<p>Here is an essay I wrote for the school paper:</p>
<p>The Digital Drug: How Technology is Ruining “Social Networking”
If you have a Facebook account, cell-phone, or any connection into cyberspace, you are either free or held ransom to the psychological addiction of social networking. Having all your “friends” at your touch is a very good feeling. Being able to research the life story of someone you’ve never talked to entails a lot of power. And, the power to make your reputation online – or destroy someone else’s – is revolutionary.
But stop. Stop your texting, Facebook-ing, or tweeting, or whatever you’re typing.
Or can you stop?
While you were texting and/or Facebooking, did you have any idea about what was going on around you? What the people around you were saying? Or were you oblivious to your surroundings, world events, and the sounds around you, while thanking Facebook for reminding you of your friend’s birthday?
Truth is, you don’t have 521 friends. Your brain is configured for four that you actually talk to and hold close relations with. And according to human evolution, your brain has a maximum social capacity of 150 other human beings (look up “Dunbar’s number”). If you have more Facebook friends than Dunbar’s number, you ought to stop lying to yourself. Why have so many friends if you cringe every time the chat ping sound comes up?
Come to think of it, why did you ever accept so many people, people you don’t really know, to interfere with your Dunbar number? Why are you letting them peer into your life, judge you, and have power to alter your reputation?
I am not anymore looking at your photos, reading your updates, and (dis)approving your actions online. I have been cleansed of Facebook since 08 August 2012. I felt victorious deleting that account, and liberated from the scourge of other people.
When you put a cell-phone or an Internet connection in a teenager’s hands, that person’s brain habits change. That person is no longer exposed to the constraints of the real world, but propelled into cyberspace, where you can make yourself anything you want. Soon, that person feels that whatever he or she is thinking, is so important that it must be told to the world immediately. Facebook, texting, or tweeting does not enhance any of your friendships. It just distances you from your friend, each of you hiding behind a screen.
Facebook and social networking in general have been scientifically proven to be addicting and time-consuming. But this dangerous addiction is bringing our society down in ways that may soon rival cigarettes. Facebook does not enhance friendships, and in fact encourages incivility in its members. Facebook fosters an autonomous, nihilistic attitude toward one’s surroundings and, in fact, reality itself. It becomes harder and harder to focus and live in the real, non-virtual world. As more and more time is spent interacting with others in such a distant and remote way, the traditional forms of communication cannot but be lost. When the virtual world becomes the primary tool of pleasure, civilization must feel the blow.
Instead of bragging to those “friends” of yours by telling them how awesome (not) your life is, talk to your real friends in real life. Instead of providing investors and profiteers (like me) with free data on your social and purchasing habits, read a book, or discuss the meaning of life with your friends. Be free! You have nothing to lose but your digital chains, and a world to win! A world where one can feel the actual texture of a letter, the voice of your best bud, and the embrace of a lover. Clicks, pokes, tweets, and tags are not required in this world.
The average teenager spends over fifty hours each week on Facebook. Of course, we are not average, are we? Then prove it to yourself, and your friends. They will actually be there for you when you need them. Your Facebook friends won’t.</p>
<p>While I diss FB, then there’s youtube… ;)</p>
