I have used Facebook since 2003, not long after it was first introduced to FSU students. I had a friend who went to Duke who let me know that it recently opened up to FSU students and that I should join. At the time, it was used exclusively by college students who mostly shared party pictures. Since then, Facebook has matured. My parents use it. Short of a few "principled non-users," the majority of my family uses it. (My wife's 85 year old grandma even has an account, though she no longer uses it.) It has become a big part of my life and my way of keeping in touch with my friends and family.
When I talk about Facebook with my university students, they find it really funny that my parents use Facebook. I have informally polled my classes and only about 5% of my university students' parents use Facebook. For them, Facebook is something only younger people use.
Korean libel laws are very strict, so people are often very hesitant to post negative things online for fear of legal consequence. I found a student-run Facebook page for my university. On that page, I even managed to find where students had commented about me and my classes. (They mostly enjoyed my classes, but some felt it was a lot of work.) For them, I assumed that they felt Facebook was a relatively safe space because it wouldn't likely be viewed by their professors.
This made me think about business life cycles and how they might apply to social media. After a quick Google search, I found this site that confirmed my suspicions.
For my non-American classmates, how do you view Facebook? How is it viewed among your friends? How long have you used Facebook and how has your view changed over time?
For my American classmates, how do you view Facebook? How has this changed over time? Do you have much interaction with non-Americans through Facebook?
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