Facebook
is the home of 41,000 posts per second
(Woollaston, V. 2012). Or, is Facebook the home of 41,000 diary submissions per
second?
Every
single time that a user logs onto Facebook, they are encouraged by the
application to share with their online friends, “What’s on your Mind?” In that
same moment, you can also personalise your thoughts even further by letting
your friends know exactly what you’re doing, the location you’re doing it from,
who you are with whilst you’re sharing your thoughts, and it even encourages
you to share an image to compliment your thoughts. Now, if that doesn’t fall
into the genre of a diary entry, I’m not sure what does!
It
is through these status updates and the ability to join discussions on other
user’s pages, that Facebook allows its users to attract readers by opening a
metaphorical window into their minds, drawing our attention to the psyche and
the potential secrets locked within the human mind ...” (Rowe & Wyss,
2009).
During
the 2013 election, it was very much common place for Facebook users to post
statuses that were extremely topical and a blatant attempt to influence the
world view of the listener (Van Luyn, A. 2013), or in the case of Facebook, the
reader. Even once the political advertising blackout was in place, Facebook
users continued to use the power of their Facebook platform to push their
political opinions onto their fellow users, attracting readers’ attention by
inciting frustration (particularly during the blackout, as most Australian’s
were probably looking forward to enjoying some time away from hearing about
politics), by discussing a very emotionally charged topic in the community, and
attracting readers through common political opinion.
 |
| Image from http://facebook.com |
It
was interesting to observe on Facebook the difference between reality and
virtuality, and how virtuality gives the user a perceived power over their
community, power that they wouldn’t ordinarily have on a day-to-day,
face-to-face basis. The kind of statements that are made on Facebook statuses
are not statements that are generally made in reality. And that is where you
actually get a much clearer view of the minds of your fellow users. It’s your
chance to see what your online friends choose to discuss, and what their true
opinions are, when they have the power of both a keyboard and distance between
them and their readers. And that is perhaps where the modern day, online diary of
Facebook should meet with the 20th century. There really are just
some thoughts and ideas pushed out into the online community, that should
really be hidden away under lock and key (Rowe & Wyss, 2009). Particularly
during an election!
Reference List
Rowe,
C & Wyss, E.L (2009). Language and
New Media: Linguistic, Cultural and Technological Evolutions. Creskill, NJ.
Hampton Press, Inc.
Van
Luyn, A (2013) BA1002: Our Space: Networks, Narratives and the Making of Place.
Lecture Part 1, Week 6: Genre. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au
Woollaston,
V (2013, July 30). Revealed, what happens in just ONE minute on the internet:
216,000 photos posted, 278,000 Tweets and 1.8m Facebook likes. Mail Online. Retrieved from http://dailymail.co.uk
Image Credits
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