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The Future of Facebook and Social Networking
Paige Burton
Facebook and social networking via the Internet is a phenomenon that has become an important, almost vital, communication tool for many people today. For college students in particular, social networking has become a resource used everyday. Social networking through the Internet has changed our ways of communication, social patterns, and perhaps our concept of socializing all together. While Facebook has become a great utility for communication, we must remember that it is a fad. Facebook will, eventually, be replaced by something bigger, better, and faster; this may entail a networking site available to everyone and anyone interested around the world, it might open up doors of communication we never thought possible, or intended. Our ideas of communicating with one another have changed significantly with the development of networking online, and may continue to change even more in respect to forming meaningful relationships. Just as the Internet itself has been modified and improved, every social networking site will be, as well.
The Internet has inevitably changed us (or it's users) because it has given us an easy way out - which I would argue many people look for in most everyday situations. The Internet provides an easy way to receive and post information, communicate, learn, play, etc., and we make conscious decisions to use what it provides. That being the case, one must wonder what is to come. Because we have become such a technology-driven society, we must questionwhether the Internet will exist at all 25 years from now. Will the Internet have taken on a new form by the year 2033? And if the Internet is still intact then, what kind and how will it affect/change the way we use it? Based on studies and research done by various analysts, I do believe that the Internet will exist to some degree. Because the World Wide Web and computers in general are changing so readily today, it seems inevitable that these technologies will be significantly different 25 years from now.
Consider the computer and how it has developed over the past few decades. The computer has transformed from box-y desktop computers, to Personal computers, to virtually hand-held computers. As the computer has transformed to become smaller, more accessible, and easier to use, the Internet has done the same. The Internet has changed in ways that one cannot even begin to fathom. The Internet has undergone transformations in all aspects: from email, America Online (AOL), broadband (high-speed connection), Wi-fi, Instant-Messenger, Google, EBay, MySpace and Facebook, etc. Every aspect of the Internet has been changed so that we can utilize it in whatever way we choose - as long as it is easy. We (Internet users) demand that every aspect of our lives and what we want is easily, readily available via the Internet – so that all it takes for us to buy clothes now, or a date, is click a few tabs or punch in a few keys.
I believe that this consumer mind-set is what will have the biggest influence on what the Internet is like 25 years from now. I think that just as we demand that the Internet connection be faster and more available, we will want it available everywhere. Perhaps or laptops will closely resemble the cell-phones that we own today. Blackberries and iPhones will be replaced by a technology even more advanced. Our cell-phones and laptops will become one in the same – with an Internet connection that is always on. We will no longer have to “sign-on” to the Internet, but instead it will be there, 24 hours a day, waiting to be used.
I think that just as the Internet will progress to something better and more consumer-driven, social networks will change in the same way. Facebook, I would argue, is our generation’s sensation. We have given socializing a new name. We have made making friends, a verb, “friending.” We have become obsessed (at least from my perspective, based on my ethnography) with knowing every detail about people’s lives – whether we are friends with him or her, or even know the person no longer matters. Because of our new concepts of friendships and communicating, it seems only natural for it to progress in the direction of more openness. By “openness” I mean that we will make the details of our lives even more available to others. Facebook will be replaced with a network that connects everyone – and we will no longer have to “friend” someone to have access to his or her information.
I think the network that takes the place of Facebook will be used by people of all ages, not just college and high school students. It will resemble MySpace in that a user can make it more personal – by adding details and links about themselves. Since the Internet will be (based on my assumptions) readily available everywhere we go, the new Facebook will be available everywhere as well. That way when we take a vacation, where we normally would not have an Internet connection and consequently no Facebook access, we will be able to get updates and check up on our friends that we would normally be in contact with.
Although the thought of being “connected” everywhere seems to be great in theory, the reality that we are becoming sucked into a virtual world is not so great. Social networking users may become enveloped into “cyber-space.” Enveloped, in the sense that their world (in their minds) may revolve around their Internet use and networking sites. If the new social networks provide friends and other assumingly inter-active sources, people may find the real world boring. Some studies have actually suggested that the MySpace and Facebook generations cannot form meaningful relationships. This is important to consider for future generations, especially if social networking is still a prominently used resource.
I believe it is our responsibility to make sure that our children learn how to make meaningful relationships and not become wrapped up in the virtual world that will most likely be accessible everywhere. Although there are great advantages to having social networks and the like available, the disadvantages should be considered as well. If the Internet continues to grow and become bigger and better, we must realize what consequences come with it. We have already become a consumer-driven society and if we accept this role, we need to realize how our lives will change. I cannot provide a definitive answer for how our lives will change, but I can almost promise, based on how we, as consumers, have acted in the past, that we will have a difficult time finding a way to avoid change. Social networks will only expand and take over how future generations communicate. Socializing through the Internet may function as our primary source of communication. I believe we need to consider these possibilities now, and their consequences before it becomes a reality.
