Facebook is a social networking site that has become very popular in the last few years. People use the site to post information and all kinds of pictures about themselves. They can also look at other people’s profiles and stay current with what other people are doing. What people put on their own profiles can say many things about them. For the person whose profile I chose, there are three signs that stand out in explaining that person. These signs are the number of applications in the profile, the total number of friends, and the “looking for” section in the profile.
Within the last year or two, Facebook changed and allowed people to create applications and other people can add them to their profile to personalize it and make it their own. I have noticed in other profiles that people usually add some, maybe around twenty at the most. The profile I am studying for this assignment has four hundred twenty applications. This is the first thing anyone visiting this page will notice, including the very long load time the page takes. These really do personalize his profile, and they function as a way for him to express himself in many ways. I believe this sign is there so that others will think that he is cool. I also believe that this person wants other people to think that he is cool because he has added all of these “cool” applications. However, this particular feature of the profile, or sign, gives the impression that he may be trying too hard to seem cool and that others may think that he is strange for having so many applications.
The next major sign in his profile is his number of friends on Facebook. In his high school network, he has 597 friends. In all networks, his total number of friends, as of this assignment, is 1393 friends. This person wants this sign to function so that he seems like he is friends with many people and is liked by everyone. This is also what others are supposed to think. I do believe he knows most of the people he is friends with, but may not be actual friends with most of them. This sign actually functions in making people ask why he has so many friends and why anyone would want that. The logical explanation is that he wants to seem very popular by being “friends” with so many people. This sign can say a lot about a person and how they see themselves.
The last major sign I noticed on this profile is the “looking for” section at the top of the page. This person checked off the “whatever I can get” option. The “looking for” section can say a lot about people. In this particular profile, it gives off the impression that he wants whatever he can get, no matter what it is. It could be a relationship, networking, friends, random play, or just about anything. The creator of the profile put this there so that people will possibly become friends with him and get to know him. I believe this particular sign functions so that other people think that he may be crazy by checking that selection or that he is really easy to get along with. In contrast, it could also give the impression to others that he may be really hard to get along with and the only way he can meet people is online, hence the “whatever I can get.”
Signs play an important part in everyday life. Since social networking sites have become exponentially popular in the last five years, signs play a huge role in how these sites are used. People have the ability to post anything about themselves whether it is fact or fiction. The signs in the profile say a great deal about the creator of each one.
4 comments:
I really like the person you chose, they seem very interesting. You did a good job picking signs that make a point about this person - they seem like they're trying too hard to be cool. The "Looking For" section makes them look kind of desperate, even though the rest of the profile sets out to make them look cool. Good job =]
Why is it that so many of the people making MySpace and Facebook profiles seem to have a driving urge to prove themselves? I find it suspect that most people on these websites are actually trying to find true friends. I define a friend as a person you know things about and spend a decent amount of time with. I find it insane that this guy has so many people on his "friends" list. I cannot see any possible way this guy could actually know most of the people on that list and so the question becomes; if he isnt trying to make friends then what is the purpose of that huge list? I belive the entire goal of this person's site is just an ego booster. Would you agree?
not necessarily. He might not know all those people on a very personal level, but maybe they are acquaintances. Me personally I'd rather have my 'friends' be my actual friends. Maybe he sees it as a way to become friends with those people. He probably met a lot of those people at a party, in an organization, on a trip, or many other ways. If he found them or ask them to find him, he must of liked them enough to want to stay in contact somehow. I see it as a friendly jester. Having that many friends must have taken a while to get. He, also, could have been very good friends with some of them, then they drifted apart, and during that he made more, new friends. He might like to 'hold' on to his friends no matter how close they may or may not be.
I agree with dqs1988. In order to ad all of these friends he must have met most of them in order to be able to search their name to find them. I do not believe that he is close with all of them but I do not find it that odd. He may just be interested in "facebook stalking" people who he has met who have private profiles.
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