The Effect of Facebook on Relationships

When Mark Zuckerberg invented Facebook in 2004, he never could have predicted that it would reach over 800 million users in seven years.¹ As forms of communication have evolved, two common elements that have improved are convenience and speed. Facebook has combined both of these concepts, and now family members, friends, or business colleagues can stay updated on each other in real time. The use of exterior forms of technology, such as laptops and smart phones, allow Facebook to be utilized anywhere. For instance, 28% of Facebook users ranging from age eighteen to thirty-four check Facebook before getting out of bed in the morning.² Just as Facebook has been influenced by previous communication technologies, it has had an even greater effect on modern culture. Through its vast amount of accessible information and convenient usage, Facebook has affected society by maintaining close contact between relatives and friends, both continuing and terminating love relationships, as well as allowing businesses to promote themselves to their target audience.

Prior to Facebook, communication was not as efficient or instantaneous. It seems bizarre to think back to a time where the primary way to contact someone was by writing a letter. Since that time, the speed of communication has greatly improved, culminating with the instantaneous updates provided by Facebook. As humans, the goal with any new form of technology is to improve upon previous models. In particular, speeding up communication has always been a focus with new technology. Speed of communication not only pleases consumers, but it also enables companies to brag. For example, Georgia Tech currently has the second fastest internet connection in the country.³ This is not only valuable to the students and faculty, but the fact that it is mentioned on tours and during orientation proves that improved speed is an essential component that drives new technologies.

Not only was communication slower and less efficient prior to Facebook, but the amount of information readily available on each person was significantly lacking as well. Besides looking up a person’s address or phone number, further information about them was acquired by direct communication or word of mouth. In addition to personal information, details about events or meetings had trouble being relayed quickly, which presented problems in last-minute changes. Facebook represents the peak of information availability, and users can become addicted to its seemingly know-all power. A clip from a recent How I Met Your Mother episode, “Mystery vs. History”, displays the current necessity to research others through technology.⁴ The clip involves the show’s main character, Ted Mosby, meeting a new woman who he will soon take out for dinner. Instantly, his friends reach for their smartphones to explore the internet for any unexpected or unusual information about Ted’s date. Ted opts for mystery to drive their relationship and does not partake in researching her. However, the fact that his friends resort to background checks on his dates, past and present, support society’s current addiction and desire for an abundance of easily accessible information. This desire has fueled technology in recent decades, and it has also enabled Facebook to maintain close relationships between relatives or friends.

http://www.cbs.com/shows/how_i_met_your_mother/video/2155337969/how-i-met-your-mother-there-s-something-wrong-with-her

Without Facebook, families, friends, and colleagues would find it difficult to maintain close contact with each other. Since one in every thirteen people on Earth has a Facebook account, users are capable of connecting with people from all facets of their lives. In only twenty minutes, Facebook experiences over one million links shared, three million messages sent, and two million friend requests accepted.⁵ This constant flow of information proves Facebook’s impact as a leading form of electronic communication in the twenty-first century. Last year, John Watson of New York encountered his very own Facebook miracle. Watson had been searching for his daughter, who he left forty years ago, for twenty years before stumbling upon her Facebook page. He originally left her because of post-traumatic stress from the Vietnam War, but he sincerely regretted the decision and spent decades trying to find her. Luckily, his daughter was very forgiving and was thrilled to be reunited with her father.⁶ Watson also had the benefit of meeting his son-in-law and four grandchildren, an opportunity that never would have presented itself without Facebook. Aside from relatives and friends, Facebook has also revolutionized the dating world with both positive and negative outcomes.

By implementing its techniques of connecting users through vast methods of communication, Facebook has been beneficial to both starting and maintaining love relationships. Two people are not considered officially dating if it has not been posted on Facebook. The fact that people turn to a user’s Facebook page to make the final say on their love life displays the dependent relationship between modern culture and Facebook. Asking another person about their current relationship status can be an uncomfortable encounter, but Facebook provides clarity on this matter. Similar to John Watson’s story, Facebook has manufactured relationships by reuniting old friends from school, as well as suggesting future friend requests through mutual friends. Moreover, if a couple is experiencing a long-distance relationship, Facebook allows them to stay close through instant messaging, sharing pictures, and even video calls. Even though these features are available in other forms of communication, only Facebook provides the detail and supplemental information that can be found in one’s profile.

