Social Network

The social media that I use most frequently would be Facebook. This site plays a critical role in the connections I have with my friends and family, especially those who live at a distance. I noticed that I am a part of many groups on Facebook; therefore, friends from one group usually post very different things from another group. One of the major groups I am a part of is the APO Facebook page. This is a co-ed service fraternity, encompassing 200+ members, and we use our page to communicate with each other about service and fellowship events. People from this Facebook group are usually very service-oriented people and will post things about philanthropy events or fundraisers. In contrast, I am also part of a Study Abroad Facebook group, which included a medical service trip to Belize last June. The members of this group usually post medically related articles. There is definitely some overlap in similar posting between groups, but I notice that members of the same usually share the same interests.

In regards to my own Facebook usage, I normally only “like” posts that interest me, or posts that a friend has published. It is not often that I post pictures of myself, and if I do, it is a picture of me with friends or family. I follow many online newspapers, like the Huffington Post, which constantly posts political articles and videos. It is crazy to think about how companies could potentially see what posts you are liking on Facebook, and decide if you are the right fit or not for their company. With the recent influx of political articles dominating the newsfeed, it is very likely that I could inadvertently supply my political views on controversial issues, simply through a like or a comment. Another site that I “like” on Facebook is called Tasty and it posts sped up videos of food recipes. I noticed that I have liked many vegetarian food videos, which makes me wonder if people could glean certain things about my diet simply from this action. Another action I take on Facebook would be tagging people in the comments of funny pictures or videos on my newsfeed. This prevents me from having to actually post it on their wall, in case they might have family members or other members of their social network who would disapprove. I have noticed that many of my friends do the same, tagging me in a comment rather than posting directly on my wall. I could see this as being the new way to share things with others because of the convenience and slightly less public nature of tagging their name in a comment. I also get most of my invites to parties or other events through Facebook. This plays a role in how my friends influence me because if I see that a majority of them are attending a certain event, then it makes me highly consider attending as well.