[AGL] trying to figure it all out

[karen.willis44 at att.net]

Mike,
The biggest difference between Facebook and previous ways we stayed in touch with friends is this:  on Facebook, you communicate with everyone at once.  A message goes to all your "friends" and they can "share" that message with others you may not know.  In some ways, whatever you post is like a performance which is observed and interpreted by multiple observers.  I read somewhere long before I got on Facebook that teenagers feel pressured to dramatize their personal story to increase attention to themselves.  I can only imagine how different that would be from the whispered gossip I shared with my friends in high school (or the long phone calls).

I often think of the French book "Society of the Spectacle" and how relevant it has become.  Also, of course, Marshall McLuhan.  

My main rude awakening from Facebook is learning how much I had segmented my friends into groups and only discussed certain topics with particular friends.  I was forced to "unfriend" several people I had considered longtime friends because I could not stomach their putrid political opinions.  It has made me much more discreet about the information I choose to share on Facebook.  And watch out for the cute questionnaires.  Remember that all the info you give is poured right into the big data machine and sold for big bucks by the corporate masters.

Karen 

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I know that many/most subscribers to AGL use Facebook to stay in touch. 
Recently I've gotten interested in social media to see how it has changed our life. I feel like I have a general understanding of how Facebook is utilitzed by subscribers to it, to continue online already existing friendships. But I don't yet understand yet the function of social media other than Facebook like Twitter, Instagram and other platforms.