Social Networks = increased workload

I found Danah Boyd’s article really interesting to read. She talks about the increasing use of social network sites and in particular does ethnographic studies on users of myspace. On page 3 of the article, she specifically distinguishes between the classes of teenagers who refrain from using myspace. She includes teens whose parents have successfully banned them from using the internet and teens who deliberately want to object to the use of social networks. It made me wonder whether there are a large number of teens who do not use social networks purely because of the additional social maintenance that they require you to participate in. This was a major reason why I refused ( until recently) to join the popular facebook network. While I have and enjoy my social group of friends, initially I found the idea of continuously receiving messages, photo updates etc to be almost like a form of social pressure, where I felt pressured into doing the same. Often I find that I am accused of being rude on facebook as I often fail to respond to messages or posts. I feel that being a part of these social networks requires high maintenance. While most teenagers seem more than happy to engage in this type of social maintenance, Boyd does not consider whether the teens who do not join the networks refuse to do so because of the pressures and demands they place on individuals to keep up to date with social events, people and places. I am not sure if such a reason exists for younger teens. Perhaps its something only older users experience. For me, my experience on facebook could be equated to a high powered CEO who is never able to turn their blackberry phone off. It is an avenue for increasing one’s accessibility to other people and to be this is something I often like to avoid! More me time!

Another interesting point in this article, is Doyd’s point of self identity on social network sites. She mentions that most of these sites are based on profiles. It is essentially the profile which allows you to develop and present your personality to the world. New age philosophy always conveys a message of detachment. It encourages people to detach from the world and often suggests that spending time alone with yourself is the only way to relax, meditate and understand yourself better. I wonder, in a world which is as fast paced as ours, how does the social networks affect our ability to understand ourselves? Do we create profiles to make ourselves look good to others? Are our profiles accurate reflections of who we really are?
Thats all from me!