Despite the above title which sounds sonorous enough to make the title of a book critically assessing the complicated relations between facebook and individuals and what they say about contemporary culture and society (--what an ambitious topic!), what I will present below are just some observations and tendentious opinions.
It seems there are primarily two reasons why people join facebook and visit it frequently. The obvious and functional one is clearly to get to know and keep up with friends, as is indeed the original intention of this social networking site. The second, not unrelated to the first, seems to be psychological and emotional. Facebook provides a space in which one is able to peep into others' lives as well as to display that of one's own. It satisfies at one stroke both the pleasures of voyeurism and self-exhibitionism. People who indulge in these two kinds of pleasures are either lonely or un/under-occupied (either physically or intellectually, or both) or both. Which ever it is, the common feature of all Facebook frequenters must be a lack, a deficit of some sort, which does not seem to have been met in real social life. Such psychological or emotional deficits are to find addition and hopefully remedy in the virtual social space of Facebook.
However, the tricky point here is that once facebook has become a normal part of our way of life, it increases the needs of the individuals instead of meeting them. This is not dissimilar to, when someone draws a small circle and then a larger one to demonstrate that the more you know, the more you know you do not know, and therefore the more you want to know. The same logic applies to the use of cameras. More than a century ago when technologies were basic, taking photos was an event to happen only on festive or special occasions. Today, however, when the technology became easily available, people feel the need to take picture every now and then, almost endlessly. The same happens with facebook. In the pre-facebook historical era, people do things (such as travelling, or eat out at restaurant) and think about things (such as feeling sad, or wanting to buy certain things); today, they do not only do and think about things, they also have to SHOW, to LET OTHERS KNOW what they have done and what they are thinking. Doing and thinking are just not enough any more; they are not complete without also being published.
Consequently, we see various forms of self publishing on facebook. Indeed, my writing this article is not any different. However, self publishing can also be of different characters, ranging from the salubrious, to the meaningless, and to the revolting and ridiculous. I'd like to think those who publish news, disseminate useful information or intellectual opinions belong to the first category. 'Food' as mentioned in the title belongs to the second. People constantly show where they have visited and what they have eaten. I am pretty sure for many people, even before they start to travel or eat out, they already anticipate the pleasures of putting up those pictures. Facebooking is now integral to the pleasures of eating or traveling, and things alike. One more perverted form of exhibition however, involves showing more intimate things. I have many months ago seen a friend of mine showing a picture of her slightly injured foot, with some bleeding. Today, I saw another person displaying her bleeding hand, perhaps after an office accident involving stationery. One has to ask, what is the point of showing these literally bloody stuff? The fact that both exhibitioners were ladies encourages the speculation that this is a form of appeal for sympathy and emotional support. However, have they really become so desolate that they must show these pictures for every 'friend'--and indeed how many facebook friends are really friends--to see? Is there nobody to care for them in real life? Or is there nothing they care enough in real life so that they can forget about these minor injuries? The same applies to expressing intimate feelings in the 'what's in your mind' box. If one is sad enough to have to publish their intimate emotions or desires on facebook to seek support, they will not get any. In fact, my criticisms here also extend to the second category of publishing, namely, the meaningless category. Is not eating food, visiting places of interests, or holidaying with partner already enjoyable enough? If so, why the need to show those pictures for everybody to know?
There can be two possible explanations to this. First, they are really not enjoying those activities enough, and they need every 'friend' to know that they have done those. This is rather sad, imagine that food cannot be enjoyed by just eating them, places cannot be enjoyed by just visiting/viewing them, partner(s) cannot be enjoyed by just being with them. If I were the food, places of interests, and partners to the exhibitioners, I'd feel sad, for myself and him/her as well. People who refuses to find enough pleasure in originally pleasurable things will never find enough pleasure. Alternatively, maybe they have enjoyed, but they just want to show off a little, so that the facebook display of one's enjoyment becomes a 'cheery on the cake', enhancing the original enjoyment. But this really reminds me of one of my erstwhile housemates, who, after a night of raucous sex with his girlfriend, asked me the next day whether I heard them, and apologised for the noise.
From Pre-Facebook civilisation, to food, and then to foot, we mankind have traveled a long way. And now I realise why I feel such an attraction to conservative philosophies.
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