Facebook and social networking via the Internet is a phenomenon that has become an important, almost vital, communication tool for many people today. For college students in particular, social networking has become a resource used everyday. Social networking through the Internet has changed our ways of communication, social patterns, and perhaps our concept of socializing all together. While Facebook has become a great utility for communication, we must remember that it is a fad. Facebook will, eventually, be replaced by something bigger, better, and faster; this may entail a networking site available to everyone and anyone interested around the world, it might open up doors of communication we never thought possible, or intended. Our ideas of communicating with one another have changed significantly with the development of networking online, and may continue to change even more in respect to forming meaningful relationships. Just as the Internet itself has been modified and improved, every social networking site will be, as well.
The Internet has inevitably changed us (or it's users) because it has given us an easy way out - which I would argue many people look for in most everyday situations. The Internet provides an easy way to receive and post information, communicate, learn, play, etc., and we make conscious decisions to use what it provides. That being the case, one must wonder what is to come. Because we have become such a technology-driven society, we must questionwhether the Internet will exist at all 25 years from now. Will the Internet have taken on a new form by the year 2033? And if the Internet is still intact then, what kind and how will it affect/change the way we use it? Based on studies and research done by various analysts, I do believe that the Internet will exist to some degree. Because the World Wide Web and computers in general are changing so readily today, it seems inevitable that these technologies will be significantly different 25 years from now.
Consider the computer and how it has developed over the past few decades. The computer has transformed from box-y desktop computers, to Personal computers, to virtually hand-held computers. As the computer has transformed to become smaller, more accessible, and easier to use, the Internet has done the same. The Internet has changed in ways that one cannot even begin to fathom. The Internet has undergone transformations in all aspects: from email, America Online (AOL), broadband (high-speed connection), Wi-fi, Instant-Messenger, Google, EBay, MySpace and Facebook, etc. Every aspect of the Internet has been changed so that we can utilize it in whatever way we choose - as long as it is easy. We (Internet users) demand that every aspect of our lives and what we want is easily, readily available via the Internet – so that all it takes for us to buy clothes now, or a date, is click a few tabs or punch in a few keys.
I believe that this consumer mind-set is what will have the biggest influence on what the Internet is like 25 years from now. I think that just as we demand that the Internet connection be faster and more available, we will want it available everywhere. Perhaps or laptops will closely resemble the cell-phones that we own today. Blackberries and iPhones will be replaced by a technology even more advanced. Our cell-phones and laptops will become one in the same – with an Internet connection that is always on. We will no longer have to “sign-on” to the Internet, but instead it will be there, 24 hours a day, waiting to be used.
I think that just as the Internet will progress to something better and more consumer-driven, social networks will change in the same way. Facebook, I would argue, is our generation’s sensation. We have given socializing a new name. We have made making friends, a verb, “friending.” We have become obsessed (at least from my perspective, based on my ethnography) with knowing every detail about people’s lives – whether we are friends with him or her, or even know the person no longer matters. Because of our new concepts of friendships and communicating, it seems only natural for it to progress in the direction of more openness. By “openness” I mean that we will make the details of our lives even more available to others. Facebook will be replaced with a network that connects everyone – and we will no longer have to “friend” someone to have access to his or her information.
I think the network that takes the place of Facebook will be used by people of all ages, not just college and high school students. It will resemble MySpace in that a user can make it more personal – by adding details and links about themselves. Since the Internet will be (based on my assumptions) readily available everywhere we go, the new Facebook will be available everywhere as well. That way when we take a vacation, where we normally would not have an Internet connection and consequently no Facebook access, we will be able to get updates and check up on our friends that we would normally be in contact with.
Although the thought of being “connected” everywhere seems to be great in theory, the reality that we are becoming sucked into a virtual world is not so great. Social networking users may become enveloped into “cyber-space.” Enveloped, in the sense that their world (in their minds) may revolve around their Internet use and networking sites. If the new social networks provide friends and other assumingly inter-active sources, people may find the real world boring. Some studies have actually suggested that the MySpace and Facebook generations cannot form meaningful relationships. This is important to consider for future generations, especially if social networking is still a prominently used resource.
I believe it is our responsibility to make sure that our children learn how to make meaningful relationships and not become wrapped up in the virtual world that will most likely be accessible everywhere. Although there are great advantages to having social networks and the like available, the disadvantages should be considered as well. If the Internet continues to grow and become bigger and better, we must realize what consequences come with it. We have already become a consumer-driven society and if we accept this role, we need to realize how our lives will change. I cannot provide a definitive answer for how our lives will change, but I can almost promise, based on how we, as consumers, have acted in the past, that we will have a difficult time finding a way to avoid change. Social networks will only expand and take over how future generations communicate. Socializing through the Internet may function as our primary source of communication. I believe we need to consider these possibilities now, and their consequences before it becomes a reality.
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Latest page update: made by ptburton
, Dec 4 2008, 11:57 AM EST
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