Facebook is a great social networking site for keeping in touch with friends, sharing photos, playing games and condemning alleged killers to a punch in the face. Nowadays, you can even use it to put a stop to violence against women with just the use of the "like" feature. (Please note the use of sarcasm here and read on.)
In terms of quick and widespread information dissemination, Facebook wins. Online Schools approximates one active Facebook user for every 13 people on Earth, half of whom are logged in on any given day. In the same survey, 48% of young Americans said that they find out about news not in newspapers and news programs but on Facebook. And in just 20 minutes, about 1 851 000 statuses are updated all over the world.
What it comes down to is that almost everyone is on Facebook. We have come to rely on it for more than just social needs. The 'group' feature is a great tool for students and teachers to share resources and communicate outside of the classroom. Professionals can pull together projects and promote their work extensively with the aid of Facebook. Employers use job applicants' Facebook profiles as a basis for judgment of their character.
Facebook is also a center for all forms of advocacy.
The fan page feature is the usual starting point for the promotion of a cause. A quick search of "Maguindanao" will bring up a link to the page for "Justice for Filipino People in Maguindanao Massacre", one of many pages condemning the 2009 slaughter of journalists and civilians, which has gained the support (via "like") of more than 3000 people.
Posts on the page in 2011 from admins include updates on the Maguindanao trial and news on the Ampatuans, whose involvement in the massacre has sparked hate pages such as the decidedly vulgar "AMPUTA NYONG MGA AMPATUAN!!!" page, in which almost every mention Andal Ampatuan refers to him as a BASTARD in all caps. Some of the more recent posts in "Justice for Filipino People in Maguindanao Massacre", however, seem to veer off topic. One band posts to promote their album launching, which frankly has nothing to do with the massacre. Another user posts a link for free tickets to the Super Bowl -- and event that doesn't even happen in the Philippines. (Disclaimer: At the risk of it being spam, I did not open this one to check it out.)
Something that the two aforementioned pages have in common is this: with a total of over 4000 "likers" for the page itself, the posts therein garner not even five likes apiece. Hardly any of them even have a single comment.
What does this imply? Do people hit "like" then forget about the cause? Does no one like a page and open it to read about what they are supposed to be supporting? To be fair, the number of likes and comments has no direct correlation to the number of people who have viewed a post of clicked through on a link. But don't they count for a something on Facebook? For many users, liking is akin to acknowledging the relevance of a post without having to make a coherent comment on it.
With Facebook's convenient interface, it's easy to become an impulsive liker. The thing that makes it border on the ridiculous is that because it's Facebook, you don't have to take any real action to prove that you support a cause. Proclaiming your beliefs to an audience of friends is a matter of clicking. You don't even have to explain what it is you're supporting or make on argument on its behalf.
This is what has been infuriating me as of late.
"Like In 3 Seconds :'( If You Are Against Girl's Abuse :'( :'( </3"
The first thing I am going to attack here, because it is the least sensitive, is the grammar. There is no need to capitalize the first letter of every word if it's not a proper noun. The misplaced apostrophe implies that the person addressed is against the abuse of one girl -- that girl -- and not the abuse of girls in general. Throw in the crying and broken heart emoticons and it's insulting how seriously the issue at hand is not being taken.
Secondly, the picture of the girl -- and I apologize deeply if I am wrong about this -- looks heavily doctored. I am no expert in bruises and stitches, but the picture could easily have been uploaded to a computer and Photoshopped in order to produce those markings. Another reason I believe that this might have been fabricated is because of so much discolouration and hardly any swelling. And, call me petty if you will, but did you notice the girl's French manicure?
Take away the supposed injuries and this photo could be considered provocative. The way the girl holds a finger to her pouting lips would not symbolize being "silenced" or keeping the abuse of a father or lover a secret. It would be seen as a gesture of flirtatiousness. It would be seen as a saucy attempt to look cute.
The more I visualize the picture without the markings of violence, the more I am convinced that it's fake. In the first place, why would a young girl who had been beaten want to be photographed with all her injuries exposed? And in such a -- for lack of a better word -- playful pose? This does not seem at all to me like the face of a beaten woman.
