Final Blog: Facebook, Privacy and the Future of Society Pt. 1

Are social media and web 2.0 destroying society as we know it? Are they tearing apart the fabric of civilization? Are they creating a ‘big brother’ 1984 like society that eliminates human privacy and autonomy? Many seem to think so. Where do these myths come from anyway? Why does the media continue to attack facebook and youtube and twitter?


In the 1950s in America, America had just returned from years of war in Europe and across the pacific. Many reveled in their lives of clean normalcy and white picket fence conformity. Calm was appreciated after the war. When these folks had children however, the youth who resulted from the ‘baby boom’ became restless in their ‘Leave it to Beaver’ society. They rebelled, and created the counter-culture of the 1960s. Change was inevitable, and yet there was massive backlash to the new counter-culture. The ‘silent majority’ thought these young social revolutionaries were either crazy or communists (or both). They looked at change as dangerous, and often went to extreme measures to keep things the same. However few seem to realize that American history was founded on change. A new nation springing from Europe’s ‘New World,’ America came into being through a bloody revolution. The status quo was what the founders tried to get AWAY from. So why have Americans throughout our history continued to reject and be afraid of change?
I see social media as a high change for good. And the youth of America agree. We elected Barack Obama on the notion he would bring hope and change to a country in crisis, and it is hard to not notice that 99% of media criticisms towards new social media is written by adults, not the youth using it. Now, there is no doubt that every change has its consequences, but there are massive benefits to reap from the age of web 2.0. And Facebook goes beyond telling the world what you had for breakfast (a toasted bagel with cream cheese) and Youtube goes beyond funny videos of cats playing piano. These user-generated-content tools give people inordinate amounts of power and access. When before could a disabled boy, unable to speak, send a message to hundreds of people? When before could a young business entrepreneur struggling, with little money, watch a video of a lecture at Harvard’s Business school for free? Now, in 2010, the people rule the world.