Introduction
The social network film by David Fincher was nominated for the Golden Globe awards in 2010. The film is concerned with the narrative about Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates among them, Eduardo Saverin who founded the social site ‘Facebook’. The Social Network film discusses how Facebook was developed and the challenges of developing the giant social site.
The social network film shows how entrepreneurship and technological genius can unite people across the globe. Face book, as a social networking application, plays an important role in connecting people who have similar interests. It provides them with a forum where they can interact with one another (Denby, 2010, 24-31).
The following essay focuses on David Fincher’s movie ‘The Social Network’ which was released in 2010. The essay specifically focuses on the contemporary understanding of intimacy and friendship as outlined in the movie. It examines the following concepts which are discussed in the movie i.e privacy, authenticity and distinction.
Privacy
Privacy is a major issue for many people across the globe. Those people who are connected to the internet are more concerned about their privacy. This is because there are a lot of bad people out there to earn a living by using personal information in the social networking sites. It is a basic human right and manifests itself in various forms such as secrecy, anonymity, pseudonymity e.t.c.
According to the Merriam-Webstar dictionary, privacy refers to the state of being free from observation by others. Privacy can also be defined as the guarantee that a person’s details will not be revealed without one’s consent. Disclosure has the effect of violating one’s privacy.
Face book , as a social networking application, reveals ones’ secrets as users uploads their personal stories, videos, photos and other private information about themselves to the public. In today’s’ world, employers are using the personal data which is readily available on Facebook for job screening. Law enforcers rely on Face book and other social networking sites in order to find a suspect’s lists of friends.
While thousands of people join the social networking site everyday, many quit it due to privacy issues. Many people believe that the social network sites violate their privacy (Zadie, 2010, 58).
This is because it tempts people to reveal too much information. Millions of people throughout the world voluntarily divulge accurate information about themselves on Face book. In today’s world, identity theft is a major concern and thus, the spammers take advantage by hacking into others Facebook accounts.
Most people believe that Mark Zuckerberg, who founded Face book, possesses so much private information about people across the globe. The movie ‘social network’ was developed at a time when Facebook was being opposed by many. The features of Face book upset many users. For instance, the news feeds inform members of all the actions that one takes on the social networking site.
Thus, others are able to view one’s new friends, comments, relationship status, the groups that one joined among others. Disclosure of personal information in the social networking site occurs every minute one logs into his or her account. Many people are of the view that Facebook has the effect of enslaving them by making their private information to be readily accessible to others.
For instance, one is usually required to record information about his or her relationship status. Thus, if one goes from being in an open relationship to being single, everyone will view this information on the news feeds. Also, many people spend much of their time searching for others profile. They search for the tame stuff and nude materials on their friends profiles.
Young people usually put more of their personal details in their Facebook walls as opposed to the old. They usually don’t consider that the information that they put on their walls may have an impact in their future lives. They regard their privacy as an illusion i.e. they think that privacy does not exist. Many young people are honest when sharing information about their lives.
They are not self aware that the information that they share could be used against them in future. They thus post comments that put others off. In essence, Face book has made young people to live in public. This is dangerous as it makes others to develop opinions about them.
Living in public causes stress to many people across the globe. It has caused much embarrassment to many. Others have opted to commit suicide in order to escape shame. People should be careful before putting something in their Facebook profiles.
In the social network film, Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook profile is revealed without his consent. His interests and desires too are known to the general public. The groups that he joined in the Facebook were also revealed to his Facebook members including his aunt. The situation worsened further when gay students uploaded their party photos in their Facebook profiles and tagged him.
Mark Zuckerberg’s confidant, Charlie Cheever, believed that Zuckerberg didn’t believe in privacy. According to him, Mark used privacy as a stepping stone. The movie has a tagline which states that, the act of making friends causes one to make enemies as well (Russell, 1983, 40).
According to Andrejevic (2003, 31), lack of privacy while using the social networking site like Facebook can cause relationships to deteriorate. Continuous interactions on Facebook ruin special relationships. One usually interacts with friends both at a distant and in close proximity. In the movie ‘the social network’, Christy engages in an argument with Eduardo after viewing his Facebook profile.
In his profile, Eduardo had posted that he is single. When he was asked to explain it, he stated that he didn’t know how profiles are changed. According to Nussbaum (24) his girlfriend Christy thus believes that he is cheating her. She is so angry to an extent that she burns a scarf that was given to her by Eduardo. This marked the end of their relationship.