Nevertheless, Facebook has been known to dismantle dating relationships just as well as it promotes them. According to a 2010 survey conducted by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, two-thirds of lawyers said that, “Facebook was the ‘primary source’ of evidence in divorce proceedings”.⁷ This wasn’t only applied to cases of infidelity, but also cases of child custody. For example, one parent claimed to not use any illegal drugs, but boasts of marijuana use were found on his Facebook page. Furthermore, suspicions of one’s spouse can lead to stalking their Facebook page or even jealousy of their significant other. In this context, Facebook’s plethora of available information becomes evidence instead of a user’s profile. When asked about Facebook’s influence on divorce, a spokesperson of Facebook said, “…Facebook is just a way to communicate, like letters, phone calls, and emails”.⁸ However, the accessibility of information in the latter forms of communication does not compare to that of Facebook.

Based on this accessibility of information, as well as the popularity of Facebook and the constant connection between users, events and groups have become effective tools in coordinating with larger masses of people. One serious instance occurred in Germany this past June as a result of a Hamburg girl forgetting about the importance of Facebook’s event privacy settings. A teenage girl, known as Thessa, posted an event on Facebook to invite a group of friends to her sixteenth birthday party. Unfortunately, she accidentally made the event public and allowed anyone to RSVP. Fifteen thousand users RSVP’d to the event and more than 1,500 showed up for Thessa’s party. One hundred police officers showed up to keep the crowd of teenagers and young adults under control, and the fire department even had to put out two fires. Just because Thessa made an honest mistake on Facebook, a riot nearly broke out in Hamburg. Luckily, no one was injured, and Thessa celebrated her birthday in secret with her grandparents. She even cancelled the event once she realized her mistake, but the damage was done and all of the guests showed up anyway.⁹ If Thessa was planning a party with older forms of communication, such as a sending out invitations by mail, this chaotic and unique circumstance never would have occurred. Even though Thessa experienced chaos from her mishap in creating an event, the capabilities of Facebook events and their ability to bring people together are clearly identified. However, most businesses that utilize Facebook would savor the response that Thessa received for her birthday party.

Aside from entertainment purposes, Facebook has been incorporated by businesses and even politicians as an effective method to reach their intended audience. Over one million entrepreneurs from 180 different countries have Facebook pages to facilitate their growth.¹⁰ Businesses constantly promote their Facebook pages because it is free advertising to their customers. Even with paid advertising on Facebook, the significant difference in expenses of advertising on Facebook compared to Google is an astounding 1:20.¹¹ By examining a user’s interests and biographical information, businesses can select who would most likely be interested in their product, and therefore ensure they are reaching their target audience. Likewise, political candidates utilize Facebook to promote their campaign and maintain interaction with voters. For instance, presidential candidate Mitt Romney has over 1.1 million users liking his Facebook page.¹² This means that all of them receive updates and can communicate with him throughout the campaign process. Even though Facebook’s effect on relationships is commonly associated with friends, family, etc., the business and advertising worlds have been successfully strengthening their ties with their consumers through Facebook.

Just as Facebook has developed from past forms of communication, it is continuously shaping how people connect with one another in the world today. By continuing trends of recent forms of technology, Facebook is one of the most efficient and convenient methods of communication ever developed. A user’s profile not only displays their interests and list of friends, but it enables them to communicate with these people in real time from virtually anywhere. Since Facebook has become such an integral part of society, it has revolutionized the ways we maintain relationships among our family and friends. These changes have been both positive and negative, especially in the case of relationships. Even though close contact is a benefit of Facebook’s networking, many still question the potential hazards of privacy, or lack of. As Facebook continues to represent the current form of communication for this generation, it is constantly shaping technology’s next great invention in the future.

Notes

1. Wyld, Adrian, “Facebook,” The New York Times, http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/ mmmmmbusiness/companies/facebook_inc/index.html (accessed October 19, 2011).

2. Hepburn, Aden, “Facebook Statistics, Stats & Facts For 2011,” Digital Buzz Blog, mmmmmhttp://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-stats-facts-2011/ (accessed mmmmmNovember 5, 2011).

3. Woolley, Scott, “The world's fastest Internet access—who's got it?” CNN Money, mmmmmhttp://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/23/the-world%E2%80%99s-fastest-mmmmminternet-access%E2%80%94who%E2%80%99s-got-it/ (accessed October 15, mmmmm2011).

