Are You A Facebook Creeper?
We’re a generation molded to embrace online social networking. From e-mail to AIM to today’s overwhelming amount of social networking websites, we feed on the ability to connect with people online. At the center of it all is Facebook with over 350 million users. What’s driving this phenomenon that makes us so eager to log in, looking for that small red box in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen? Why do we lick our lips when a new photo album appears on our page, or get that feeling of anticipation as we click on “+1 friend request” and wonder who it is? What makes our generation value Facebook so much?
Facebook is a social resume of who we are.
Just like a professional resume, we have the power to carefully craft how we want to appear to everyone. Our most flattering pictures are our profile photos, giving a first impression of our best physical features caught in that one glamorous moment. We fill our interests and activities to showcase what makes us tick, laugh, and grimace. We add our favorite quotes from movies, or a hilariously stupid question asked by a friend that made the whole room erupt. Our “About Me” section is littered with tidbits of facts about who we are with the hope that whoever looks at our profile thinks, “wow, this person must be cool”.
Facebook is online dating profile meets professional resume.
Like resumes, we’re always updating our accomplishments. Always improving. Always tweaking. Deleting the embarrassing and compromising photos from parties (we’ve all got one), constantly changing our statuses, announcing that we’ve landed that job we were hoping to get, that we nailed the mid-term we crammed for, or just posting a link to a great Youtube video you love and want to share. Facebook is there for us to show off our best qualities to impress our friends and anyone else who can see.
Let’s face it: the obligatory reason for Facebook being so important to us, “it connects me to all my friends, family, and people I haven’t seen in years!” is nowhere near the top on the scale of importance. If you have a Facebook account, you probably do a fair amount of “Facebook creeping”. You check and see if your ex is dating someone new. You look browse photos of vacations taken by people you barely know.
Feel guilty for staring into someone’s life without them knowing? Relax, that’s why Facebook exists.
That’s why we keep logging in, and that’s why we continue to creep. The reason we perfect our pages is that we want people to look. It’s a 24/7 open house to who we are, what we do for fun and parade the photos of the lives we live. And it’s there because we want to be seen, heard, and acknowledged. Facebook offers multiple levels of privacy when it comes to the information, photos, videos and wall posts that people can see. It’s not a binding contract that requires you to make public everything about you; it’s all up to the individual. And if it’s there, it’s free game to be viewed by us.
Facebook has revolutionized the way we connect with other friends, showcase the talents we have, display the things we like and dislike, and even get our names out into the marketing world. But at its roots Facebook is a real life Being John Malkovich where we have the ability to look into the lives of other people and open our doors to them.
And you know what? It’s a completely normal, human thing to do. It’s why Facebook is home to 350 million people. And it’s why we keep creeping logging in everyday.
Are you a Facebook creeper?
Photo Credit: pressthebuttononthetop
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by mckenzielawton: Facebook creeping… because we all do it by @evanpowers86 http://bit.ly/78GKzt #tngg…
I will admit it right now. I am absolutely a Facebook creeper. And I’m not too ashamed to admit it. However, it does become tricky when you already know facts about a person that they never actually told you…
Great article
I think it is ridiculous that some people have limited profiles, yet they are also hardcore facebook creepers. You can’t have it both ways!
I LOVE this article. I will openly admit I’m a bit of a Facebook creeper — when you’re bored and procrastinating, it just sort of happens. I like getting a glimpse of what fellow highschool classmates, etc. etc. are up to, even if I haven’t seen them since graduation and don’t really ACTUALLY care all that much.
Nice article- at the end of the day, humans are simply curious creatures, and the willingness for some (or many) of them to dig around other people’s profiles and pics is only natural. I guess it’s not unlike the pre-Internet days when someone would try breaking into their sister’s room when they weren’t home to get a sneak peak of their diary (if they managed to find it!)
Great post, I so agree with it, especially the notion that people WANT to be seen.
I love, too, that you don’t mention Twitter, a service that is falling out of favor with me, whereas Facebook only grows in appeal. The reason: I honestly don’t see Twitter as very social. It’s too anonymous, it doesn’t encourage an exchange, it’s impersonal. I love the discipline of writing tweets and I like Twitter for news, but that’s about it. Whereas Facebook, well, it’s up there with crack.
And, yes, I have creeped and will creep again.
Jeff
http://www.cerebellumblues.com
Hahaha, this is great. I swear, I always log into Facebook for a completely legitimate reason – to check newly tagged pics or to research something for work. Next thing I know, it’s an hour later and I’m looking at pictures of someone’s cat who I haven’t seen since high school.
Yesterday I got into a small, no-damage accident. I didn’t file a police report but I did take the guy’s name and number. Later that night, I looked the guy up on facebook. You know, just to make sure he existed.
Great Post Evan, love your insight on this. I am a Facebook addict, it is my reality TV! I had a conversation with a Boomer (who had just gotten into it) about how Facebook will likely eliminate the need for class reunions, as you can stalk your ex’s and former friends from the comfort of your home now (and it will be a whole lot harder to BS about how better you are doing). Keep up the good work, I look forward to your future posts!
Yeah its total crap the way people are these days. People post a status, and if you comment or “like” the status, they sometimes get angry at you. But it's really their fault. If they didnt want people commenting on it, then they shouldnt have posted it to start with. I've said this to some people and i got, quote “Yeah but if it's just like an fyi thing, then you dont have to comment.” Well, the fact still remains. If you post a status, dont flip out when someone comments on it. You set yourself up for it. And i agree, facebook turns everyone into a “creeper” or a “stalker.” I also agree that, you put pics up because you want people to see them. Unless you like looking at yourself… And its also crap that one person could comment and the other person could have no problem, but then you comment and suddenly theyre mad. You cant pick and choose. Once you post it, you have to be responsible for knowing that anyone can comment, well almost anyone based on your privacy settings. There is also a lot of hypocrites. What i mean by this is that i've known several people who call you a “creeper” for commenting on peoples' statuses but then i look at my newsfeed and it ends up theyre doing the same exact thing that they accused me of, if not more. Also, i've met people that will know exact times you 'creep” its like theyre waiting for you to get on and theyre watching you. Which is “creeping” on a supposed “creeper.” Most people who accuse others of “creeping” are “creepers” as well but wanna point out someone else as one to take the blame of themselves. One way or another, you're going to “creep” or “stalk”, whether it's intentional or not.
Interesting viewpoint Evan. Right on! Want to read more of your stuff. This one just happened to catch me first.