Don’t be fooled by the royal blue, Facebook has a power over
users and it is causing the world to reduce as we know it. Facebook is a social
network and since being started in 2004 has reached over a billion users. Don’t get me wrong social networking can be
great, it helps you get connected with people, and stay in touch with friends
and family. But people are getting a bit too connected. Well, think about it,
there are over a billion-people using this website, that’s a lot of people and
a Facebook user can connect to them all, if they wanted to. All they had to do
was search up a name and click on the link, then viola! Instant gateway into
someone’s life. It is a big world, but Facebook is making it look a whole lot smaller
by giving users connectivity and by giving them a lot of space and a lot of
freedom.
‘Space is freedom’[1],Facebook
provides users with freedom of speech and connectivity which could allow people
to feel freer and give them more space to express themselves. However, it also makes
the world smaller by connecting people to each other in a few simple clicks or just
searching up a name. Facebook has a corporate power over users, which is
growing in numbers every day. This is making it so easy to connect to new
people.
‘A theory stemming from an experiment by social psychologist
Stanley Milgram in the 1960s claims every living person is connected to any
other through only six friends. According to a recent study, Facebook
reduces the six degrees of separation to only four, meaning the world's
largest social network makes the world even smaller (figuratively). The study,
a joint effort by Facebook and Università degli Studi di Milano, shows that the
number of "hops" separating any two persons on Facebook is in fact
smaller than six. According to the study, "99.6% of all pairs of users are
connected by paths with 5 degrees (6 hops), 92% are connected by only four
degrees (5 hops)," with the average "distance" between users
getting smaller over time.’[2]
The other day I was on Facebook and I got a random message
from someone from India, asking if we wanted to be friends. Obviously, I
deleted the message, but the scary thing is, that wasn’t the first time I got a
message from a random person in the world and I’m sure it won’t be the last. So,
with just a few clicks a person in India who I have never met, found me.
Figure 1: Illustrates the promoting and advertising of Facebook
connecting users from around the world. (Schroeder, S. (2011). Facebook Makes the World Smaller; Shrinks 6
Degrees of Separation 4)
Facebook advertises about connecting and sharing with the
people in your life. Instead of travelling thousands of miles to see someone,
you could just log onto Facebook. Plus, with the new developments and updates
you can video chat and send photos, you don’t even have to leave your house for
company.
Facebook has the power to give people so much freedom and
expression, while linking them to different people in a few clicks. People are basically
travelling the world to see new friends and family while staying in the comforts
of their homes. This social network shrinks the 6 degrees of separation to only
4. Facebook is advancing daily. It user’s numbers are growing and it is
updating constantly. Maybe Facebook will shrink the 6 degrees of separation again
to 2.
References
1.
Tuan, Y. (1977). Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. Arnold, E: Great Britain
2.
Schroeder, S. (2011). Facebook Makes the World
Smaller; Shrinks 6 Degrees of Separation 4) – Retrieved from http://mashable.com/2011/11/22/facebook-six-degrees/?utm_source=pulsenews&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29
3.
(Schroeder, S. (2011). Facebook Makes the World Smaller; Shrinks 6 Degrees of Separation 4) -Retrieved
from http://mashable.com/2011/11/22/facebook-six-degrees/?utm_source=pulsenews&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Mashable+%28Mashable%29
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