Facebook makes it real!

Years ago, when my mom would tell us about some event or happening that she had heard of, my brother and I would often tease her that the story must be true if it were mentioned on "Lotus" (Lotus FM - an Indian radio station in SA). These days the "logic" that everyone seems to apply is: "It's only real if it's on Facebook!"

A few weeks ago, I had a similar conversation with a fellow Twitter user, who explained that a friend was concerned that her boyfriend had not changed his relationship status on Facebook to show that they were in a relationship. This led to her friend questioning why her boyfriend would "hide" such a thing if he really is committed to her and her relationship is real.
 

To say that this was news to me would be a lie. I've heard similar stories a few times already and in some cases it actually leads to a loss of trust and the relationship ends.

 

But this does beg the question: Why exactly is Facebook so important to us?
 

The answer is two-fold:

We've all watched the movie and know the success story of Facebook - once upon a time a Harvard graduate designed a website as an interactive social forum, where people could share stories, photos, thoughts, and essentially, lives. Millions use it. But it’s really just a glorified stage with a glorified audience!
 

In our everyday lives we probably only reach a handful of people. For the most part we live private lives, moving within small circles. Or maybe like celebs, we live lavish, party-filled chaotic lives. Whatever the case, how do we get the people out there to see our lives the way we want them to see it? Through Facebook ofcourse! Our profiles are our stage and our "friends" are our audience: which ego can resist a set-up like that?
 

The second part, is simple: curiosity.
 

We’re all curious by nature. We want to know how things work, what people do, why they do such things, how they do them, when they do them – you get the point. Facebook gives us a portal into people's lives without being seen as nosy or confrontational. They willingly post everything for us to see! Spending time on Facebook looking at others gives some the opportunity to escape their own lives for a little while or even make them feel better about it.
 

And within all of this, we get caught up. Facebook becomes too important - priority number one. We develop the need to share everything on Facebook before we share anything with the people in our lives. If we need confirmation, we check Facebook first to see what’s been posted by others. Who said what? What did they do? etc
 

But what we are really searching for? Do we need validation by letting others know what we’re doing? Do we search that much to be "liked" and "friended" by people who otherwise don't care that much about our lives? Does something have to be made public on Facebook or wherever for it to be real?
 

While you think about that, I have a few status updates to "like"!