on August 3, 2009 by Adam in Interesting, Comments (3)
Does Facebook Lead to Suicide?
That’s what the Archbishop of the UK is saying. He claims that social networking sites are replacing real world relationships and making society lose its ability to build “interpersonal communication”.
At first it sounds absurd that social networking sites will lead to suicide, but the more I think about it the more it makes sense. Less real relationships, more prone to superficial judgment, and lots of sad people looking for online friends. I could only imagine what it would be like to be someone on one of these sites, be it Facebook, Myspace, or even XiaoNei (the Chinese Facebook) and care about how many comments I get on my photos etc.
Personally, I find social networking sites to be a tool to “add” people you get to know so you don’t forget them. However I do find their “apps” distracting and a waste of time. Thankfully, my premiere summer destination forbids Facebook so I an disinclined to visit there anyways.
Tian Xie
August 3, 2009 @ 10:17 am
agree.
i dont use xiaonei or facebook much.
and chinese government gives me the oppotunity not to log on facebook.
thank our government.
Andy Hallman
August 19, 2009 @ 3:11 am
I would think that someone who cared a lot about the number of comments their photo or post received would be less likely to commit suicide than someone who didn’t. By the way, I’m one of the people who care quite a bit about the comments they receive.
Does he know very much about facebook? Does he not think that chatting with someone online requires interpersonal skills? What if you speak with that person through a microphone in your computer? Through a webcam? I think all three of these methods of communication can build interpersonal skills.
The advantage of speaking over the internet is that it is easier to ignore the people you don’t like, which you accomplish by never accepting a chat request from them. Disagreeable people you encounter in real life cannot be ignored nearly as easily.
Adam
August 19, 2009 @ 6:26 am
Haha, Andy I don’t care how many comments I get on status updates on Facebook but i DO care how many comments I get on this blog, as it reflects people considering what I am saying.