Tyler Robert Conti is a freshman English and history major. His hobbies include water polo, reading, bicycle riding, swimming and running. He is an editor for Digressions, the student-run literary magazine. Although he is 6’4’’ he says he is “very bad at basketball.” His philosophy on life is, “Never forget who or where you are locally, nationally, internationally or universally.”
With all my friends, most of my family and just about everyone else I know in possession of a Facebook account, it may seem odd that I choose not to have one. Yet at the same time, I function just as well as those around me. Not having a Facebook account is not detrimental or inconvenient to my daily life. I’m always on time and know what’s going on. It seems silly and inconvenient to feel that I must be constantly connected to a network of acquaintances when a simple phone call or text message — although I’m not a fan of texting either — suffices.
My main hostility toward Facebook stems from the absurd amount of “friends,” better described as acquaintances, who muster on one’s profile. I might know more than 300 people, but I sure don’t care about what half of them are doing let alone wish to know what they think about everything I do. I feel more comfortable communicating with my family and friends over a phone or in person than a blurb left on a virtual wall for all to see.
My other pet peeve about Facebook surfaces when my friends try to convince me to open a Facebook account, and I begin to consider it. When I do so, another problem arises: Facebook’s security and privacy. The only way avoid those issues is to not have a Facebook account at all. Sure, if people are careful about what they post or write, then nothing too critical falls into the universal soup that’s the Internet.
People cannot control what others do or create and are forced to police their names to make sure they’re free from any tarnishes others have inflicted. I simply don’t want to waste time fixing what otherwise wouldn’t be a problem.
I suppose it’s somewhat hypocritical to criticize Facebook without ever having an account, but in order to find out I’d have to make an account and that’s something I have no interest in. I do see some reasons why Facebook comes in handy — to reconnect with long lost friends and relatives — and if I ever got a Facebook account it would be for that reason.
When I tell people that I don’t have a Facebook account, the first reaction is normally shock, as if I spoke another language, followed by the word “Oh.” Then it’s no longer a subject. I always find it hilarious that they ask, “Do you have a Facebook account?” with the predetermined answer “yes” in mind only to stumble when I say “no.” It’s never been a major topic outside of the occasional class discussion on social network-ing when I’m always against it.
I suppose it’s fortunate that NSU has such a small campus for undergraduate students. It allows for easy communication between friends who are most likely in one of five places: the UC, the Parker Building, the Carl DeSantis Building, the library or the dorms. This makes it simple to keep in contact with friends and fellow students who might otherwise be separated by a campus with a population larger than some small cities.
