An article posted by MSNBC titled “Facebook use can lower grades by 20 percent, study says”, talks about the effects that Facebook has had on kids in school. Multi-tasking is a big trend in today’s society but I don’t agree, along with the article, that it allows for us to get more done in a short amount of time. I think that our brains have a harder time focusing on the particular task we are trying to complete when we are constantly changing what it is that we are doing. For example if someone spends an hour on Facebook and then tries to write a paper, most likely they are not going to immediately be able to focus on the subject of the paper and their mind will be drifting back to the Facebook pictures they had just seen or who is no longer in a relationship.
I feel like people have always been distracted by things, and I don’t think that Facebook is the first to be a distraction for kids from school-work, but I do agree that it has become a major problem. I think this is because Facebook can be used and is available all hours of the day. Unlike playing a sport, where it will only be played during daylight hours, or when other team members are available to play, or watching a television show since they are only aired at particular times. Facebook is always there rain or shine, morning or night time it has become a virtual friend.
Like we talked about in class Facebook also acts as a type of reward, when a paragraph of a paper is written we go on and get lost in the Facebook world for an hour or so. Then return to our paper to allow our paragraphs to feel as though they were written in an episodic format, and not allow them to flow as if it was written in one sitting.
I even feel my mind constantly wandering as I am thinking of 5 different things at once, which I don’t believe is reflected with the problem of Facebook, but with the constant needing to multi-task. I find that my memory feels like it so going and I cant seem to remember, and this can’t be a reflection of me getting older because I don’t believe that should be happening at 22. I think it’s just that I, along with the rest of the generation of multi-taskers, am not fully paying attention to what we are saying or thinking since we are thinking of 50 other things at that same time.
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"Finding the Real World Online"
The Frontline special we saw last week resonated with some of my thoughts about technology lately.
Every time I hear someone talk about the role of technology in society, he is some kind of zealot-- either completely abandon it or completely embrace it. I'll admit I lean more toward embracing. I just don't think you can really trust a person who has never played four straight hours of spider solitaire.
Is it possible to use technology to enable our social, intellectual, and work lives? Yes. Do we always use it in the most effective way to meet those ends? Probably not.
I believe one of the most hopeful ways in which technology will enhance our social lives is through online dating and meetup groups. I do social psychology research, and one of my current projects is on self-presentation in online dating. This means I've been spending a lot of time on different dating websites.
I had been expecting an assortment of skeezes (that's the technical term), creeps, and weirdos, but there are actually normal, social, and even hot people on these sites. It's not just the marriage-minded people on eharmony and match.com either. Companies like OkCupid facilitate dating and meeting people by creating a fun space online for people to talk about things that are interesting and important to them. (They also post fascinating and hilarious research blogs, like Don’t Be Ugly By Accident!).
This is not to say that these sites cater more to some people than others—those with time & location limitations, people who may be more socially anxious, and some token skeezes.
At my most hopeful, I think online dating will cross into the mainstream and will supplement "real world" dating. One hurdle to overcome is the stigma that is attached "the person you must be" to participate in online dating. However, I think the greater obstacle is that people are generally reticent about unveil themselves behind the monitor they have been hiding behind. The transition from screen to social is inherently a little scary. It is easier to say brash, confident, and sexual things online when you don't have to see another person seeing you and judging you in real life. Maybe people feel like their exaggerated-online-fantasy-selves are not the same as their real persons--or realize that opportunity others have to misrepresent themselves online.
Regardless, I have hope.
This is so true! Before I had facebook I could sit down for hours at a time and do my hw or write a paper. However recently, I have to tell myself I will read 5 pages in one article then I allow myself time on facebook. Its sad but i feel everyone has this problem
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