Virginia Heffernan (New York Times)

I think that Internet is a huge world where everybody do what they want and if they want lie about their lifes and their opinions, they could ! But if they think that Internet is a tool for working or for created link, they could use the Internet in a different way.

I don't really share Virginia's opinion when she speaks about Facebook. And I don't really understand why she explains that according to her, Facebook is an experience of character creation. I think that we can speak of "character creation" when we are on a chat, and when we speak with people who don't know us. You can cheat with our age, our name, with the place where we live because it's not really important because people can't check what we say.
But, on Facebook, we can post photographs, statutes, and informations about your lives but people who see theses informations are people who know us and they can know if we tell the truth or not. So, I disagree with Virginia's opinion. I don't think that Facebook is a "character creation".

Virginia Heffernan said that facebook isn't an experience of social life but " an experience of fantasy", but for me, the first goal of facebook is to have relations with people or friends, to talk with them, so to have a social life.

I agree, you are not obliged to lie, and you are not obliged to create a "character" or have a facebook account

Of course you don't have to lie about yourself on social networks, but don't you think there has got to be some staging of oneself from the moment you choose the pictures you put online?

it is an other experience of social life, not face to face but hide behind a screen.

I agree with you. This experience allows some people to unfold and talking with people within be afraid by the consequences what he is different in real life.

JulietteFreneat wrote:And I think it can be dangerous if you don't take care about it.

Do you mean that it's better to lie ?
Because yes, a lot of things are dangerous on the Internet and we must take care about that, but you're not obliged to give this kind of information. And if you do so, Facebook still is a social media, on which you can share, chat, etc. and it isn't a fictional creation on which you may lie and create a new character.
I think that there is a "just middle" between social media (because everybody can lie and always do so) and a fictional novel (completely created).

AlexTL wrote:

Ludivine Chapon TL wrote:I agree with Marion. It's pervers for everybody. Because it's like exibitionism. All of people can see the life of all of people !

there is a mass effect, as sheep.

I'm agree with Alex, facebook is fashion. Nowadays, everybody go on facebook but I think that this way to have contact and communicate is not very fulfilling because the real communication is face to face because you can analyse the behaviour of the person.

Virginia Hefferman's point of view is really interesting. Indeed, I agree with her insofar as it can be pleasant to find out other people's lives on the Internet, if you consider them as a creation ; you can have the impression that you are reading a story, as she says, and it can be "an experience of fantasy" because you will never be able to check whether it's real or not. But this point of view depends on what you're looking for by using the social network : people "choose a face for themselves", and so they can say whatever they want, and you can never know if what they are telling you is real or not. So the internet is absolutely not a good means to create social links, because these social links can be based on lies.

Elise wrote:people who see theses informations are people who know us

It all depends on how you manage your account and what you want to do with it. Social networks are more and more used to advertise.

Carol. Cadillat wrote: But for me, the first goal of facebook is to have relations with people or friends, to talk with them, so to have a social life.

Have many friends on the internet isn't really have a "social life " because it's only fictitious. For me have a social life is meet people face to face, not behind a screen.

I'm not saying mass effect is a bad thing but do you really think that each people on Facebook has a reason for being on it ? Seriously a lot of teenagers are on facebook even if they don't really know why. They spend the main part of their Internet's times on social media, why ?! Internet is not Facebook, Internet is not Tweeter ! You can do billions of thing on internet, and reducing this to Facebook is desperating, in my opinion...

Aufrant Marion wrote:I think that Internet is a huge world where everybody do what they want and if they want lie about their lifes and their opinions, they could ! But if they think that Internet is a tool for working or for created link, they could use the Internet in a different way.

And I think it's a good recap of what the Internet is. A "world" where you can create you a new live, or just live your true life. It's more or less the same thing as writting a novel : you can tell your life or create a hero. But like Elise says, it isn't possible with Facebook since people who are your "friends" on facebook are normaly your friend in the 'real life' too

but don't you think there has got to be some staging of oneself from the moment you choose the pictures you put online?

The person choose picture either in order to show oneself the best advantage either to protect the private life. So, yes, from the moment where we choose the pictures that we put online, we can say that there are some staging of oneself but in a goal specific

ChloeA wrote:So the internet is absolutely not a good means to create social links, because these social links can be based on lies.

Not saying the whole truth may be considered as a partial lie ; does it prevent you from creating social links for all that? Do you always tell the whole truth in your whole lives?

You are not oblige to give this kind of information (especially where you live, your school.etc...). But I don't say it's better to lie on the Internet.You can say the truth , but not everything of your life.
It's better to find the "just middle", as you say Carole.

ChloeA wrote:So the internet is absolutely not a good means to create social links, because these social links can be based on lies.

I rather agree, but I think that even a relation based on lies on the Internet is a real social link. You create a social link as soon as you're sharing feelings, interets, or whatever you want with another person.

JulietteFreneat wrote:You are not oblige to give this kind of information (especially where you live, your school.etc...). But I don't say it's better to lie on the Internet.You can say the truth , but not everything of your life.
It's better to find the "just middle", as you say Carole.

Or you can say this information but hid them for specefic person

Doriane wrote:I agree with Virginia Hefferman and the part of the class about the risk to create a fictive life in facebook and in social media but to give informations about the place where you live , the place where you study or the real face in internet is a risk too. So invent a profil isn't it preferable to go away from any danger?

I'm agree with this fact that on the internet there are danger for people who are not accused of. A lot of young girls who chated on internet with a boy of their age, who are in reality a pedophile, were raped and killed!

Kédem Ferré wrote:Of course you don't have to lie about yourself on social networks, but don't you think there has got to be some staging of oneself from the moment you choose the pictures you put online?

Yes, when we choose the pictures or videos put on the internet there's staging of oneself, because we don't see all of the person, only the "best"; and I think distorting the reality to advantage yourself is already a kind of lie, like concealing what is bad in or on you.

What about public image?

It's not because you're in facebook for exemple that you lie. Almost all of the class are on facebook, but you don't lie about your name or your life. So it's not everybody who lies on the internet.

Elise wrote: I don't think that Facebook is a "character creation".

I agree with Elise because lot of people write real informations about there real life , put a real picture and express there real hobbies.

But you can lie about what you love, about your opinion, your ideas....

JulietteFreneat wrote:But you can lie about what you love, about your opinion, your ideas....

But in the 'true life', you can also lie about what you want, so it's the same thing.

Kédem Ferré wrote:Not saying the whole truth may be considered as a partial lie ; does it prevent you from creating social links for all that? Do you always tell the whole truth in your whole lives?

If you create a social link on the Internet with someone you have never seen, you can't check if this person is not saying the whole truth or if she is completely lying, for example about her age or things like that, and this thing is impossible in the real life. The Internet can be a good means to stay in touch with persons you already know, but I still think that you can't create real links with someone you will never see.

I think that choose the pictures we put on your profil is staging of oneself because you choose the best of yourself and you want the other people see just the luminous way of yourself.