friends through other means such as calling, using MSN, or even webcamming. I am not addicted to updating my profile, but I only do so whenever I have luxury time or whenever I feel it is necessary (ex: relationship status, changing networks that I am associated to, etc.)
5. The most difficult thing about Facebook doesn’t pertain to the superficial things such as “I won’t be able to look at my friends recently updated pictures” or “I won’t be able to update my status”. It revolves around breaking a habit that has constantly been a part of our own daily rituals. The fact that we have accepted Facebook as an important aspect in our lives turns into a bond that ties into our rituals, such as checking Facebook every 20 minutes or using Facebook as a default for killing spare time. Thus, it is always hard to break a habit that we’ve become so used to in our lives. By not checking Facebook, it challenges us to find alternative ways to fill this particular void that has become so dominant within our daily actions.
1.I don't think facebook is a subculture mainly because everyone has a facebook. It is however composed of many different kinds of groups- so i guess facebook is where socialization occurs, where people can be part of something bigger and interact with each other.
2. In some ways its a gesellshaft society beause there are definitely identifiable "go to" people on facebook (facebook whores)that always have people commenting on their walls and pictures even though they arent really that popular in real life. These relationships are pretty shallow and generic and in many ways facebook can cause major drama... but facebook can also organize sort of a gemeinschaft community because it allows you to keep in touch with your other friends overseas, maintaining a stable relationship- people are more closely reelated in this sense
3. Facebook values socialization and "sociable behavior" (if you are more sociable on facebook.. i guessyou would enjoy facebook more). However at the same time, it values making friends randomly with people you don't really know.. based on superficial criteria like how cool or attractive their DP might be or a comment someone might have written that you find interesting. These relationships aren't necessarily great. Facebook does tend to socialize individuals by organizing "groups". Also the drama of having a "nice" facebook and a interesting DP can tell a lot about a person. These superficial first impressions socialize people into differnt groups based on these impressions.
4. Not really. I wouldnt consider myself addicted to facebook, i go on whenever i need to talk to a friend over seas or to look at events or entertian myself with photos of friends. But i don't spend too much time on these things... think of it this way... if you didnt have facebook.. would your relationship with people really change? Internet relationships mostly don't mean much
5. No. i havent been on facebook for a week
HAHAHAHAHA i had no idea my screen name was waves inmymeadow.... thtas the most emo crap ive ever heard i honestly dont remember making this screen name. please dont think im weird.
-daisy
we don't think you're weird daisy.
1．I consider Facebook members part of a group. A subculture is a group that distinguishes its members from the larger culture, a world within a world. Yet Facebook is still like the larger culture with the same values and norms yet portrayed in a different form, the only difference being the way its member interact with other members.
2. Facebook facilitates a Gesellschaft society. The Facebook society is much less intimate than a Gemeinschaft would impose, as most people have a large number of friends yet knows very little about each of them. The members of this society are bound by “impersonal ties” and “self interest” rather than the “togetherness” that guides a Gemeinschaft society; which in turn makes Facebook Gesellschaft.
3. Facebook socializes its members by allocating each of its members a personal space where one can organize his/her own things and influence others’ impressions of him/her by putting in pictures, editing quotes etc. It also socializes its members by allowing members to freely communicate with each other even if separated, promoting the sense of friendship.
4. Facebook no longer plays a large role in my social network as it had before. As time goes on, my interest with Facebook and writing to friends periodically has declined dramatically. I only log in 2 or 3 times every week now and mostly only to stay in touch friends abroad.
5. The most difficult part would be wondering if a close friend has written anything important on your wall and expects a reply during these three days. I talk to my friends abroad quite frequently and I do not want him/her to get the idea that I have become non-committal to our friendship.
haha okay!
1. Group is people who ahve something in common and who believe that what they have in common is significant. Subculture is the values and related behaviors of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture; a world within a world. According to these definitions from the textbook, facebook members has to be a group because they do socializing together and believe that that is significant because facebook connects the. Besides, they cannot be a group because they aren't really distinguished from the larger culture. They just do stuff that some people don't do. But that doesn't really distinguish them other than that they are facebookers.
2. I can actually argue for both for this question. At first I thought that facebook facilates Gesellshaft because, for me anyways, I use facebook and other means of indirect communication instead of calling them or meeting people in person. In this sense, then, facebook is a way of avoiding that "real" communication. But at the same time, if I don't use facebook, I usually don't call or meet people anyways. Especially with my friends back in Canada. For communicating with those people, especially, facebook is crucial because otherwise I have to get up at like one o'clock in the morning to talk to them and I like to sleep.
3. One of the important value that facebook disseminate is popularity. At least for me, when I first started to use facebook, I was surprised that my profile also showed how many friends I have so I added people that I didn't even know because I felt bad when other people had like hundred and something friends while I had like eighty something. Also, apparently, more people you have who added you as your "best friend," more popular you are. By displaying all of these personal informations right there on the profile for everyone to see, facebook pressures its members to be like others and have many friends as possible, even if you don't know like half of the people who are adding you.
4. Even though I haredly ever go on facebook, it plays a big role in my social network because I don't like msn or calling people. I like to either meet people in person and chat or just sit back on my computer once a week and update few stuff and keep in touch.
I'm a lazy person, and facebook works fine with me.
