英國mediadissertation

馬克•扎克伯格在寫給Facebook股東的信中提到，人際關系是我們社會的基本單位。人際關系是指我們如何發現新想法，了解我們的世界并最終獲得長久幸福的過程。
 

如今很多人都在網上結識新朋友，和朋友們一起打情罵俏，聊八卦和建立各種關系（博伊德）。現在人們主要利用網絡技術與朋友交談。在社交網站分享信息或即時通訊加強了人際關系（（博伊德）。Facebook就是你另外一個家。Facebook對社會是有益的，它為人們提供了一個寶貴的溝通方式，比如分享利益、表達意見和彼此保持聯系。
 

Facebook的歷史
 

Facebook是在2004年2月4日推出的一個社交網站，由馬克•扎克伯格創建。他是前哈佛大學的學生，他一直有一個使命“賦予人們分享的權力并讓世界變得更加開放和緊密連接”。Facebook最初是設計來給哈佛的學生用的。用戶可以在facebook網站注冊并獲得一個帳號，他們可以在上面設置人物簡介、照片、興趣愛好、生日、聯絡方式、身份和其他個人信息。
 

A letter to Facebook shareholders Mark Zuckerberg states, Personal relationships are the fundamental unit of our society. Relationships are how we discover new ideas, understand our world and ultimately derive long-term happiness.
 

For many people today, meeting new people, catching up with friends, flirting, gossiping, and relationship-building, takes place online (Boyd). People primarily use online technologies to talk with people they already know. Sharing information through social network sites or instant messenger reinforces relationships ( (Boyd). The Facebook page is your home away from home. Facebook is beneficial to society by providing a valuable way for people to connect, share interests, express opinions, and stay in touch with one another.
 

Facebook的歷史———Facebook History
 

Facebook is a social networking site launched on February 4, 2004. It was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, a former student of Harvard University with a mission “to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected (About Facebook, Facebook).” It was initially designed to connect Harvard students to each other. Users who register for an account at the site obtain a Facebook page which they can create a profile with photographs, a list of interests, birthday, contact, status, and other personal information. Users can then invite other Facebook users to become their Facebook “friends,” which then builds an online social network. Facebook enables users to post comments on the “walls” of personal or friend pages. Facebook has become the modern equivalent of the mall or town square, a place where people hang out with each other and run into old friends. Status updates and let people share glimpses into their daily lives with others (Worthan).
 

Facebook的數據和功能———FaceBook Statistics and Features
 

Facebook is the world’s largest online social network with over 900 million active users, with 70% from outside the United States (About Facebook, Facebook). Users now spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook (About Facebook, Facebook).
 

Facebook introduced the “groups” application in September 2004 as one of its basic features (About Facebook, Facebook). Groups allow users to share common interests with each other by providing a common space where users can meet. They can share interests in a specific topic, distribute information about that topic, and have public discussions around that topic. The group application is a strong feature contributing to the interactive nature of Facebook. Facebook has also made the wall where users can post messages on other people’s profiles, notes where users can share their views, share where users can post links to external websites on their profile, and fan pages. These features enable users to continually interact with each other. All these features support a common requirement, to have friends and stay in contact.
 

FaceBook加強了身份驗證———FaceBook Enhances Identity
 

To be or not to be, what to be? Facebook allows people create profiles containing information about themselves. Facebook offers a number of features that allow users to control what information is shared with their network. If an unflattering picture is posted on Facebook, a user can hide the picture from his or her network. They can delete status updates that they have second thoughts about. This does not necessarily mean that people present a false impression of themselves on social networks. Facebook profiles have been shown to reflect actual characteristics as opposed to idealized characteristics that do not represent one’s actual personality (Back et al, 372-374). While users may be presenting valid information about themselves on social networks (Back et al, 372-374), they often filter out the negative information to present a positive self-view to others. When users receive positive feedback about their profile, it enhances their self-esteem and well-being (Valkenburg 2006). Users feel good about themselves and their group relationships; they develop a sense of belonging and build strong ties within the online community. Self-expression feels good and is rewarding. Facebook offers a medium where people build and enhance their identities.
 

成員關系的影響———The Effects of Group Membership
 

The concept of publics serves multiple purposes. They can play a civic function, serving to gather people for government purposes but they can also play a social role, enabling people to make sense of the world around them and understand their relationship to society (Arendt, 1998). Arendt argues that “the presence of others who see what we see and hear what we hear assures us of the reality of the world and ourselves” (Arendt, 1998). Group membership is thought to encourage political engagement, open channels for discussion. Discussion is important to learning engagement. Facebook forums have become the new town square. Facebook provides information and a means of participation for those who may not otherwise be able to attend a meeting or hearing, to ensure that their opinion is heard.
 

通信———Communication
 

While Facebook has improved society, it is not perfect. There can be dangers in Facebook use. Internet user’s associate with more people they would expect to interact with in real life (Dwyer). Facebook and social networking can create friends that exist solely on the computer. Privacy and trust on Internet sites dedicated to social use can be questionable if the user never plans on meeting those with whom they are communicating with (Dwyer). The truth may be stretched or fabricated. The movie “Catfish” chronicles a Facebook relationship that was not real. A young filmmaker meets and forms a friendship with a young girl who is a painter. He begins to have doubts about things she is telling him and decides to document meeting her in one of his movies. Further research through "contacts of contacts" on Facebook shows that the true painter is a homebound woman who has given up a career to mother a severely retarded son, and the Facebook fantasies are all she has. At the end her husband says that some people are like "catfish" added to preserve the flavor of "codfish which otherwise would fade and become dull in a preserve” (Schulman). Caution should be used in forming relationships with strangers.
 

結論———Conclusion
 

Facebook has everything one needs to find and reconnect with old high school buddies, make new friends, express opinions, support others (like it !), and build an online community. Users can share video and photos, blog and create group discussions. Media, marketing, and corporations have a presence on Facebook. Facebook is easy to use allowing users to connect across the internet, with aps available for multiple platforms including phones. Privacy can be maintained by controlling page and wall content as well as being able to block others from viewing content.