Is Facebook Gossip, Entertainment or Friendship? Hal discusses on CBC Radio's Q :comments

Posted by Hal
Tags: production, Video sharing, Voyeurism

So this morning I’m going to be on CBC Radio’s art and lifestyle show Q talking about Facebook, in particular responding to a study just released by the Economist.

The study basically shows that the average person has around 120 “friends” on Facebook but that most people only actively follow and comment on the profiles/status updates/pictures/wall posts of say 10-15 of those “friends.”

This is pretty much a validation of what I’ve been arguing in terms of Peep Culture, that we use social networks less as genuine attempts to achieve friendship and more as a combination of entertainment, marketing and gossip (not the gossip that used to keep community cohesive, but the new global cyber gossip that allows us to feel like we have relationships with people we don’t know).

The truth is that although many of us claim that we only add people we know, most of us do not really ‘know’ 120 people in any meaningful way. We’re adding them because the urge to do is irresistible. With the click of a button, we’re entertaining ourselves and marketing ourselves. It’s all very addictive and exciting. (I’m totally guilty of this…the other day someone accused me of being FB friend obsessed….I thought about it for about 4 seconds before realizing that she was totally right…I need help.)

So check out the show if you want to hear me discussing this in more detail, it’s on today at 10am est but they also have a podcast.

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The Bloggist

Hey, I’m Hal Niedzviecki. I’m a writer/thinker who lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with my wife and daughter. Up till now I’ve always considered myself a private person. But at the same time I’m fascinated by people who effortlessly open themselves up to the whole world. So I’ve… more...

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Ghostbuster zines from the Canzine Hollywood Piracy Zine Challenge are now online! http://t.co/RoAMEQTU

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EXPOZINE 2011, Montreal’s 10th Annual Small Press, Comic and Zine Fair—http://t.co/3ISW3Ovx http://t.co/FlLfB6hk

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