The Social Network (Week 4)

Last October, I managed to catch the film "The Social Network" when it was being screened in the cinemas. The film “The Social Network” is a movie about the founders of the ever-popular social networking site, Facebook, and how it all began. It takes us through the whole process of how Facebook, from its humble beginnings, became what it is today. It started off with two friends, trying to execute a simple idea, and grew to be become something so massive, that it has become such a vital tool in our everyday lives.

Personally, I felt that the movie was filmed in a very clever way. It took a potentially boring plot and managed to turn it into something worth watching. The script was witty, and the way the plot managed to weave through the past and present without confusing the audience was impressive. The actors did a fabulous job of portraying their respective roles. Jesse Eisenberg did a particularly good job of portraying the arrogant and egotistical Mark Zuckerberg.

The film was a rather memorable one because of the ever-growing significance of social networking sites such as Facebook. In today’s day and age, Facebook plays a crucial part in creating culture, and in our everyday lives. Facebook users are not just limited to a narrow age group. It spans across a large range, from young teenagers to youths to working adults and even parents and possibly grandparents as well.

Facebook has numerous functions. People use it to maintain their own personal relationships and to keep in touch with their friends and loved ones. They use it to compile pictures, and organise events and gatherings, and to keep track of birthdays. Even companies are jumping on the bandwagon, trying to use Facebook to their advantage. Aside from using Facebook as a platform for advertising, companies also use it to organise events and seminars, and some companies even use Facebook as a tool in their recruitment drives.

It is obvious that majority of us rely a great deal on Facebook. Some might even call it an over-reliance. This over-reliance on a social networking site such as Facebook creates a culture where people start to communicate more and more through mediums online, and get increasingly lazy to initiate face to face conversations and discussions.

While Facebook seems to carry more benefits than disadvantages in today's world, we have to be careful to use such social networkings sites with discretion. Abusing a tool such as this by overusing it could lead negatively impact society in the future. Essentially, social networking sites should be used to complement face to face communication, and not replace it entirely.