Summary of “Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism”
Christine Rosen’s essay makes a brilliant point that social networking sites have become the modern equivalent of a self portrait. People post the pictures they want others to see and information that may be flattering to themselves all in order to create a façade to boost their image. The development of social network sites have not just appeared over night; their origins began with a low tech bulletin board system called WELL which was launched in the 1980s but with the years to come more networking sites like Facebook and MySpace quickly emerged. Christine even goes on to explain that these networks are not even bound to the friend making world but have even integrated themselves within the realm of business and politics. Social sites are open grounds for people to build their rep and lure others into looking at their businesses. It creates attention to their product and can even provide opportunities to expand because they can get people to notice them. Politicians have even been able to take advantage of the new wave of networking and use the sites to advocate their own campaigns. With the huge explosion of these networking sites Christine points out that it is interesting to see how the first generation facebook users are becoming older and more youth are becoming connected. Its growing effect is taking more of a stance in society and could essentially become just as relevant part of anyone’s routine. The prevalence of sites like Facebook have even developed social norms that are even discussed in regular daily interaction, things like; friending, commenting of others walls, posting relationship statuses all focuses back to the individual and their intentions. The strength of social network sites has become quite impressive. Christine and ends her essay that that people who do not have hundreds of friends online really don’t have many friends at all and this could basically just be a type of social death. Having friends online creates some a