When
it comes to Facebook, rituals and stereotypes are difficult to define - at
least about Facebook itself. To see
examples of rituals and stereotypes related to Facebook, we need to look at the
users of Facebook, rather than Facebook itself.
Facebook rituals are not along the
same lines as other traditional rituals.
Facebook rituals tend to be more widely practiced, common actions. Thirteen, like sixteen, eighteen, and
twenty-one, has now become a milestone mark for today’s youth. This is the age that someone is able to create
their own Facebook page. At least in my
family, creating this page was done as a parent-child activity when the child
reached thirteen years old. Other
rituals of Facebook seem to be age related.
For me, the most common action on Facebook is clicking on the “like”
button. This button may have different
meanings to different people, but it is widely used. It can be used to express agreement, but it
can also be used as an acknowledgement.
Some people use the “like” button to convey that they have simply seen
and read a post.
Posting – particularly pictures - is
something else that has worked its way into today’s society. Even at my age, I find that my friends and I
will take pictures with the intent to post them on Facebook. Also, posting pictures of other rituals –
births, graduations, weddings, parties, etc. – has become a ritual itself.
These two examples are a
light-hearted way to illustrate the two definitions of ritual, as defined in
Wikipedia. The first definition, “A
ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value.” (Ritual, 2012) , relates to the
“like” button. Posting is an example of
the second definition. “In psychology, the term ritual is sometimes used in a
technical sense for a repetitive behavior systematically used by a person to neutralize
or prevent anxiety; it is a symptom of obsessive-compulsive disorder.” (Ritual, 2012) . Whether it is a good thing, or a bad thing, depends
on your point of view, but this could certainly be said of many Facebook users.
Stereotypes are a little easier to see
on Facebook. One that I see often right now
has to do with politics. Many people feel
the need to post their political opinions. That, in and of itself, is not the issue. However, when they degrade another belief, due
to a different party affiliation, an area of the country, someone’s race, they are
showing their own stereotypes. The dictionary
defines a stereotype as the act of “to believe unfairly that all people or things
with a particular characteristic are the same” (Stereotype, n.d.) .
People also tend to stereotype based
on how posts are made. Is the new “internet
shorthand” being used? Are there grammatical
errors? Are there inappropriate pictures attached to the post? These are all things that can cause a reader to
put the poster in a bad light, and view them as lazy, uneducated, or promiscuous.
Until I began this class, I only thought
of Facebook as a way to waste time until I was either motivated enough to find something
else to do, or until I was ready to fall asleep. Now, I am beginning to realize how much a part
of popular culture it has become.
References
Ritual.
(2012, June 14). Retrieved July 14, 2012, from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual
Stereotype. (n.d.). Retrieved July 14, 2012, from
Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary: http://www.learnersdictionary.com/search/stereotype[2]
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