Causal Analysis Essay, another "A" woo hoo!

With just two more papers to go in my ENG 101 I am still holding strong for an A in the class. I am really excited. This is the first class I have taken in over ten years and it is nice to feel I am doing well. This will get me one more class closer to my goal. I feel silly being so excited over one college class, but in the end I guess it really only takes one step at a time to reach your goal in the end. =)

Home Sweet Virtual Home

           Facebook, it is seen almost everywhere. Social networking sites have found their way into our pop culture, but why? Just last week the popular show Numb3rs mentioned Facebook and had a small sub plot about one of the characters signing up. The show Ugly Betty also recently incorporated Facebook into its storyline. Betty signs up on Facebook because many of her peers were using it, but once signed up she receives a friend request from her ex-boyfriend. On 90210 the popular girls talk about uploading pictures to Facebook from their Sidekick mobile phones. Popular movies are incorporating socal networking sites as well. For example, in the movie He's Just Not That Into You, there is a reference to MySpace being the “new” booty-call. Facebook has even been in the news recently due to customer outrage over a change in the site's terms of service agreement, a change which was quickly rescinded. There has even been recent mention of the site being sold, which would mean all the personal data on the site would be sold along with it.

           What are these sites about? Why have they worked their way into almost every facet of our media? Is it that social networking really works? One friend joins, and tells another, who tells all their friends, and so on; this is surely part of it. How about simple peer pressure? Everyone is doing it! Personally, I started using MySpace because I saw it on the news. Then I was hooked, and moved to Facebook because other friends were there, and even joined a site called Ravelry, which is a social networking site for knitters. Facebook boasts “over 175 million active [users] (users who have returned to the site in the last 30 days)” (Facebook). MySpace has around 126 million users (Hempel). Consider this year's record breaking Super Bowl attendance of 98.7 million viewers and one can see why at 175 million active users, Facebook is so impressive (ESPN).

           How about social networking to go? Nearly every cell phone now has a browser; most now also have some way of interfacing with sites like Facebook and MySpace. The popular iPhone, SideKick and Blackberry brands have applications so users can post updates right from their phone, or take a picture and instantly publish it to Facebook. By doing this, do they add to the popularity of the site, or does the site add popularity to the cell phone brand? It seems to me that sites such as these gain their popularity from a circular effect. They become popular because they make things popular.

           These sites can be a wonderful way of sharing with friend and family that live far away or connecting with people who have been lost to the past. Perhaps the true reason these sites have become such a large part of our society is we are a much more transient. Gone are the days where it was common for someone to never leave their home town. Almost anywhere in the world now, one can find that an Internet connection is available. Sites like Facebook allow us to keep in touch with friends and family no matter how close or far we are from them. In past eras we would write letters home telling loved ones how much we missed them and about the places we had been, but in our society “home” changes and often. The U.S Census found between 1990 and 1993 that “The "average American" makes 11.7 moves in a lifetime … “ (Hansen). Therefore, people are making a virtual home, a place where we can connect, gather, and share.

           In a world where some people value privacy more so than others, Facebook offers, by default, a way to stay in touch while maintaining that much wanted privacy. Only the user's friends and family can see their posts, pictures, and thoughts. This is a comfort to Facebook users. It also makes the site more appealing to an older generation that is more weary about sharing personal information over the Internet. On the other hand, MySpace offers an avenue to declare one's presence to the world. If the user is at least eighteen, the default setting is set so everyone can see the profile. This can be great for those who want to become known to the MySpace community and in some case the world. This is one of the main reasons the site is so popular with bands and celebrities.

           Whatever the reason for their growing popularity, social networking sites seem as if they are here to stay. They have become part of our culture. As the younger generations grow, these sites will be as common as having a phone number to exchange; a small place in cyberspace to call home.

Works Cited

           ESPN Associated Press, “Record 98.7 million tune in to SB XLIII”:n pag. Web 4 Mar. 2009. http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3882060 .

           Facebook, Facebook Fact Sheet “Users”:n pag. Web 1 Mar. 2009. http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?factsheet .

           Hansen, Kristin A., Population Profile of the United States “Geographical Mobility”; n pag. Web 3 Mar. 2009. http://www.census.gov/population/www/pop-profile/geomob.html .

           Hempel, Jessi, CNN Money “Can MySpace get its mojo back?”; n pag. Web 6 Mar. 2009. http://money.cnn.com/2009/03/05/technology/myspace_struggles.fortune/index.htm .