Facebook...a collectivist movement towards individualism?

So its been over three years that I have been hooked to Facebook (FB from now on). I use it to connect with my old friends and to get to know my new friends better. Being an avid user of FB I know that this social networking site tends to be addictive and I have had my days of logging into FB almost every hour to see what my friends are up to. I also admit that there were days, when I would spend a couple of hours in a day to come up with 'witty' status updates. But like any other fad, FB too has become secondary in my life now. And I can safely say that I can be objective in my views about this social networking site.

On surface it seems like that FB simply helps people connect to long lost friends, people with similar interests etc. But if we dig a little deeper, FB really caters to  three most basic needs of man-curiosity, the inherent want to show off and the need for attention.

Let's be honest, out of the 300 odd friends you have on your friend list...how many are you really interested in reconnecting with? More likely than not, you are simply curious to know what they are up to. How have they done in their lives? Are they married? If yes, then are they married to their college sweethearts? If not, then why not...etc? It is in our inherent nature to be curious about people you have known in your life. We are a curious lot and FB has simply made it easier to quench our curiosity.

But more than curiosity really FB gives an instant platform to show off. In fact, I call this, living for FB. What is the first thing people do after coming back from an expensive dinner at a high end restaurant? You start posting the pictures taken in the evening on your FB account. Be it an expensive dinner or a trip to some exotic part of the world, the first thing one tends to do or at least wants to do is sort out the thousands of pictures and upload the ones, in which you look the skinniest and the prettiest! In fact, some don't even have the decency or the patience to sort the pictures out, but instead end up uploading hundreds of pictures on FB.

Lastly, FB indulges our inherent need for attention. And I am as guilty as the person next to me. I have had days, when I left cryptic status updates so as to arouse curiosity of my friends and in turn being the center of attention for a few hours. There are people who make their lives completely public via status updates. So and so is off to Guam or so and so made chicken tikka masala are some examples of status updates, which are screaming for attention. And then you have those, who are not even polite enough to thank people personally for birthday wishes or other such wishes. I find it extremely rude, when someone just thanks everyone for those wishes by updating their status message. Come on, if someone has taken the time to remember your birthday and then made the effort to go to your FB page and wish you, the least the person deserves is a personal thank you on their profile wall. Also, a thank you via a status update is also a way to remind those who did not wish you on your birthday.

From being a reasonably elite social networking site to catering to over 400 million active users, FB has certainly come a long way. Of course, the reason, that FB is as popular as it is is because, people are curious, have an inherent want to show off and the need for attention.

All said, I will be the first to admit that FB has served its purpose as a social networking site. Many pages and groups have been formed, which highlight some social issue. Many protests, marches, news updates have been made via FB. The recent elections in Iran and the subsequent protests found publicity only via FB and similar social networking sites.

FB like any other social institution has made an impact on our lives. But if this institution should be used for promoting individual needs or if it should be used as a platform for a social change is entirely upon us.