The Phenomenon of Facebook-Redefining Social Networking

What do Hillary Clinton, Tony the Tiger, and millions of college students have in common? They all have profiles on the contemporary social network known as Facebook.

As a college student, and avid Facebooker, I intend to share my knowledge and experiences with the site in order to uncover the reasons behind Facebook’s widespread success.

As Facebook.com explains, the purpose of this “social utility” is to keep friends connected and help people network in a safe online environment.

Mark Zuckerberg, an extremely intelligent student of Harvard University, created Facebook three years ago. At the age of 19, Mark and his college friends launched the site, which began as a place to connect Harvard students.

Today, Facebook has connections to universities across the globe, with over 25 million registered users. If you have a high school or college age child, chances are they’re very familiar with this popular site.

Once a fixation only among college students, Facebook is quickly expanding in the hope of connecting a diversity of users. Anyone with a valid e-mail address can register and create a free Facebook profile.

The site is successful because it is changing the ways in which the world can communicate.

Through Facebook, users create a profile where they can express their interests, activities, favorite movies, shows, books, quotes, and basic contact information. They can search for their friends and co-workers, and then click to add them as their ‘Facebook friend’.

There are countless ways to participate on Facebook, such as uploading pictures, ‘tagging’ or identifying ‘facebook friends’ that appear in your pics, sending messages, writing on friends’ walls, customizing your profile, writing notes to publish on Facebook, and updating your status to allow your friends to know exactly what you’re up to at any given time.

With all of these opportunities to connect, it’s no wonder people (especially students) are spending hours on this site, and visiting it repeatedly in order to stay updated with what’s happening in the lives of their Facebook friends.

Through Facebook, I am connected with 73 different networks, and hundreds of people, from the U.S to Australia. I can see what my friends who are currently studying abroad are up to, and view pictures of their adventures.

Some of my favorite professors are now Facebook users. The site is an excellent tool for professors to get to know their students on a more personal level. It’s not uncommon for students to ask academic questions through Facebook messaging instead of e-mail, or to write friendly comments on their professor’s wall.

Employers are also discovering the benefits of Facebook, and can search for the profiles of potential employees. Therefore, it’s smart to keep a clean profile, and to be aware of who you are associating with through the site. Many sororities, fraternities, and campus organizations monitor the profiles of their members and discourage pictures of drinking, and inappropriate behavior.

Facebook’s privacy settings and methods of connectivity separate it from Myspace, and all other internet social networks. Myspace, which has similar features to Facebook, emphasizes individuality and expression through more personalized profiles. Facebook focuses on simple, safe connectivity.

Facebook corresponds more with real life than Myspace, as users typically add people they already know as their ‘Facebook friends’. Myspace, users are often contacted by random locals.

In upcoming articles, I’d like to further examine the role Facebook plays in the life of the student, as well as the advantages (and maybe one or two disadvantages) of the site. Lastly, we’ll uncover how Facebook is affecting the dating world, and improving the love lives of college students everywhere.

-Courtney Jewett is a Senior English major at Baylor University, and is pursuing a career in Journalism. 

This article has been provided personally by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).

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