The Facebook Craze

Byline: Kayla Krause
Editor-in-Chief
Social Network opened in theaters worldwide this past Friday, bringing in $23 million at the box office. The movie stars Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg, the inventor of Facebook. The history of Facebook and how it all began is brilliantly played out in Social Network. Depicting the addictiveness of the website, it makes one question how Facebook affects college students on this very campus.
“I use it to keep in touch with family and friends,” said Britta Naro, junior Criminal Justice major. Like Britta, some students simply use the network to stay close with relatives, while others use Facebook just to do something and stay awake during class. “If you go to class and fall asleep, the teacher would know,” stated Kimberly Matos, a freshmen Psychology major. “So instead, I just go on my blackberry and use Facebook.”
There are over five million college students who have a Facebook page. On average, a person will check their page at least six times a day. So what is it that makes this social network so addictive? Why does everyone have their own profile and why do people feel the need to be on it?
One possible answer is our generation. Nowadays, people need to be in contact with someone at all times; whether it’s on the phone, texting, talking or emailing someone. We live in a very fast-paced world where people are constantly on the go. It’s easy to get bored after 10 seconds of staring into space, so we often resort to technology to bridge that gap of nothingness.
You get home from having class all day, you turn on your computer, what’s the first website (if it’s not already your homepage) you type into that search box? Guarantee you it is Facebook.com. You’re sitting in class and the professor starts lecturing again about something uninteresting and you get bored, so you go on your blackberry or iphone and click on that little white and blue application: Facebook.
But let’s stop and think about what life was like before Facebook was even invented. About six years ago, there was no such thing as a “status,” you couldn’t “friend someone,” and you couldn’t “tag your friends” in pictures you put online. What did people do?
It’s hard to think about. It makes you consider your friends and whom you know now. If you hadn’t “friended” that guy in your western civilization class, would you still be friends with him today? Or, if you hadn’t posted the picture of your friend funneling a beer, would she still be on the volleyball team?
Looking back on it, Facebook has affected our lives in more ways than we may think. Sometimes they’re positive affects and other times they’re rather negative. Either way, Facebook will still be there, whether it’s your friend or not.
The Facebook Craze
Facebook Challenge
How addicted are you? Try staying off Facebook for a week, we dare you! Email us about your experience and get published in the Pioneer. Stay tuned for next issue to see a follow-up article.
Courtesy/Flickr