4. How I Met Your Mother. Season 7 Episode 6, first broadcast 17 October 2011 by CBS. mmmmmDirected by Craig Thomas and written by Carter Bays.

5. Hepburn, Aden, “Facebook: Facts & Figures For 2010,” Digital Buzz Blog, mmmmmhttp://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-facts-figures-for-2010/ mmmmm(accessed October 19, 2011).

6. “Father finds daughter on Facebook after 20 years,” ABC Local News, mmmmmhttp://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7739245 (accessed mmmmmOctober 19, 2011).

7. Adams, Richard, “Facebook a top cause of relationship trouble, say US lawyers,” The mmmmmGuardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/08/facebook-us-mmmmmdivorces (accessed November 10, 2011).

8. Ibid.

9. “Facebook party spins out of control,” MSNBC, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/ mmmmm43284493/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/facebook-party-mmmmmspins-out-control/#.TqFEKN4g_UB (accessed October 19, 2011).

10. Hepburn, Aden, “Facebook: Facts & Figures for 2010.”

11. Anderson, Brian, “Facebook Advertising – What Makes It Unique?” Brian Anderson mmmmmMarketing, http://brian-anderson.us/facebook-advertising-unique-2.html mmmmm(accessed November 10, 2011).

12. Romney, Mitt, “Mitt Romney,” Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/mittromney mmmmm(accessed November 10, 2011).

Bibliography

Adams, Richard, “Facebook a top cause of relationship trouble, say US lawyers,” The mmmmmGuardian, http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/mar/08/facebook-us-mmmmmdivorces (accessed November 10, 2011).

Anderson, Brian, “Facebook Advertising – What Makes It Unique?” Brian Anderson mmmmmMarketing, http://brian-anderson.us/facebook-advertising-unique-2.html mmmmm(accessed November 10, 2011).

“Facebook party spins out of control,” MSNBC, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/ mmmmm43284493/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/facebook-party-mmmmmspins-out-control/#.TqFEKN4g_UB (accessed October 19, 2011).

“Father finds daughter on Facebook after 20 years,” ABC Local News, mmmmmhttp://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=7739245 (accessed mmmmmOctober 19, 2011).

Hepburn, Aden, “Facebook: Facts & Figures For 2010,” Digital Buzz Blog, mmmmmhttp://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-facts-figures-for-2010/ mmmmm(accessed October 19, 2011).

Hepburn, Aden, “Facebook Statistics, Stats & Facts For 2011,” Digital Buzz Blog, mmmmmhttp://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-stats-facts-2011/ (accessed mmmmmNovember 5, 2011).

How I Met Your Mother. Season 7 Episode 6, first broadcast 17 October 2011 by CBS. mmmmmDirected by Craig Thomas and written by Carter Bays.

Romney, Mitt, “Mitt Romney,” Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/mittromney mmmmm(accessed November 10, 2011).

Woolley, Scott, “The world's fastest Internet access—who's got it?” CNN Money, mmmmmhttp://tech.fortune.cnn.com/2011/01/23/the-world%E2%80%99s-fastest-mmmmminternet-access%E2%80%94who%E2%80%99s-got-it/ (accessed October 15, mmmmm2011).

Wyld, Adrian, “Facebook,” The New York Times, http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/ mmmmmbusiness/companies/facebook_inc/index.html (accessed October 19, 2011).

Relationship with Nintendo

Looking back on my childhood, one of my earliest recollections of technology was receiving a Nintendo Game Boy Color for my birthday. At the time, it was the hottest gift on the market, and I could not be more ecstatic. As the years passed, technology became more integrated into my life, and it extended into other facets beyond entertainment. In particular, I explored several forms of communication technology, including cell phones, email, instant messaging, etc. The use of calculators and computers for research soon became vital tools for school as well. My father has always been the technology expert in the house, and as a child I always turned to him for help. He was responsible for introducing newer forms of technology to our household, including the latest software for computers, iPods, and more efficient home appliances. Without him, my family and I may be several years behind the latest technological innovations. However, with rapid improvement and newer forms of technology over the past few years, he now occasionally turns to me to answer his questions. As a child growing up in a generation dominated by video games, I have seen Nintendo evolve from a simple form of entertainment to an electronic lifestyle that extends far beyond the world of video games.

