Facebook exhibits many paradoxes. It isolates at the same time as it exposes: it liberates users from the constraints of distance, yet confines them to a screen. Facebook facilitates effortless instant communication across a vast number of locations, whilst sustaining the experience that we are localized. It offers a sense of increased control and oversight over social connections, while it simultaneously curtails privacy. It has the allure of being completely open, accessible and democratic – its mission statement being “Giving people the power to share and make the world more open and connected” – yet in effect it constitutes a gated community, with invisible moderators in possession of total control. That is to say, in order to prevent the sharing of ‘inappropriate’ content violating Facebook’s terms, all activity is monitored. One is essentially relieved of claims to Facebook property. These paradoxes are interesting since they may be why so many users (and non-users) feel so ambivalent about Facebook.
...I miss the things that are withering--perhaps the excess or remainder of performance...manners, courtesy, attention span, depth?
