Danah Boyd is the author of the article Why Youth (Heart) Socal Network Sites: The Role of the Networked Publics in Teenage Social Life. In the article she discusses why young people in particular seem to be infatuated with social networking sites. The article was published in 2007, but many of its themes and ideas still resonate with today’s youth culture of social networking infatuation. She discusses some of the demographics of social network usage such as younger males using these sites more to flirt and meet people more their age than girls in the same age group, while older females are more likely to use the sites to communicate with friends they see in person. Despite the differences in usage by both genders, what she discusses in her article regards practices common between both boys and girls.
Social network sites are based around Profiles, a form of individual (or, less frequently, group) home page, which offers a description of each member. In addition to text, images, and video created by the member, the social network site profile also contains comments from other members, and a public list of the people that one identifies as Friends within the network. Because the popularized style of these sites emerged out of dating services, the profile often contains material typical of those sites: demographic details (age, sex, location, etc.), tastes (interests, favorite bands, etc.), a photograph, and an open-ended description of who the person would like to meet. Profiles are constructed by filling out forms on the site.
It becomes clear that these social networking sites were inspired from dating sites due to the set up their profiles where users put up their basic information and they make themselves look appealing or approachable. I found it interesting that no one seems to put up any information or pictures of themselves sad, crying or “ugly” because it wouldn’t look good from outside users, but rather what is put up are pictures and statuses of people happy or looking “good”, which no one does all the time. I also found it interesting how there was a shift from testimonials to comments which are the norm today. Where testimonials were more messages about the user, the comments were more private messages, which could be seen by the public. This adds to the issue of privacy in these social networks, where people post plans on other peoples walls, that the public can see. This brings up the question of if users want their privacy, then why post what seems to be private conversations or messages in public online places.
Whether you’re a teen or not, I think people use social networking sites for the same general reason, and that is to stay connected with those who may be not be in physical proximity with them, and to also stay updated on whats going on with the world. I feel like sometimes my newsfeed on Facebook or Twitter can replace the news, because if one or a few people see or read something on the news, whether local or national, when it is posted, it alerts others of issues going around them. But in the end, reasons vary from user to user.
I agree with your question about the issue of privacy and wondering why users post “private” conversations or messages in public online places with the intention of wanting privacy. I too wonder the same thing and don’t quite understand the point in divulging super personal information. While I do agree that people’s primary reason for using social networking sites to stay connected and informed, I also think many use it as an escape from their regular lives into a fantasy world that they can create with a touch of the keyboard.