Facebook, twitter, and society

Good morning,

For some inane reason, my body clock decided to wake me up at 6 am, probably due to my severely screwed up circadian rhythm. Maybe it's the fact that I organise events on facebook (fb), or that I'm staying at home alone, but I couldn't help but log on, and check my facebook, instead of rolling over and trying to get some more sleep.

Why ?

Perhaps the whole concept behind social media, is not that people care, or that people want to connect, but rather that people are afraid. People are afraid that there aren't others like themselves out there. People are afraid of being alone, or different, and being the only one, who say, has a habit of (to take an example off fb), "counting the hours you have to sleep before you sleep".. Ok, that would be a minor fear. Granted, the majority of fb users aren't quaking in fear/maudlin emotions.. oh wait. Anywho, my point is, if you take away all the social pressure and gossip to be on facebook, at the core of it all, is a human desire to belong. But do we really belong there ?
I know that a similar thing about dehumanisation was said of SMS, and twitter and the internet in general.  To a certain extent, they are true.  However, some forums get along well and community members have no qualms about telling others that they post there, in real life. But an online presence is not the same thing as an actual presence and here's where my theory gets interesting, While excess fb usage is a fear of being alone, an actual social gathering requires effort, and carries the potential for awkward situations. So, fb usage is a combination of fear of being alone, and a fear of being rejected.

But why ?

Fb is society in a microcosm, and an intensification of fears and hopes that dominate our normal lives. Often, people don't know how to react to the immediacy of fb, and twitter, and either play it safe, or go above and beyond the call to "be yourself".. We have manufactured fb personalities, and while we would like to believe that everyone is acting honestly in our everyday environments, we know that to be impossible. We put on a face when we go to work, school, mosque, gym. We want to make ourselves look good. Certainly, these concerns aren't at the forefront of our mind, but they certainly do form a great part of our motivations.. 

But for someone who has just recently moved Cities, I can understand the feeling of non-belonging, but I also accept that there are some groups that you do not want to belong to. Clearly, for me, I would prefer to belong to a group that did not organise, and revolve around facebook. Hell, even texting, I consider to be closer personal contact than tweeting or fb. Fb has it's uses, but is not personal, and only an illusion/chimera?/ (insert fancy term for cure that only works for a short while), for our fear of loneliness.

Unfortunately, we all die alone, and nothing can change that. Having said all that, I still find my fb usage spiked when I moved, until i realised that my friends back in sydney probably had better things to do, and could not possibly respond to every tag that I had. So the only solution for me is to engage with friends I have here, while using fb to keep in occasional touch with people over there. Unfortunately, that's easier said than done, because physical interactivity requires a lot more effort and risk than typing away on a keyboard..