So I was doing some internet browsing on Cosmopolitan.com, and came across two very interesting articles that are highly related to what we have discussed in class.
The first article Are You Oversharing on Facebook? talks about a new study that shows that how often women update their facebook photos is directly related to their self esteem. According this study, conducted at the University of Buffalo, “females who base their self worth on their appearance tend to share more photos online and maintain larger networks on online social networking sites.” They state that women, whom care a lot about their image and appearance, use Facebook as a platform to compete and also to get attention.
The second article I found, What These Facebook Statuses Really Mean, talks about some of the most annoy facebook behaviors that our friends or maybe even we may be committing. The author says that sometimes “reading status updates makes you think everyone else is happier and having more fun than you are” and that’s practically what this article is about. The Offenders here are: The Smug Newlywed, The 28-Year-Old Woman-Child, Ms Very Busy and Very Important, Miss In a Relationship and Flaunting It, and The Easy-Breezy New Mommy. Each of these women commits facebook faults of rubbing her life into others faces using facebook. I know this article talks mainly about female types, but I’m sure there are male equivalents who’s facebook updates are just as annoying. It makes us want to unfriend them, but you can’t, because they are your brother. This is a situation i’ve gotten to see first hand: Myboyfriend currently has a war going on with his brother who goes to school in Tampa, FL. Everytime my bf logs onto facebook, his younger brother has a new status update talking about the amazing time he’s having, and needless to say, theres a major sibling rivalry going on, trying to one up one another, and insult/belittle the other via facebook. Recently, my bfs younger bro posted about a vacation he’s taking to Punta Cana, and my bf flipped. These two don’t talk on the phone, and having facebook be their only mode of communication has led to major jealousy issues. So facebook offenses definitely aren’t female only behavior.
I’m smiling because, I agree with you 100% but I would also like to add that it’s not only women or girls that do this, guys can be just as persistent and annoying. It is a way to fuel competition, get attention, kill time and overall, just be annoying. It really gets to me after a while when people update their Facebook statuses every two minutes. It makes me think that they have nothing better to do with their time. There are also different names for guys who do that also which is pretty funny. I remember mentioning in one of our previous classes that I had a friend who did that. It was annoying at first, but I got used to seeing it on my news feed every time I logged in. I must admit that I would feel really bad if I delete this person from my Facebook friends list so he’s just there strictly for “decoration and entertainment ” purposes : )
On another note, I grew up with a cousin and we were pretty close so I knew what she was like. It was pretty funny to see her Facebook and the way the typed and the personality she portrayed on the website. It always cracked me up. I wouldn’t say I have competition like your boyfriend has with his brother, but it was just funny to see the “online image” she portrayed compared to the actual person she is.
So, to sum this up, I do agree with you that girls tend to have annoying Facebook statuses and their entire life history on their profiles. Some guys do the same also, so to some extent, they both act alike and have similar behaviors on Facebook.
I agree with both of you from the point of view that both men and women can be extremely annoying on facebook, no matter what. To be honest though, it does not annoy me when people try and flaunt their happy lives. If they truly are that happy, good for them! I get more irritated when people constantly complain about how miserable their lives are through facebook and instead of doing something about it, they only complain; they take no action to change their lives for the better. Also, many of these people complain about such whimsical, nonsense things, which drives me absolutely insane. I sometimes want to comment and let them know that so many people have it worse than they do.
I also find it irritating when people use facebook to either 1) let everyone know every five minutes about every little thing they are doing or 2) to type things about other people and instigate unneccessary drama. Often times people post status updates about another person, but they would never utter these words to the person directly. I think sometimes people need to vent and this is absolutely understandable, but people need to think before they post!
You said the Cosmopolitan article discussed girls wanting attention, and I agree, but guys are no stranger to this and this should be discussed as well. Girls get labelled more often for being “less than pure” (to put it lightly), than guys do, but I find plenty of guys on facebook on their to grab female’s attention, posting half naked pictures and the like. I definitely have friends that are girls with 1,000+ friends for the same reason, but as I reiterate, males do it too.
