Facebook and Twitter taking too much time.

Originally networks such as Facebook or Twitter were a place to reconnect with people you may not have in contact with otherwise, when going off to college or moving. Now facebook and Twitter are becoming a overwhelming time consuming network that users feel obligated to update even hourly. For some users it is starting to control their lives.

Celebrities such as Miley Cyrus are starting to recognize this and take action, Cyrus deleted her Twitter last fall. Since then the trend of freeing yourself from networking continues. "That desire to unplug has made an unexpected success out of websites such as Web 2.0 Suicide Machine and Seppukoo, free sites that automate and turbocharge the otherwise laborious manual process of scrapping your online self." -Some ditch social networks to reclaim time, privacy.

What I am realizing now is we are less worried about old friends, and now getting bombarded with people we don't know and information we don't need. Once in the digitial society it is hard to leave, feeling as if you're going to miss something. We are wasting our time updating our status about who we went to dinner with, then enjoying dinner with that actual person. We need to remember to take time from networks or we may soon be so exhausted and not have any motivation left for "real life" face-to-face connection.

Communication

On sites like Facebook and Twitter, the main focus is communication. Reaching old friends, posting clever statuses, posting events, but all of these things are digitial. More and more often we are communicating through these digital sources, to our boyfriends, our parents, down to talking with our professors. This is important, but it may not be what our main source for "talking" should be.

A large part of our face-to-face conversation is Body Language. Although you may say something, your body may be expressing something completely different. For example, if you are trying to impress a boss you don't get along with, you may say nice things to them but have your arms crossed. A person's body language is not limited to just physical movements, but eye contact, space, or the way someone may talk. This is very important to tune into with others to see how they are truly feeling.

With this we need to evaluate ditigal conversations. The only part of the conversation we are hearing are the preconcieved well thought out sentences scrolling across the screen. A person may be simply portraying what they want you to see. With face-to-face conversations it is all spontaneous with no time to set out what is said. Also they can't hide their body language behind  a computer screen.

Facebook may be a thriving new way to talk to people, but we seriously need to consider if this should be our primary source. We may be losing genuine conversation, and turning into an even more artificial society.

Logos

Exploring my topic, I have found that the issue of social networks is very relevant in our society right now. In the article In a Wikileaks Era, Balancing Public and Private, people around the globe are wondering if the rise of social networks will benefit our society. After the release of Government confidential documents through Wikileaks, we are now realizing how blogging can completely change and abolish our thought of "privacy". What is now being proposed by blogging and internet supporters, is the decrease of privacy will help the society become more transparent.
Although transparency is important in society, it has also been braught to global leaders attention that this "publicity" may be going to far. With Wikileaks's scandal in the past, we now need to learn from it. With so many sources available online it is hard to distinguish what is correct. Therefore, regulations need to be proposed on what is released and what is "kept off the record". Although this is true, it is hard to decide where the line must be drawn. Releasing confidential documents may be unloyal to our country, at what point would the government be taking our freedom of speech away by making regulations on what we can publish online?

Issue: Social Networks

Today, in our society, social networks are being used more and more. College students find themselves on Facebook when they should be listening in lecture, celebrities use Twitter to update their fans, and Myspace is still used to promote bands. Although these networks are a huge part of our life, the question if they are "good" for our society should be asked. Are we spending too much time online "connecting" and not stopping to talk to the person next to us?

A little background check.

Hey, my name is Kayla Kohler.
I am a freshman at Northwest Missouri State. I am from Omaha Nebraska, if you know Omaha, I am from Papillion. My family is somewhat large. I have 2 parents that have been married for 28 years, and 3 sisters. My parents raised us in a christian environment, and from that I have developed a strong relationship with Christ. In high school and now college, being involved in Christian organizations and becoming close with Christ has been very important to me. A favorite moment in high school from that involvement was going on tour with a Black Gospel Choir. :) I am now also a Tri Sigma. These things have shaped who I am and my beliefs, so yeah. :)