Last night I attended a panel discussion about the cultural phenomenon Facebook.  The event, sponsored by University Housing, promised to be interesting- a mix of ex-social revolutionist, baby-boomer faculty and undergraduate student panelists set to discuss the topic with a predominantly undergraduate audience (the main users of the website).  The 2-hour long discussion hit on a number of interesting questions pertaining to the privacy and security of the users, the cultural implications large online communities have on the value of friendship and personal relations, and its place in the business world, particularly marketing.

The discussion began with the panelists throwing out a multitude of numbers astounding enough that I would like to share them- Facebook boasts 60 million user profiles, with 250,000 new members being added each day.  On college campuses, the place where this phenomenon originated, 95% of students have profiles.  Since it expanded its membership opportunities a year ago to those beyond university settings, 85% of incoming freshmen already have profiles.  The number of older member profiles is still small due to its youthful origin, but those numbers are growing as well.  Also, due to its ability to upload photos for sharing, it is the largest online repository for personal photo albums, with an average 44 photos per user.  The most astounding fact I have saved for last- this site has only been around since February 24, 2004.  All of this has occurred in just four years.

The question that was burning on my mind for most of this discussion was what happens when this site, and its users, mature?  Currently, it is mainly a youth phenomenon, a place to display and share your private self with friends.  Its main body of users are either still in college, or just graduated.  Much of the information shared pertains to general likes/dislikes. Photos display friendly outings, vacations, or parties attended.  These are sorts of things that everyone does, now and forever, generation after generation.  But for the first time, it is being publicly documented in an extremely personal way.   As its users age, it becomes a mini-biography, a public account of who, what, when, and where a particular person has been over the years.

The cultural implications have already been showing up.  Although no major social revolution has thus far been attempted, minor protest groups formed by users have caused universities to think twice about certain decisions, such as changing collegiate logos.  Students have been ousted from academic settings due to photo documentation of such actions as drinking in the dorms or tearing down goal posts after big games.  Even the face of dating, as one of the audience members demonstrated last night, is changing.  Now, because it is common when meeting someone new to become “Facebook friends,” much of the small talk that usually occurs on first dates becomes obsolete, as the information has already been provided online.  A level of prescreening occurs before the first date even happens.  The same is often true on the friendship level.  This site, and others like it, has the potential to impact the very core of how we relate to one another socially.

The world of big business, already so engrained in modern life, cannot be counted out of this social phenomenon much longer either.  The bevy of personal statistics and networks are much too desirable for marketing companies looking for the next way to gain customers.  Already there have been attempts by corporations to infiltrate the site, and some have been successful despite user protests.  Facebook, after all, is not just a social community site- it is a publicly traded company.  As such, Facebook has made deals with other business to track such things as user’s online purchases and then release the information to the users friend networks (Project Beacon).  Currently, due to user protests, the onslaught is being implemented in optional stages such as with this project.  However, it is the next level of marketing and as such the aggressive world of business will only be held off for so long.

On a another business note, as Face book’s users age and enter the professional world, the implications of sharing your personal life publicly become potentially detrimental- a tell-all biography available to not only your friends but also your boss and clients.  As this reality sets in along with the knowledge information is being used by business for marketing purposes, does the use of Facebook change?  Do people get more guarded?  Or does the plethora of personal documentation cause a shift in social values?  Since the 1920’s, public morality as determined by an overarching societal code has been continually disappearing, heading instead towards a society where truly “anything goes,” and each individual must rely upon himself or herself to create a code of personal ethics.  Is Facebook, and its potential implications, another step in that process?  Although I personally see this latter thought as a far-fetched as it would require a massive shift in societal values even still, I am interested to see how this phenomenon develops into maturity

Community sites like Facebook truly are part of the shift to Internet 2.0, the next phase of the information age’s transformation of modern society.  Such Internet use penetrates to the core of our social interactions and lifestyle choices.  Its implications have yet to completely manifest themselves due to their youth, but they could spell major change.  It will be interesting to watch.