Authenticity
Authenticity can be defined as the act of speaking one’s truth. A person’s speech and thoughts reflects his or her values. The responsibility to speak truth lies in one’s actions (Erving, 1973, 118). Many people are faced with a moral dilemma as to whether or not to speak the truth. The act of being truthful is concerned with saying what one relay thinks i.e. one should say what is in their mind and heart.
According to Dr. James Bugental, authenticity refers to the state of being genuine. According to him, authenticity is difficult to express in words and it involves living in accordance to a person’s true nature. Different people hold different views on the ideas that are posted on social networking sites like Face book. Many people are hypocrites in that, they do not tell the truth when they are posting ideas on Facebook.
In the film ‘The social network’, Mark Zuckerberg is portrayed as a dishonest person by stealing the Facebook idea from his classmates at Harvard. Mark Zuckerberg is thus depicted as someone who is unkind and socially incompetent. Altogether, the movie created the perception that the Face book, as a social networking site, lacks authenticity.
The CEO is being depicted in the social network movie as someone who is tricky and unfaithful. In the film, Zuckerberg is accused of being dishonest by not sharing the proceeds from Facebook business with his partner. Eduardo, who was Mark Zuckerberg’s best friend, provided him with $1,000 for starting the Facebook project. Face book gained popularity throughout the college and the popularity spread across the globe.
However, Mark showed little concern for his best friend after he succeeded in creating the Facebook site. He was not the only student from Harvard Business School who was working on creating a social network site. After being offered an opportunity to work with the idea’s proponents, Mark Zuckerberg went ahead to register the domain name Facebook. The Winklevos twins believe that Mark stole their Facebook idea.
In the movie, Mark Zuckerberg fights a legal battle after he is being sued by Divya and Tyler for stealing intellectual property. The case lacks authenticity because justice is not achieved at the end. Both parties are convinced to solve their case as Harvard’s gentlemen instead of seeking justice from courts of law (Zadie, 2010, 58).
Distinction
Facebook is associated with transparency and this has differentiated it from other social networking sites such as MySpace. On Facebook, one is required to use his or her real name. Face book interactions are usually organized in such a way that friends are informed about various aspects including the favorite presidential candidate among others.
Face book as a social networking site, is based on the notion that one can trust his or her friends. The Social Network film is distinct as it reflects the larger cultural issues. The movie teaches business ethics i.e. it teaches people on how they can become successful (Steion, & Book, 2011, 81).
The movie is exceptional as it teaches people who have entrepreneurial minds to become their own bosses easily. People learn that they can start running their businesses easily from their homes. All what is required is the basic Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) i.e. a computer, a reliable internet connection and a website.
The successful story of Facebook has thus inspired many people who are interested in becoming e-entrepreneurs. The movie has changed the way young people perceive top jobs.
While becoming an engineer or a lawyer is attractive, the young generation has also learnt that they can become mega rich quickly by starting up their own e-businesses. The movie is also exceptional because it discusses the challenges that one faces when starting up a business venture (Andrejevic, 2002, 236).
Conclusion
In today’s world, Face book as a social networking site has become more popular due to higher number of opportunities it offers. In fact, Face book has emerged as one of the most popular social networking site throughout the world. It is estimated that there are more than 400 million users of Face book. The movie ‘social network’ is popular among the youth due to its interconnectedness with the Facebook.
Facebook enables people to share information and also communicate with one another more efficiently. Privacy, authenticity and distinction of Facebook as a social networking site have been a major concern among scholars. There are major aspects that enhance friendship and intimacy among people.
Thus, people realize later that their personal data that they have added to their profiles have been revealed without their consent. With regards to authenticity, Facebook should aim at ensuring that people speak in a truthful manner while sharing information unto others. With regards to distinction, Face book should continue being the market leader as far as transparency and uniqueness is concerned.
Reference List
Andrejevic, M. (2002). The Work of Being Watched: Interactive Media and the Exploitation of Self-Disclosure. Critical Studies in Media Communication, 19, 2 (June): 230-248
Denby, D. (2010). Influencing People: David Fincher and The Social Network. New York: The New York.
Erving, G. (1973). Regions and Region Behavior: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. New York: The Overlook Press.
Nussbaum, E. (2007). Kids, the Internet and the End of Privacy. The Weekend Australian Magazine, March 24-5, 2007.
Russell, A. (1983). ‘Managing Feeling’, from the Managed Heart: Commercialization Of Human Feeling. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983
Steion, S. J & Book, H. E. (2011). The EQ Edge: Emotional Intelligence and Your Success. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons.
Zadie, S. (2010). Generation Why? The New York Review of Books, November 25, 2010 pp.57-60