I was interested in this topic as soon as I read the abstract because there are so many different opinions and theories on why people use social networking sites.
Personally, I know I initially signed up for MySpace way back when, because all my friends had one and I didn’t want to be left out. It was the new fad in our generation at the time, and being in high school makes it harder not to follow the trends. Now, I have my Facebook because it’s a convenient way for me to keep in touch with friends and family I otherwise wouldn’t have the ability to talk to so frequently. I deleted my Facebook awhile back as I have previously stated, and made the conscious decision to re-activate it because it was a faster and easier way to communicate with people I can’t see on a regular basis.
Personally, I know I initially signed up for MySpace way back when, because all my friends had one and I didn’t want to be left out. It was the new fad in our generation at the time, and being in high school makes it harder not to follow the trends. Now, I have my Facebook because it’s a convenient way for me to keep in touch with friends and family I otherwise wouldn’t have the ability to talk to so frequently. I deleted my Facebook awhile back as I have previously stated, and made the conscious decision to re-activate it because it was a faster and easier way to communicate with people I can’t see on a regular basis.
One of the first sentences that stuck out to me was, “individual users’ needs and wants can be fulfilled constantly and instantaneously.” I think this is interesting because I have always thought that our generation and society have developed a “need right now” kind of mentality. Everyone is constantly is hurrying and always worrying about what they need to do, or what their next move is. I believe because we have so much available to us at the touch of our finger tips, this demanding attitude has come about.
“Many SNS members do not necessarily develop a network to meet new people but rather to communicate with people who are already a part of their existing social networks.”(Boyd & Ellison, 2007) I agree with this statement from my own experience. I definitely did not create my Facebook to meet random people because I do not view it as a means of meeting, getting to know, or developing a relationship with a anyone; let alone a stranger. Going further into the article, it reminded me of when Facebook was only for college students. People would ask me if I had a Facebook years ago and I would have to explain that I wasn’t in college so I couldn’t have one. Eventually Facebook opened to all users and its member number grew incredibly. I think because it was so exclusive people were curious and wanted to join. Until reading this article I completely forgot Facebook used to require a school email address to join, and that I couldn’t use it until I was in college. Its amazing how fast these social networks change and fade out, I can’t even remember what it was like before they came about!
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