Does Facebook Dominate Online Communication?
The business Insider (2015) suggested that “Soon, Facebook could be the dominant force in how we communicate online.” Currently, Facebook is not only the largest social networks, but also owns the second-largest social network, Instagram, and the two largest messaging apps, Messenger and Facebook app (Kim 2015). Considering this ask yourself, is Facebook the controlling force in how we communicate and how does this affect us?
To answer this question I’ve conducted an anonymous survey directed at my friends on Facebook. Personally, I think that Facebook is the controlling force in the way I communicate, and it has led to a dependency on using the network as a messaging platform to stay up-to-date with my friends, peers and university studies. Although, I was curious to see if my Facebook “friends” shared the same view. Now here are the results!
In the digital age, the prevalence of computer-mediated communication in one’s communication environment appears to be transforming the way we communicate. The results from my survey, although few, prove this as the results suggest that the majority are extremely likely to use Facebook each day, spending at least an hour or two using the platform. The majority of survey participants indicated that although they only talk to a few of their “friends” online, Facebook communication has transformed the way they communicate, as not having Facebook would greatly affect their level of communication. However, the question of whether a person would keep Facebook or not if it wasn’t needed for communication remains a mystery, as there wasn’t enough results to make a clear distinction. Though, the results did show that the majority (44.4%) would either delete Facebook or would consider it (33.33%), if it wasn’t their main form of communication.
Now, I’d like to expand on how this could affect us. An article in Forbes (2012) wrote that as humans, “our only real method of connection is through authentic communication”. This entails 7% of verbal communication and 93% of nonverbal body language (Tardanico 2012). Knowing this, and that Facebook appears to be our main form of communication, this leaves us with an unprecedented paradox. With the ability to communicate anytime, anywhere, “are we more connected - and potentially more disconnected - then ever before?”(Taradanico 2012). By using Facebook 93% of our communication content is stripped away, making decisions based on phrases, that in my experience are always open to different interpretations. Which may or may not be accurate representations of the truth.
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