Lori Andrews' article Facebook Nation is enlightening. Andrews articulates how social networking works for others more than for the social networker. This is based on profit. Giving up one's information for others to profit is not what governments are meant to do, they are meant to protect its citizens; nonetheless, Facebook takes us into unchartered waters:
"Social networks are taking over many of the traditional functions of government without any legal protections for their citizens. The underlying economic goal of social networks--monetizing personal data--is invisible to their citizens and may in fact be herding them into a land that they wouldn't want to inhabit." [13]
Relatively speaking, social networking is still in its infancy and perhaps has more 'evolving' to do. While I am curious and participate (until recently) in social networking, I cannot help but feel powerless over my personal information and safety as a citizen. This is exposure taken to another dimension and has its risks, as we can see from the article; on the other hand, we build our own digital community, larger than the regular social networking methods can offer. I suppose we, as well, evolve along with digital social networking creating a "digital" persona along the way, the question is...how do we protect ourselves, is there a guarantee, or could there ever be one that would protect us from harm? As citizens, our governments have that obligation but, Facebook Nation??
After reading this article, I feel divided about using Facebook or any other social media network. It gives me a feeling of insecurity to know that once I have a "digital persona" out there, that it could be vulnerable to misuse; however, sometimes the pressures are such that we need to rely on this service, because one's environment is subscribed to it and, if we are to be part of that environment, we must take the risk. I like what Facebook can do and be for the world but, I have my reservations and hopeful that social media will continue to evolve into serving its user well.
"Social networks are taking over many of the traditional functions of government without any legal protections for their citizens. The underlying economic goal of social networks--monetizing personal data--is invisible to their citizens and may in fact be herding them into a land that they wouldn't want to inhabit." [13]
Relatively speaking, social networking is still in its infancy and perhaps has more 'evolving' to do. While I am curious and participate (until recently) in social networking, I cannot help but feel powerless over my personal information and safety as a citizen. This is exposure taken to another dimension and has its risks, as we can see from the article; on the other hand, we build our own digital community, larger than the regular social networking methods can offer. I suppose we, as well, evolve along with digital social networking creating a "digital" persona along the way, the question is...how do we protect ourselves, is there a guarantee, or could there ever be one that would protect us from harm? As citizens, our governments have that obligation but, Facebook Nation??
After reading this article, I feel divided about using Facebook or any other social media network. It gives me a feeling of insecurity to know that once I have a "digital persona" out there, that it could be vulnerable to misuse; however, sometimes the pressures are such that we need to rely on this service, because one's environment is subscribed to it and, if we are to be part of that environment, we must take the risk. I like what Facebook can do and be for the world but, I have my reservations and hopeful that social media will continue to evolve into serving its user well.
Can't you just see the Congressional debate over government regulation of social media unfolding now? If the banning/restriction of soft drinks and gun control are any indication, we'll always have people clutching onto their Big Gulps, assault rifles, and Facebook and screaming that "big" government should stay away.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it's a good point that social networking is still somewhat in its adolescence, if not infancy. That of course means that precedents set now will very much matter for the course that gets taken. I myself wonder how Facebook may or may not change/respond now that it is a publicly traded company.