Streching My Comfort Zone on Facebook

I'm probably one of the few if not the only one in this class who does not have an account on either facebook or myspace. Even thinking about it pushed me way out of my comfort zone. I guess I fear drawing unwanted attention and I don't necessarily want to have someone I don't know viewing my profile it makes me feel exposed, vulnerable and violated. As I actually began the signing up process I found myself being okay and a little excited about the possibility of an old friend finding me.

The initial information on the profile page was non intrusive. As I was posting my interests, activities, favorite movies and so forth I was also very conscious of self presentation. I wanted to make sure I was honest but I also was concerned about how I might appear to others. I took a look at my answers to make sure they made me sound like an interesting person. It's difficult to know what to reveal since the entries have the potential to be read by a wide and unidentified audience.

This goes back to our reading regarding social context cues I feel very insecure not knowing how to adjust or tailor my information. Without the ability to target a specific audience comes the uncertainty as to what might be interesting or appealing to the reader(s). Many of these types of cues are manifest by nonverbal cues which are completely absent in cmc.

I can put some information out there and try to paint a picture of who I am but we are all so multifaceted that as impressions are formed they fall so short of the whole person. There is no way that I could truly explain "me" on facebook nor could I truly and deeply understand another. I'm blinded by my own weaknesses and when using cmc I have a chance to filter and construct "me" but in face to face there is more opportunity for the other person to observe what I myself may not know.

I think cmc relationships could be good but now that I've initiated opening the door for online relationships, how am I going to manage them? At least in person we can kind of verbally say something like "we should get together again soon" or "give me a call" knowing that it's likely to never take place but online how do you politely say "bug off". I don't know I'm just asking. I don't want to feel obligated on a daily basis to e-mail or keep in touch.

I hope I don't sound too negative. Maybe I'm making much ado about nothing and will find that things won't get out of control. My observation is that facebook is an attempt to communicate what we want others to know about us. Facebook offers a way to construct ourselves in a favorable light to those we want to impress. It also offers the opportunity to occupy a different role or place in society. Some have chosen pseudonymity and maybe there's a little of that in all of us but maybe that's a given and we've all chosen to operate under that assumption.