Which is not to say that I am not against, as it were, "Girl[s'] Abuse". The fight to end violence against women is a serious one, and raising awareness is the first step towards any kind of social change. Violence against girls, against women, and for that matter, against people, is wrong. I firmly believe that and I am sure that the people who like page do too. But what are they saying? "Like in 3 seconds." Not "take the time to learn about what this issue is". Not "make an effort to research and understand human rights". There isn't even a message about "speak up against abuse".
While we are not told simply to like the page and stop at that, neither are we told to get off the computer and do something about it. In essence, you have used the power of technology to let people proclaim that they do not condone violence against women. Couldn't you have used the same power to educate them on the cause and how they might prevent it, even in their own communities and homes?
Lastly, the original poster comments "subscribe to me". Which leads me to wonder, was that an ulterior motive of sorts in posting the picture? Would you use women's rights as a means of gaining subscribers -- gaining popularity on the internet?
I opened his page to find an assortment of quotations, jokes and pictures, which were all posted without a source. A very recent post begins with "Facebook, what book? Slutbook?" and eventually cites "bitches can't Spellbook" and "Posting on her page, stealing your Bitchbook". So much for the fight for femalekind.
Another disturbing post that came up on my news feed recently is this picture of a man captioned "THIS MAN KILLED HIS OWN DAUGHTER ;( </3 1 like = 1 punch."
This is the entirety of the post. There is no link to a news article. There is not even the name of the man, or where this crime supposedly transpired. There is no information at all on him or his daughter or what happened. There is only those two lines which claim that this is a bad man who can be punished by liking this picture.
For all these 492710 people know, this man might be innocent.
I wonder if it occurred to any of them that this man might be a victim of misrepresentation. If any of them thought that he might have had an enemy who spread around a story of him murdering his daughter out of hate or fear. The people exposed to this post have absolutely no way of knowing, yet they not only like the post (giving the man a proverbial punch) but also comment things like "He can choke on [something and] die" and "I hope he gets raped by black guys in jail ;p" -- which elicited 128 likes on its own. In addition, there are shockingly racist comments like "[I'd] murder this gay ass nigga[.] [H]ow can you murder your gift from god[?]"
For all these likers know, they could be accusing a man who loves his daughter of having killed her. Or they could be condemning a man who has no daughter, a man who did nothing wrong at all.
Among the users who commented, a few voices of reason attempt to say what I am saying now: You do not know what happened. You are not sure that this man did indeed kill his daughter. And even if he did, liking a picture of him on Facebook will not punch him, send him to jail, or serve justice in any other way than some strangers knowing that his face is the face of a killer.
It's hard to say whether the problem is with Facebook or with people. The social network provides quick, easy means of self-gratification in many forms other than advocacy (and false advocacy). It's where we keep friends and family updated on our personal lives and work, as well as our firmest and flakiest beliefs.
Ultimately, though, one must keep in mind that Facebook, however convenient, however useful, however essential to day-to-day life, is not the only source of information -- and certainly not the most reliable. And, as reiterated throughout history, things are much easier said (or liked) than done.
I had the same reaction you did when viewing the picture of the girl, and have thought similar things about the number of people who follow links to petitions, sign them without fully checking the cause, and have forgotten about the cause two days later.
ReplyDeleteIt is another example of the way we are conditioned to accept things at face value, to not dig too deeply, and the example you use of the 'killer' is excellent. I'd be interested to know whether he really is guilty of the crime or the victim of some weird campaign. It's a little sad that it is so easy for us to just accept what's put in front of us (often, on FB, by people we don't know all that well) and respond as directed.
Recently I've been exposed to posts asking people to share it if they've sympathy for whatever the post is about, and attempting to guilt the reader into sharing it with phrases like 'I know only a few of you will share this. I hope I'm right about who my friends are', without offering information or a way of doing anything in support of the (supposed) subject. They seem to be a cynical way of getting something to go viral.
I did come to be reading your article through a friend sharing the link on Facebook, so it's good to know that thoughtful, intelligent things get shared too. As with most technology, the way we use it reflects who we are and what we want.
Thank you for writing something which was both saddening and enjoyable, and also interesting.
Phil.