There is definitely some truth to this article in that females can be quite attention-hungry on Facebook. In fact, I remember Steve Byrne, a comedian, saying that women who have no specific talent are the biggest contributors to Facebook. He continues to joke that these women use Facebook as their red carpet because there is no other way that they would receive attention from elsewhere. I agree with this article that people rub their lives into other people’s face to stay relevant especially when they are entering a relationship or just had a baby; these women just want the world to know about a milestone in their lives. But it really leads to us “hating” on these individuals. The article definitely got a laugh out of me, but reminded me of something out of Mean Girls because of its overly condescending translations.
However, I am a big supporter of the idea that men are just as equally guilty of seeking attention online. My teenage brother, for example, has been modeling for just about a year. When he put up his new headshots on his Facebook, his profile was swarmed with female attention. Needless to say, he has been soaking up the attention and is continuing to fuel the fire by updating his profile regularly with new modeling photos or adding a status with his newest gig. I know plenty of other males who regularly clog up my newsfeed with pictures of their biceps or basketball trophies. The Facebook attention- seekers really go both ways – female or male.
It seems that everyone just wants their fifteen minutes of fame, with disregard to other people’s personal newsfeed space.
These articles have a lot of valid points; especially the one stating how often you post photos to Facebook may reveal a lot more about your character than anything you’ve written in your profile. Your face and body can only go through but so many changes in a 48 hour period. If you have changed your profile picture approximately 4-6 times during that time frame, there probably is a deeper issue with you besides not liking your hair, or the way that yellow top was fitting you.
In this society, I believe there is a lot of pressure on females to look and act a certain way if they want to be accepted, and held in a ‘high light’. The constant battle to show your audience how beautiful you are will never be won, and remain just that… a constant battle for a female who searches for acceptance based on feedback solely on her looks. Because then it becomes an internal issue of her self-worth, and a competition with the next 857 females on her friends’ list.
In Addition, I have definitely seen first-hand posts of some my girlfriends on Facebook that seem to be another way of them seeking attention from their audience…us. I can’t say I completely disagree with them for doing so, because isn’t that a part of what Facebook is about? Broadcasting your thoughts? Like Goffman says we all play roles in each other’s’ lives. The confusion or Issue lies with what should be said, and when it should be stated. When you sign on, above your News Feed…it clearly says, “What’s on your mind?”…Some people( MEN and WOMEN) take that a bit more LITERALLY than others. 🙂
yes it very funny to me how some people portray their personalities on face book. Especially the annoying types. It is seen in both men and women shocking to say. Yes the quote says whats on your mind but it does not state whats on your mind every five minutes. To me its just a way people seek attention and even find that 15 mins of fame.
People fail to establish the separation between personal and private issues. Face book allows an individual to adapt a second persona one in which is totally different from who you are as an individual. It a place where you can be anyone you wish to be. Therefore the additional attention you get for your second persona from people other than from your friends and family may the added attention needed to keep a high self esteem .
I think that to many people Facebook (as well as other social media sites) has become a way for people to show to the rest of the world just how they want to be seen. Like Goffman explained people play roles and have a front stage and a back stage. The front stage becomes their Facebook updates and statuses and the backstage is how a person really feels, no front, just the real them facing the reality of things.
I think that the reason why Facebook (and other sites like it) has become so popular is exactly for this reason. People can show to the world only what they want to show, highlight the better things in their life and essentially make themselves feel better. This can actually be a great thing for a lot of people, by portraying yourself in a certain way or “playing a role” in a sense you’re using Facebook as a way to make yourself feel better, a kind of defense mechanism.
So whether you’re a woman or a man, I think that all people post things online to sometimes make themselves feel better, but I think that its when people turn to these sites as their only means as to convince themselves that their life is great (by getting confirmation from others) is when people need to just take a step back and see what’s really going on.