Facebook- a necessary piece of narcissism
By Tim O?Connell
The world?s fourth most trafficked website, 120 million users worldwide? there might be something to this Facebook thing! You are now friends with John Key. Imagine my delight to discover that I now had an electronic bond with the Prime Minister-designate of New Zealand. It is unlikely that my friendship will extend to casual barbeques or a cheeky jug at The Backbencher. However, with a simple click of my mouse, I was now privy to finding out a little bit about the man who held the future of our country in the slightly nervous palm of his hand. Even more beneficial for me was the fact that I found an old school friend I hadn?t heard from in eight years, Apparently, Josh is in London, and is sad that it?s Monday. Oh yes, and he?s friends with John Key too. God bless Facebook! ? Admittedly, the idea of placing my feelings on the worldwide web - as if people were eager to find out - was something I had avoided with a passion until then. First impressions indicated that there was something narcissistic about the whole concept of the Facebook craze. But after several friends mentioned their cyber-meetings with long lost acquaintances, and invitations to join various groups, my curiosity got the better of me. Six months on, I?m now 210 friends up and have reconnected with cousins I haven?t seen in 17 years. The value of this social network has quickly spread from being a mere tool for making friends into a voice for thousands of global citizens looking to be heard. Both U.S presidential candidates waged their campaign on their own pages, while others have started lobby groups through the website as a type of online petition. With an 89 per cent rise in the number of people using Facebook worldwide in 2007, it seems that we are seeing a climb in popularity which could see the network become almost essential before too long.?? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? With the mind boggling variety of applications being uploaded or created daily, most would agree that the only way that Facebook can go is up. How far up remains to be seen. For now most are content to continue letting family and friends know how hot it is on holiday in Thailand.
