Opinion
Illustration by Reilly Newman
Fighting the frenzy
Social Network site siphons too many hours from teens by Emily Cone, Opinion Co-Editor As of Feb. 9, I’m cancelling my Facebook account. Maybe for a month, maybe longer, but it’s a much needed lifestyle change. Our lives are constantly being documented. From school pictures to social security numbers to credit scores, people are leaving a trace of who they are in the world. Facebook has become just another facet of the documentation of our lives—and an obsession at that. I spend too many hours on Facebook. While I could be reading or spending time with my family, I’m chatting with friends and posting new statuses. It seems I’m not the only one: 57 Kite percent of people talk to people more online compared to in celebrations person, according to failbook.com. But people are not built for computer screen relationships. Christmas, birthdays, and Spring Break don’t happen over statuses and notifications and wall posts; it’s in the comfort of our own homes—with the people we value the most. Keeping friends and family updated used to be a phone call away, but now we can just assume they’ve read our Facebook lately and skip the uncomfortable phone calls. Established in 2004, Facebook has exceeded 500 million users in
the last six years, according to socialmediatoday.com, thus making it the most popular social networking site in the world. Americans have happily jumped on the Facebook train, being on Facebook three times longer than Google —approximately four hours and 39 minutes, according to mashable.com. Junior Megan McManus was one of those statistics, spending her summer days soaking up vitamin D and “liking” and posting. “[I was on Facebook] all day; I had it logged on all the time,” she said. We all know who the Facebook kings and queens are—who are constantly on and perpetually sharing their lives. I know more about people’s lives via Facebook than I ever could before, unless I was within their close circle of friends. It’s almost become a contest to see who has the most fun in their lives, or who is seemingly the most interesting. Pictures of events we’ve been to and people we’ve hung out with are now taken to show the rest of the world. This has gotten ridiculous. We as a culture care too much about what people think, and Facebook has contributed to our image obsession. “I think most of us spend a good portion of our time on Facebook. Especially me, while my computer is on I am logged on to Facebook,” senior Obed Elenes said. Of course, Facebook has practical applications, like getting homework assignments or asking friends for school-related help; but
that doesn’t take hours and hours to do. “Teens in general, [spend too much time on Facebook]. However, Facebook can be used productively, like asking people about schoolwork missed, or catching up on homework,” senior Conner Burggraf said. Facebook has become, unfortunately, a way to live vicariously. For every hour spent on Facebook, we could be experiencing the real world, forming our own opinions and talking to people face to face. “I feel like teens spend hours on Facebook to feel connected and be able to snoop without having to around and actually talk to people. All we have to do is ‘Facebook stalk’ them and we know everything about them. It can get pretty pathetic the way we rely on Facebook so much,” one freshman student said. When you peel back someone’s Facebook profile, there lies an actual person. Someone who just need to spend time with their loved-ones in real life—and doesn’t tell Facebook about it. It’s time for us to join the real world again, for us to break our addiction to our image and our need to always be in the know. We should be spending time with people face-to-face, learning how to live without always showing everyone, in detail, what we’re up to. It’s time for teens to learn the valuable life lesson of quality: the quality of face time and the quality of relationships.
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Button
Taking today’s hot and controversial issues, “Hot Button” rates the current flammability of odd discoveries, political incorrectness, and just plain slip-ups. British Prime Minister David Cameron recoiled after Obama claims France is a “stronger friend” than Britain. — The Guardian
WHITE HOT
Former Bush speech writer David Frum blamed actions of Arizona gunman on weed, saying, “The Tucson shooting should remind us why we regulate marijuana.” —Associated Press
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02.09.11 Crimson
Political commentator Bill Maher questioned the Tea Party’s alleged regard for America’s Founding Fathers, saying they "were everything [the Tea Party] despises. They studied science, read Plato, hung out in Paris, and thought the Bible was mostly bull****." — The Guardian
Paso Robles High School
Japanese scientists researching conductors, metals used to transfer electricity, accidentally discovered red wine and commercial spirits, like vodka, significantly improve performance of superconductors. The “accident” occurred during an alleged party at the laboratory. —Current
BLACK COLD —Austin Ehrhardt, Business Team Photos used with permission of AP Images
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