Through this easy access to millions among millions of people, representatives of so called movements send out a mass message asking for our support. For example there are groups that ask for our help with stopping the kidnapping or genocide in Uganda. How is a Facebook group going to help kids in Uganda? The group will send out messages that ask for either donations or more information to all of the people in the group, but 99% of the people, a vast majority of the time, the people include me.
At times, the multitude of messages that these groups send out can seem like an irritation or annoying. Maybe the person feels good about themselves because they joined the group, but doesn't follow through at all. This may happen because these social networking sites are not nearly the same as what we experience in real life.
I agree with you that social networking has taken over our lives. The YouTube video is hilarious. I understand what you're saying about helping kids in Uganda. Obviously a teenager in Wisconsin, sitting on facebook, can't do much to help a child in an African country. Wrong. Passing information to and from other teenagers to family members to teachers to community members is HOW people help that child in Uganda. There are usually websites that direct you to a site that lets you donate or learn more information. I don't think you're giving facebook enough credit.
ReplyDeleteFacebook and other social networks do not allow people to take action and follow through with any significant action. These groups may help spread awareness and information, but they don't do much besides that. Instead they fill people with a false sense of accomplishment by allowing them to click a button and make people feel like they are doing something that will make an actual difference. The only way to make a real difference is to go out there and confront the issue face to face and put pressure on those who need to be addressed with then issue. So I agree with you in that these social networks don't allow people to follow through at all.
ReplyDeleteFacebook and other social networking websites have changed how to communicate with masses of people at a time. Within a couple of seconds, you can send out a message to thousands of people, and try to support a cause. Unfortunately, after joining a Facebook group there is not much else a person can do to support their cause. People feel good about joining a group that supports a good cause, but they can't do anything to help out. That seems to be the only down side of social networks.
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