Yes, we all know that many, many people are on Facebook. A lot. But seeing the numbers, in visual as well as text form, shows that many of us spend way, way too much time on Facebook.
Is this where we want to be? But is Facebook a tool to enhance our social lives, or has it become a replacement for it, and does it matter? As for what it’s doing to users, it was reported on Wednesday that two researchers at Cornell found that using Facebook boosts self-esteem. On the other hand, an Oxford neuroscientist warned that Facebook and other social networking sites may be leading to less empathy, a shakier sense of identity, and an aversion to real-life interaction. While it remains to be see whether children are in imminent danger of growing up into sociopathic confused shut-ins, that a large percentage of people now spend more time interacting online (hi, guys!) than in face-to-face situations is vaguely troubling even to one who has been more or less glued to a computer since the age of eleven, when I discovered AOL message boards and was unaware that there would ever be anything better than a dial-up modem.
What does Mark Zuckerburg think about all of this? I don’t know, but I imagine it goes something like this.
Video: Alex Trimpe on Vimeo
Music: “Deadwriter” by RJD2
Image via smemon87’s flickr
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