As previously stated, one of my earliest memories of using technology was a Nintendo Game Boy Color. This and the Nintendo 64 became less of a hobby and more of an addiction for several kids in my neighborhood. Playing Nintendo became the top priority for them, and they resented doing schoolwork or any activity that prevented them from playing. For example, my neighbor was the same age as me and he played his Game Boy at the dinner table every day. It is appalling that he was more concerned with video games than socializing with his family. I personally never used these pieces of technology to that great of an extent, but I still remember riding my bike around town to play Nintendo at a friend’s house. Besides playing sports as a child, Nintendo was one of the primary ways that kids, including myself, socialized with their friends. Since we were willing to travel to play, one could say that Nintendo 64 had a controlling influence on our lives. However, it was only used as a basic gaming device and did not include various features found in later Nintendo consoles. The relative simplicity of Nintendo 64 and Game Boy parallel my relationship with technology at the time. Besides entertainment purposes or phone conversations, technology was not as significant in my life as it would later become.

After the Game Boy and Nintendo 64, Nintendo released a new gaming console called GameCube. This was a transitional system for Nintendo, with improvements being made in memory capacity, graphics, aesthetics of the product, and a wider array of games. GameCube achieved greater popularity and demand compared to Nintendo 64 and Game Boy, mainly due to the drastic upgrades in performance and variety of games. Nintendo’s introduction of more games coincides with Elizabeth Eisenstein’s argument in The Printing Revolution in Early Modern Europe. Eisenstein mentions that the printing press made texts more readily available to a wider spectrum of people. Everything from bibles to indulgences to maps was being published, which means that nearly everyone was directly or indirectly influenced by the printing press. Likewise, Nintendo expanded to a wider audience by presenting a greater amount of games available for GameCube. Similar to Nintendo 64, children in my neighborhood utilized GameCube as a social tool. It was evident that the technology around us was rapidly improving, but the relationship that I maintained did not change until a few years later.

In 2006, Nintendo released its latest game console, the Wii. This is considered to be their most innovative, entertaining, and state-of-the-art system yet. One of the more intriguing aspects of the Wii is its capabilities through Wi-Fi connection. The Wii allows one to play against friends, stream movies from Netflix, and even purchase classic Nintendo games. Just as Nintendo has utilized the internet more effectively in its latest game system, I have done the same through my own interaction with technology. As of late, the internet has played a more significant role in my life due to the convenience of smartphones and apps. In addition, since the Wii allows users to purchase former games from previous consoles, Nintendo has preserved the best of what their game systems have to offer. This relates to Once More to the Mountain, where Rosalind Williams and Charles McFarland return to the Bernese Alps after fifty-one years. The authors mention that even though methods of transportation have evolved since their last journey, some of the villages and towns have resisted building up larger developments to maintain their warm and intimate settings. Moreover, the fact that the Wii is Nintendo’s most complex and advanced model yet also relates to how I’ve matured up to this point. Just as the Wii has several new features, including motion-sensing technology and online capabilities, I have garnered new skills myself. These include maintaining a job, driving a car, and even surviving at college six hundred miles from home. Even though Nintendo is no longer the neighborhood gathering it once was, it still reflects how crucial technology has become in my life and how it is utilized in society today.

Growing up in my generation means that Nintendo was not merely a source to play video games, but a representation of how technology has affected our lives. In addition to the technical improvements Nintendo has made over the years, they have also extended their products to a wider audience. A decade ago, few people other than teenagers or elementary school children could be found with a Game Boy in hand or playing Nintendo 64. Nevertheless, through the introduction of adult-friendly games and programs, people of all ages can be found playing the Wii. One of these programs is the WiiFit, which is utilized for exercise and has the capability to track the user’s progress. Even though I have continuously played Nintendo over the past decade, their products have also shaped the surrounding culture. This has been driven by the desire and expectation to improve upon what already exists. With fierce competition, including Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo has risen to the occasion with their revolutionary motion-sensing technology, Wi-Fi capabilities, and additional innovations. That being said, Nintendo has not only taken feedback from the culture it is a part of, but it has also influenced the lives of millions of users around the world. I, a mere one of these users, can say that Nintendo tells the story of my relationship with technology, as well as provides a concrete example of how technology affects culture.

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The name of our blog has changed to the one above because I think it is more interesting and original.