"Do you think after people stop using Facebook that there will be another social networking site that is similar, or will people give up social networking altogether?"
We live in a time where we can access almost anything online, including things about people. With social networking sites, we give up some of our own privacy to be nosy into the private lives of others. Before Facebook, we had MySpace. Some websites die, and then the users move onto a new one. It's simple. As long as we have the Internet, I think people will post to social networking sites.
But why do we posts to social networks? Is it simply to be connected? While staying in touch is a large factor, I think part of it is to be included in a large pool of gossip. I'll admit, there are some people who I have on Facebook that I hardly know, and the only reason why I keep them is to keep up with the gossip.
Praise is another large factor. With the ability to "Like" things on Facebook, I feel like posting things on the website is more of a popularity contest, if anything. I see people post things on the site, like song lyrics and other statuses that are purposely written to draw attention and attract praise. And many of Facebook's users would like a dislike button, another thing that would be used as a tool in determining popularity. It's not hard to imagine someone disliking the statuses of someone they're fighting with to bully them or something.
Questions: Is the "Like" system on Facebook a popularity contest?
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