Facebook as social rule of thumb?
I think a "hypothetical" scenario will make more sense of this. Say a friend of mine gets drunk one evening, and decides it's a brilliant idea to stump up the courage to ask her friend out. For those not aware, this is the process of beginning a relationship with somebody, especially in climes like the UK. He eagerly accepted, semi-drunk himself.
They wake up the next morning, sun blazing through the curtains, huddled in each others arms, hungover. (The real sights and smells are to be somewhat desired; a prettier picture will suffice.) The dilemma is this.
She remembers what she did, but can't remember what he said, and hopes he can't remember. Whereas he remembers, but doesn't know whether she remembers what she said, and if not, whether she remembers what he said. Confusing, right? Her way of solving this difficulty, is to let Facebook decide.
Instead of bringing up the conversation, thus indicating uncertainty or invoke discomfort, she's waiting for Facebook to tell her, by means of a relationship status change. A real love story of the modern technology age to tell the grandkids in years to come, I'm sure.
Whilst I was practically pissing myself with laughter at this story, it just made me think what a massive impact an online world can have on a primary and predominantly offline world. It just goes to show that we rely heavily on an online medium to direct us and instruct us of goings on in our worlds, our social circles and professional lives.
Some might say, if we didn't have Facebook, we simply wouldn't know a thing. Let me know your thoughts - if you were without a social network, would you be clued up with the latest goings on? Would you be missing out? Do we rely too heavily on the online world to keep our offline world in check? Your comments if you please...