Power User

I still remember my brother making fun of me for having a Myspace in seventh grade when he came back from his junior year at the University of Kentucky in 2007. Everyone in college now had a Facebook and it was spreading to high school, but I was still in my middle school years, I was not even eligible for a Facebook I would have to lie to get one. So I did, I lied in eighth grade and made myself a Facebook, but I never used it and after a month I had already forgotten my password.

When I started my new private high school everyone had a Facebook and in order to connect with my peers I had to figure out my password again. When I got on my Facebook for the first time in over a year and had almost thirty friend requests for me I got my first taste of being what Margaret Weigal calls in her article a “power user:” I was constantly commenting, posting, interacting on Facebook trying to ensure that I always has a notification waiting for me to check and admittedly, as much as you may judge me, I would even get excited about my virtual farm notifications. People had added me on Facebook that I had not even met at my tiny school yet; it was exhilarating, I wanted more notifications; no I needed more notifications.  That was when I decided that I had to become more popular on Facebook and I added everyone in my school because Facebook made it so easy to connect with people I had never spoken to, only seen their faces.

 

I began to comment or like almost everything that appeared on my news feed in hopes that it would make people feel that they could do the same to me without it being weird. Then a new problem arose so many people had more pictures than I did, who would want to comment on my stuff when I am obviously not very popular? Once again Facebook created another obsession: taking pictures every time I was with my friends, even at school. I always tagged myself so that my number would go up and people would see that I am very popular and my profile picture was always with my friends and as terrible as it sounds I always had to look prettier than my friend in the picture.

 

I was also the obnoxious Facebook girl that, in order to seem more popular, always wrote on someone’s wall when I just as easily could have texted them about plans for the evening. When my friends commented on my pictures I would have full-blown conversations with them on the comments so that my picture was sure to pop up on everyone’s news feed. Facebook used to be the only way I had friends, and then I started having a relationship and again I formed a new obsession.

Facebook relationships or being “FBO” is a very important thing. You are not in a relationship unless Facebook says you are and there is at least three photos of you and your significant other together. Jonathan Harwood wrote an article that stated according to an American law firm one in five of their clients listed Facebook in their petitions for divorce; being in a long distance college relationship I can see why. It is hard seeing photos of my boyfriend up on Facebook with other people and girls, it is even harder seeing that he is having fun without me, even though I am doing the same thing.

I have now actively used my Facebook for over four years and I don not care how many pictures I have up and I can not remember the last time I changed my status, but I can tell you what all of my friends did the night before. I have become an expert Facebook “creeper.” I joined a sorority this year and I now creepily know everything about all of my sisters because as soon as I was added to the Facebook Phi Mu group I went through and added almost every girl on Facebook. I am also the girl that thinks she may know someone walking by because I have seen them before, but really I only know them through Facebook.

 

The Facebook group made for the University of Kentucky really brought me closer to all of my peers that are freshman as well this year; they just do not know it. I see people walking around campus and I can tell you their name, hometown and whether or not they party or are close to their family. Facebook makes my problem with obsessing over details so much worse; I forget nothing about people.

My mother recently made a Facebook and she is now going through the same stages I went through, where she has to have notifications and is required to comment on everything and upload a picture of everything she or her children (meaning me) do. It is frustrating for me because I hate how she has to upload pictures every night to Facebook when we go on trips or how she has to get on Facebook when we are spending time with my grandparents, but I have to realize it is not her fault. Facebook does this to you, and eventually she will see how silly she is being.

I see now how silly and just immature I was being about Facebook. Even now my obsession has not really changed, I check my news feed on my phone all the time, and get upset when people haven’t uploaded photos to entertain me. Having to write all of this down just makes me feel even worse, now everyone can see how pathetic this problem is, but it is not my fault Facebook pulled me and has molded me into this creepy person that sits behind a computer screen and observes, but as sad as it is and as sad as it sounds I do not think I will stop. I know I do not want to so I will let my obsession continue to progress throughout it’s stages and perhaps eventually the obsession will dwindle away to nothingness.