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| "The Puppeteer" (1932) by Norman Rockwell |
To what extent are personal relationships increasingly automated--not just filtered through digital media but prompted and generated by invisible algorithms?
How does this change the nature of human interactions?
I would define the concept of fictionless sharing as the ability to connect with friends and family without any effort. Social media is becoming increasingly frictionless and it is ruining relationships. Connecting with someone should have some friction, because friction requires effort. You have to make an effort to really get to know someone. Social media just displays everything about us onto a screen, so we're no longer physically learning about each other and growing closer. Social media has totally changed the process of getting to know someone. Personal relationships are becoming more automated because it no longer takes much physical or mental capabilities to really get to know someone. People get to know each other online instead of in the real world. As a result, human interactions are happening less often. Human interactions are also shorter and often only happen because it was forced. Human interactions before social media were better because we genuinely wanted to talk to other people and see what they were up to. Today, social media does that for us so what's the need for actual human interaction?
ReplyDeleteWhile I do agree with the majority of your response, I have a few things to add. I do believe that social media is making relationships increasingly insincere, but there are some things it is good for. Long distance relationships, extended family, and making new friends are a few examples. You said that friendships should involve friction, and I agree. However, if people want to learn new things about each other over social media, they will. We as humans do not necessarily need to physically be with each other to learn about each other. I see social media as a fine way to get a small understanding of others. People “post” on social media to tell people how or what they are doing, which does eliminate the need for asking. Overall, I believe social media is a way to connect to people on the surface. In order to maintain a stable relationship, there needs to be more than what you see on social media. Many people want their “followers” to see every aspect of their life, but I say that social media is like the tip of the iceberg. People should make an attempt to befriend others and learn more about them.
DeleteFrictionless sharing, or communication without effort, has changed my generation. Instead of having human communication everything goes through a machine. Last year at school I was sitting by a girl who was dating a prospective boyfriend; after every message she received she would Google what to reply. How is this genuine communication? How does this make anyone's life "frictionless?" Sure, the text messages might be easy enough but as soon as the two people meet in person for an extended amount of time they won't be able to create conversation. This is just one example of how frictionless sharing has effected human interactions but I think it speaks volumes! I know that I want my relationships to be more meaningful than this one looked, and even if that means having a little bit of friction I think it will be worth it in the long run.
DeleteI think what Zuckerberg meant by “frictionless sharing” is that though social media or digital media it is easier to say things without thinking of the consequences or even if what you are sharing or saying is acceptable according to social norms. I also think that it means that it is easier to talk to someone because you don’t have to worry so much about being presentable or watching out for important body language because communication that is indirect is more exaggerated.
ReplyDeleteI believe that even our ways of making friends and even finding significant others has become automated through things like dating sites and various social sharing sites. Apps and sites like Tinder let you “match” with someone when you both press on a heart button to indicate that you like the other one either based purely on looks or if you liked something in their bio. It is impersonal and can sometimes make the conversation or interaction feel like this large orchestrated play. Though this kind of dating and interacting you only get to know the sides that that person is willing to show to you. There is no just getting to know someone and find out if you actually like them or not because most people view their ‘matches’ as something that should directly progress to dating. Not to mention that because it’s based mainly on looks, you could end up missing an opportunity with someone that you could have actually got along with based off of personality.