Procrastination is one of the most dreaded afflictions college students face, among others such as swine flu and STDs, and one of the symptoms of procrastination is Facebookstatusupdateitis. This is one of the most painful symptoms, as it leads to the readers of the statuses having an unfiltered knowledge of whatever, and I mean whatever, their friends are doing at any one time.
Updates are posted about the most intimate details of writers’ lives, inviting all those who can read into their world. Some of the more recent examples: “F$%@ THE CHP! (pulled over by the CHP), “work till 1 p.m. (I’d guess they’re working), “Megan McPherson had murder burger last night…and now wants to die…” (I don’t want to know that), “Megan McPherson just took an AWESOME procrasti-shower,” “Heidi Thompson drank so much on tuesday that even her backyard was hungover,” and “Joe Schmoe drained a redbull, studying for midterm tomorrow-1:17 a.m..” Some posts are obviously looking for reader responses, whether it be looking for comfort (“Virginia Ha had a horrible day L”) or assistance (“Tommy John totally could use some help like right now!”).
The most perplexing thing for me is why do people feel the need to update everyone about every single event and problem in their lives? It brings people who are not involved into the situation and almost puts an obligation upon the reader to respond to the posts as they see it (Do I respond to the update saying my friend had a bad day, or do I ignore it?). The question that begs to be asked is what were people doing before Facebook and Twitter were created? How did they survive without telling everyone about every single thought on their mind? Did they just randomly burst out into updates in the middle of the Coffee House: “I just took a shower, and I feel GREAT!” or “I need a hug….like RIGHT NOW!” I think that most people would refrain from doing that, but then why do it on the Internet? Do not get me wrong, social networking is a good thing, but the level of Twittering and Facebook status updates is at an absurd level, and it should lead all those involved to ask themselves a question: Do I really need everyone to know that I got trashed last night and threw up and ended up feeling crummy this morning? I believe the answer would be a resounding NO.
This post made me chuckle in agreement. :>
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow facebooker, I also notice some of the most ridiculous and surprisingly personal status updates sometimes. It makes me wonder, "Who do they expect to read this? Only their friends?" Maybe. But truth is, everyone they have befriended in the network can easily tune into their business since it ONLY pops into newsfeeds everywhere.
I personally try to refrain myself from updating my status to anything too revealing or vulgar, as if my family could access it, IF I post anything at all.
This post made me chuckle in agreement. :>
ReplyDeleteAs a fellow facebooker, I also notice some of the most ridiculous and surprisingly personal status updates sometimes. It makes me wonder, "Who do they expect to read this? Only their friends?" Maybe. But truth is, everyone they have befriended in the network can easily tune into their business since it ONLY pops into newsfeeds everywhere.
I personally try to refrain myself from updating my status to anything too revealing or vulgar, as if my family could access it, IF I post anything at all.
I agree people who update their status every five minutes are really obnoxious and most of the time they don't have anything important to say. However, I have to say I am a little bit obsessed with facebook.
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm not going to lie, I spend a lot of time on Facebook as well :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I think time is too precious to be wasted and there is no need to have everyone to know the exact details that are going on in my life.
ReplyDeleteThis is freaken hilarious and yet so true! There are some people who spend hours on facebook and update their status 10 times a day. but i can see why facebook is so addicting, it's like a virtual networking experience that let you talk/stalk other people.
ReplyDelete