A Procrastinator's Best Friend
Senior year I was converted to the wonderful world of Facebook.
My friends told me about this awesome site where you could talk to people from the college that you're going to and look at your friend's pictures or rekindle a long-distance friendship.
Little did I know that I soon would become addicted to this site and it would pretty much become my new best friend. It started out as an innocent relationship. I only had a handful of friends on FaceBook and I would only check it once or twice a week to see if I had any new friend requests and such.
But as soon as second semester of senior year hit and the senioritis kicked in, I seemed to be logging on to Facebook more and more every day.
And I guess now, it has pretty much reached the point of an obsession. I know its bad that I have to turn on my computer and check FaceBook before I rush out of the room for my 8 am classes.
But I think the worst thing about Facebook is that its just sooo easy to procrastinate with. On more than one occasion, I have sat down to write a paper and two hours later I will still be looking at people's pictures from vacations with their family that I don't even know! And sometimes it gets to the point of- "Whose page am I even on right now?" "Do I know you?"
But it is just so easy to get distracted and carried away into the cyber world of social networking.
FaceBook is just a click away on my favorites toolbar right next to the email and blackboard. But even when I need to check my email, my hand automatically clicks on the Facebook bar. Bad, right?
And I know for a fact I am not the only FaceBook addict out there. As I sit in Java City writing this blog, I can glance around and see at least six others scrolling through the pages of their friends on FaceBook.
I just don't understand what about it is all that interesting, yet I can't seem to pull myself away from it. It's puzzling really. Relating to what we are talking about class, I can see Twenge or Schumaker saying that it is a narcissistic sign to have a web page full of pictures and information about yourself. But it seems to be the obsession at looking at others peoples pages, not my own that is so interesting. I'm eager to see what my friends are up to back at home or see pictures from someone's weekend. And the fact that so many people do have FaceBooks makes it that much easier to stay off task longer.
FaceBook Addicts Annonymous anyone?
posted by wisco88 at
1:24 PM
3 Comments:
I think that, for the most part, everyone is just like you. I am extremely addicted to Facebook and check it multiple times a day. Even when trying to work on my blogs, I found myself “accidently” pushing the bookmark for Facebook so that I could see if I had any new wall posts, picture comments, or friend requests.
I think that our generation wants to feel connected to others, and what better way than Facebook. In a matter of seconds people can say hello to an old friend from back home, look at pictures of their new college friends, and learn a little more about other people.
I agree that it can be one of the best ways to procrastinate. However, I think that Facebook also saves me a lot of time. If there is something I need to tell a lot people, it is so much easier to email them on Facebook rather than calling. Also, since I am from California, the time difference can often make it different to get a hold of people, but with Facebook, I can email them at any time of the day.
Although Facebook probably has more negative effects for a college student, I think it is important to see the positive things. I mean, we are going to use it anyways, so why not look at it positively?
February 24, 2008 at 8:56 PM
If you asked every student at SMU whether or not they were addicted to facebook, the answer would mostly be yes. It has become so easy to find out what people are up to just by clicking buttons on the internet. Just like you, facebook is bookmarked on my computer right next to my email. If I sit down to write a paper I automatically click on facebook, and end up spending thirty minutes on it while my Microsoft Word document stays blank. I agree with missy johnson that it has positive aspects too. I can stay in touch with everyone from high school using facebook. If I want to check on how a person is doing, but I either don't know them well enough to call or am worried they will be busy, I can just write them a facebook message. I also like that I can easily look at pictures that my friends from other schools have put up so I can see what they are up to and who they are friends with. It also came in handy when everyone had just decided where they were going to school. I was able to talk to people on facebook before we got to SMU, and it helped to recognize people when I got here. My roommate and I were able to figure out all of the details of our room over facebook before we got to school, which was much easier than having an awkward phone conversation with someone you barely knew. I think that it is an excellent way of communicating, even though it causes people to procrastinate and waste a lot of time. Twenge and Schumaker might agree that it is a narcissistic tool, but that is because they have never used it, and don't know how much our generation relies on it socially. Facebook is how our generation communicates, and even though we might be showcasing ourselves, it is actually a useful tool.
February 25, 2008 at 7:49 PM
Facebook definitely is addicting. When I first signed up and created my account I randomly checked it a couple times a week. At that time I was still in the MySpace faze. I think the reason that Facebook has become so popular in the past year or so for many of my peers is because we are all so noisy nowadays. I agree with you when you say that we get on Facebook to look at everyone else’s page, not ours. I would say I only go to my profile page about once a week. I am to busy looking at everyone else’s pictures and information that I forget that I have a page just like it. I can see where adults get the idea about narcissism from Facebook or MySpace though because a handful of my peers have pages that consist of photo albums full of pictures of themselves. I think that when my peers take pictures of their own reflections in mirrors, their narcissistic personalities are shining through. But I would same that out of everyone I know that uses Facebook, this is a small majority. I think that Facebook is addicting but then again it is a great study break, right?
March 4, 2008 at 10:22 AM
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