New York Magazine is apparently renowned for its "upwardly mobile air-kissers", and it recently published an article that gives tips on how to "namedrop" in your Facebook updates. No really.
Instructions are included to slot in a casual reference to that new maid you've hired here; a sly mention of the house in the Hamptons there. It's not just a Facebook, dah-ling, it's the key to your social success!
Yeah it's nuts. And the writers of the piece sum it up wonderfully:
That's all suitably crazy, especially in today's society when we tend to think of ourselves as "classless".Without so much as a smirk, we are reminded that "names must be dropped carefully!" Oh, but whose names exactly?
"Give away too much, and you’re a braggart with no respect for personal privacy (“I’m having dinner with Anna Wintour!” How gauche)."
The penny drops then, and we realise that the average New York Magazine reader really is in another league; socially placed to share a table with Anna Wintour, stupid enough to think she makes great dinner company, and sufficiently narcissistic to brag about it.
But thinking about it, don't we kind of have a class system in Facebook? Maybe not their status updates, but what about "friend" lists? I know a person who has over 1,000 "friends", and someone who's been on Facebook for years but "only" has 20.
What about people's photos? Friends of mine have been hurt by other friends who've uploaded photos from parties and events... to which we weren't invited.
Some people have walls full of comments; others have barely anything.
Have you guys ever felt a class system online? What other examples are out there?
Hey!
ReplyDeleteCool Post - I don't really feel there is such a class system online. Everyone has their facebook for personal use and popping up info, pics and videos about themselves. There may have been the feeling of 'class'(or popularity) depending on how many 'friends' you had on something like 'Myspace' but now-a-days I actaully know people who are 'de-friending' so a popularity contest is no a no-go on classy facebook.
Clearly all your famous people keep doing what they do to generate attention. Same goes on twitter - how many times do I see britney spears tweeting that she "was tanning". It is ridiculous - but people read them - people make twitter accounts - and people add 'celebrities'.
We are immersed in a culture of knowing what everyone is doing at any time of the day and where - including our 'friends' our 'supposed friends' and 'celebrities' (who can also be our 'freinds' these days)
:)
I've had this feeling, the feeling of being excluded and I think the 'class' style situation that occurs online is kind of social clustering. Returning to FB after a break (and I keep returning to Facebook trying thinking of examples too) I thought I'd slot myself back in and everything would be like it was before, but instead I feel like a bit of an outsider among all the ppl who kept up the work on their profiles.
ReplyDeleteBut on clustering I think it's much less confrontational to exclude online, FB makes it easier now - I notice you don't reject friend, you 'remove connection'. That wording seems to focus on your position in relation to everyone else as well I guess.
I do believe in a class system existing online to some extent.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned people showed their high social status by sipping champagne on yachts, now they post pictures of such activities on facebook - i've seen it!