The digital age has been developing faster than anyone would have imagined. The internet with the help of advanced technology has helped people maintain relationships from real life to online relationships. Facebook is but one example of this. Facebook has opened doors to maintaining relationships with family members who may live across the world, friends who are living across the country, and professional relationships. Although Facebook has given another way of creating and maintaining relationships, it does not always diminish the feelings of alienation or anomie that face-to-face relationships help with.
Facebook is useful for a lot of reasons, which is why so many people love Facebook. One of the reasons why the people I interviewed for this assignment loved Facebook is the way they are able to reconnect and stay connected with people. I interviewed three Facebook friends, all with different situations going on in their lives. When asked how Willow Chargualaf uses Facebook, she responded saying “I am able to stay connected with family and friends that live hours or days away.” Being able to maintain relationships, even though the distance is something that used to happen only through handwritten letters and phone calls; however, now it is with a click of a computer mouse in an internet browser. Browsing through Facebook and reading statuses, looking and photographs posted, and other shared posts gives a sense of being a part of Facebook friends daily lives.
Facebook has helped many people reconnect with old friends and family members, and possibly even rekindled some old relationships with friends. Through personal experience, I know how powerful Facebook can be with helping rekindle old friendships. Another interviewee, . .leaves her Facebook profile public to certain extents. As for Willow and I, we believe in keeping our Facebook profiles private until we approve people into our lives.
There is no right or wrong way to run a Facebook, it is a matter of preference. Sensitive and personal information are shared on Facebook daily, like Ky becoming a new mother or Willow raising a guide dog puppy in training for her club. Facebook has made sharing special events and trips a lot easier by just uploading photographs or writing a status about it. Every Facebook user has a way to maintain relationships in the palm of their hands, they are able to share photographs from family trips with ease and make special announcements of life changing events all in one place for family and friends to indulge in. Facebook is a normal social networking site, but in the hands of thousands can be much more.
