Facebook's Message of Connection

            With advancement of technology, we have opened ways to communicate through new mass medias. The popular quote by Marshall McLuhan “the medium is the message,” implicates the impact of the new mass medias on the audience. These new mass media can include blogging, television, and magazines, but the largest impact new mass media can have is through social network sites. Social network sites have become very much popular in our era. Practically anyone with access to an electronic device or computer can be found using the social network sites. Facebook in particular is a perfect example of one of the leading social network sites.  The quote by McLuhan can be expressed through analysis of the Facebook site being used within the educational system.

            Created by Mark Zuckberg on Feburary 2004, Facebook is one of the social network services that has made itself on the list as being one of the newer mass media. Facebook has enabled people to create identities and also be able to make connections with family and friends worldwide. There has been a controversy that Facebook is promoting anti-social behavior but if you consider the many connections people have accomplished through Facebook, such as relationships and friendships, Facebook is anything but anti-social. It allows people to discover others that share common interests and enriches their lives. Therefore, when McLuhan had pointed out the medium, which in this case is Facebook, “is the message,” he refers to the many connections that have followed with the innovation of Facebook.

            When taking a closer look at McLuhan’s quote “medium is the message,” it can be interpreted as the “message is the medium.” With the wide use of Facebook specifically by students, anything can be utilized and transmitted through Facebook. For example, since college students have knowledge that their classmates have a Facebook as well, they can add their classmates to communicate through private messaging for a particular assignment or project. It beats other resources such as emailing because when you don’t have your classmates email or phone number you have a greater chance of finding them on Facebook because its such a popular social network site. Therefore when said the medium is the message

            Another tool that enables Facebook to become the connection is the event creator. When students feel the need to meet up for a project or presentation, they can invite people to the event on Facebook. You can either claim to be present at the meeting, or claim not to go. It beats trying to contact each and everyone of your classmates to inform them of meeting somewhere because you can simply invite all the classmates at once with a click of the button. If someone is not able to make it they can simply click “No” instead of having to call. This enables an entirely new way to interact with people because you do not need to take time out of your schedule to inform about meetings. Because people use Facebook daily, they will see the invite to the event and be able to inform you if they are coming or not.

           

            Furthermore, Facebook has proven to be beneficial to the faculty and professors of educational institutions. By contacting the students through Facebook, the professors can easily learn about their students. With an understanding of the student’s background by looking at the student’s interest, professors can suggest ideas for a particular project. For example, when I was in High School, my teacher had required everyone to join the Honor’s Writing Group on Facebook to discuss possible topics they would want to write about. Students find it more comfortable to access Facebook than any other institutional platform such as Pima’s D2L. In addition, there is more comfort in knowing that your teacher doesn’t need your phone number to contact you and can just message you on Facebook. Furthermore, even when a class has ended, the relationship between the student and professor is still maintained when the student wants to seek advice for their future career or need a recommendation letters as their references when applying for internships or jobs. The medium of Facebook once again builds the “message” of connection.