Sitting at the bus stop, typing on my computer. Somewhat risky behavior but I hid behind busses to prevent any possible theifs from getting too close. A boy, maybe 16 or 17 approaches me and in French tells me my bus isn't here yet. Random. After a few minutes of trying to talk to me in French, I tell him I don't speak French. Trying to ignore him, he blurts out "I have Facebook, will you be my friend?"
The other day a few volunteers and I watched the new Sorkin movie, "The Social Network" and it got me thinking a lot about the impact social media has on us, our "modern" and "technological" generation. A random Moroccan telling me in perfect English to be his friend on Facebook is just another example of that. Also, if you haven't seen the movie, you should. The writing was great (of course its Sorkin, who also brought the world "The West Wing") but its genuinely funny and provides some interesting insight to a website that has gotten more clicks than Google some weeks.
Facebook (and other social media outlets) connects people from all over the globe in a way even the telephone couldn't. Here Moroccans can learn about American culture, French movies and Indian music, all via the web.
Most of the women in my village can't read and some have never even ventured further than 40km away but their children are worlds away. Checking Facebook, Skyping friends, reading up on the latest trends and learning more about the world than their mother's could ever dream of.
This is the reality of social media. While I will not be Mohammed's friend on Facebook, it is cool to think about what sort of things he can learn and share with this one tool.
Just something to think about.
Wait.... you've seen the Social Network and I haven't? there is something seriously wrong with that.
ReplyDeleteMark Zuckerberg is Time's Person of the Year and they wrote something about how in a matter of 7 years he has managed to connect one 12th of the world into one network. Pretty remarkable, huh? Anyway, your post made me think of that!
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