This post is in response to the blog post “Are Facebook Friends Really Friends” (https://blogs.ubc.ca/hollybishu/2013/10/03/are-facebook-friends-really-friends/).
In the aforementioned post it is argued that our current era of social media communication, Facebook “friend-ing” in particular, has damaged how we view friendship – and I would have to say that I wholeheartedly agree. I can count on both hands the amount of people I consider true friends – those who I invest time and energy into – yet I have 337 “friends” on Facebook. I barely communicate with any of them; however, when my mom asks me how “so-in-so” is doing from high school, or whether “what’s-his-name” still has a girlfriend, I usually have a pretty detailed response. Why? Because this “friend-ing” of people through Facebook or other social media allows us to peer into the lives of those who we otherwise don’t give the time of day. By being their “friend”, we can browse through their photos, read their posts, and see what others say to them – all without more effort than your hands sweeping over keyboard and mouse. It is both endearingly and creepily referred to as “Facebook stalking”, a term I would like to linger on for just a moment.
I can’t help but notice the parallels between “Facebook stalking” and other online forms of intelligence that we hear about so often. What makes our “stalking” any different from that of the government? Does “friend-ing” someone give us permission to perform this act, despite the fact that it is only a click of a button? We perform the very task that we protest against and cringe at the thought of. We use social media and the term friend as a way to “creep” on people, rather than putting in the effort to truly know them. We’ve turned our social life into a type of slacktivism with a side of creepy. We feel as if our “stalking” isn’t wrong because we’re “friends” with the person on Facebook, even if part of (or the entire) reason we “friend” them is simply to stalk and not to communicate. In an era where even civilians peer into the online lives of other civilians (real-world friends or not), how can we expect the government not to partake as well?
Food for thought. Perhaps these are just the late night ramblings of one who has noticed her own “Facebook stalking” ways.
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