5. Usually, I won't have any problem with not going on facebook for 3 days cause I only check once a week anyways, but this time, it actually took some effort to not type in www.facebook.com because I didn't go on last week either and I really needed to talk to keep in touch. But other than that, I have no problem. Doing facebook is one of my weekend "tasks" anyways, =P
To clarify my question three, facebook teaches us that the more "friends" you have added on to your profile, more popular you are. That's kind of stupid because for me anyways, I don't know more than half of my "friends," but having as many of the people who call you facebook friend is one of the most important values that facebook teaches us.
After reading people's responses, I realized that people actually don't use facebook as much as they did before. I mean when I first started my account everybody I knew were checking their profiles like three times a day because that's what people did.
I used to be able to tell my friend to bring something for me for tomorrow and actually have that friend check on time to bring that to school the next day.
It doesn't work anymore because people no longer check their facebook three times a day.
1.I think most facebook member is part of a group. A group is where people who share same or similar interest gather up and form a group. However, same or similar interest did not mean that they all share similar norms and values which most of the subculture did. In addition, the norms and values which facebook members show aren’t different from the mainstream culture.
2.I think Gesellshaft is the word to describe the facebook community. In my case, the friends I had on my facebook is just the person in my MSN contact. A lot of them I did not get contact with them for a long time and I think I won’t be communicating with them for my rest of the life. I think this is same of most of the facebook members. The friends that they have on their contact would be someone who just appears to add them as a friend. You might not recognize him or her. Thus, the “self” is more important than the large association.
3.Facebook make people socialized differently in the real world. As I mentioned earlier that a lot of the friend request are from someone who you do not remember, but you will always press accept just to make your friend list member higher to look better when you open up facebook in front of other people. And people write in other people’s well and wishes them to reply to you so you message would also increase the number. Thus, most of the message people posted are short and sometimes boring. This makes facebook have its own way of socializing.
4.Facebook for me is a way to communicate with the people overseas who I could communicate through other networks like MSN because of the time differences. Thus, the friends who posted my well is normally people who is not in China. It normally takes at least one day for me to reply to them because of the time difference so I lost connection with them after time.
5.It was not hard for me to give up on facebook. As I mentioned before, I use another network to communicate with people, and Facebook friends are normally someone who I lost connection with them over time. Thus, I barely check my Facebook page.
Joan Chuang
1. I would consider facebook members to be part of a subculture, because facebook use values and related behaviors to distinguish its members from the real world. And I don’t think it’s a group because it contains all the different people from the world, whether people from Asia, America, whether people like baseball, basketball….
2. I think facebook facilitate a Gesellshaft society because people inside do not actually know the person from face-to-face. People on facebook “know” people from looking at their profile, pictures and walls, this do not show us what that person truly is.
3. Facebook teach people openness. People on facebook will post their private photo, video, gossip about their life on the wall. Members share their private stuff to “strangers.” All these private information somehow introduce you to all the strangers you don’t know.
4. I think facebook doesn’t play huge role in my social life. Although I have am account, I don’t go on that often. I found it easier for me to chat on msn with my friend than using facebook. I felt facebook is too “open” where everyone can see the conversation between me and my friend. I think these days, I just go on face book for specific reason, I don’t log on to looking around.
5. I dont think its difficult at all. I think its because I dont really go on facebook that often, so I am used to it.
Reply to Mr K:
I guess facebook DOES bring friends together in some way, but it\'s in my opinion it\'s not gemeinschaft because we are not bond with \'impersonal ties\' on facebook. Even though it brings friends from differnet countries together, i don\'t think it gives us the impersonal ties. For me, gemeinschaft should be talking on the phone, or writing long e-mails. unfortunately we are too busy =(
1.Facebook, in my opinion, is defiantly part of a group and no a subculture is a culture within the dominant culture that shares their own values and beliefs. Facebook members do not all share the same values, making it a group instead of a subculture. It is also a group because it connects everyone with people who have the same interests as themselves and they all want to stay in contact which is something they all have in common.
2.Facebook facilitates a Gemeinshaft society because it is basically a community online. It keeps people in touch with one another and you can become friends with anyone. But on the other hand it is also a Gesellshaft because when I used to have facebook I used to have a whole bunch of people I didn’t know. By being able to be friends with anyone you become friends with people who technically weren’t my friends. And there were some people who I never talked to face-to-face, but only through wall posts. It’s very impersonal so although it is a little bit of a Gemeinshaft society, I believe it to be more of a Gesellshaft society.
3.Facebook teaches the value of being reconnected with old friends. Before I deleted my facebook my friends from elementary school added me which made me value staying connected with my old friends more. This is kind of ironic though since I deleted my facebook not long after I added my elementary school friends. It also teaches teenagers to value popularity more because the more friends you have and the more pictures you were tagged in, the cooler you seem.
4.Facebook doesn’t play any role in my social network because I don’t have it anymore. I think that it is more important to talk face-to-face and be more personable. Yeah, facebook links you to old friends that you don’t have on your msn contact list, but your true friends will email you or call you or find other sources to keep in contact with you. I personally think base their lives too much on facebook and get too consumed on what’s on other people’s facebooks.
5.If I had facebook and had to give it up, I’d be happy not to get on, nothing would be hard about it.
looking at everyone else's posts i realize that people aren't as obsessed as i thought they were. I know younger kinds in our school base their lives off of facebook and i just think that is stupid. People say that they keep in contact with other friends from different countries only from facebook which makes sense, but that's not a good enough reason for me to get my facebook back again. If you want to stay in contact with them, get their number and call them mon skype, or email them. Also i find that facebook is really time consuming, you could be doing other things instead of seeing who broke up with who or who wrote on who's wall.
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