Virginia Heffernan (New York Times)

The experience of Facebook to me is not another experience of social life, it's an experience of fantasy, of character creation, a kind of novel writing where you cast the characters, you choose a face for yourself, you curate photographs that tell stories about yourself. I bring to it the same enthusiasm that I would bring to reading or writing a novel, as opposed to whatever I bring to social life.

Do you share Virginia Heffernan's views on Facebook?

View the whole interview for La Clé des Langues here.

Well, in a certain way yes because she says that, on Internet, you create a new personality, you "cast" a new character in order to embody you. Indeed, it changes deeply social relation because people aren't chatting with other people, but charcters are chatting with other character. You are not, most of the time, honest, you change certain part of what you are, you can lie about your age, aboute your weight, and whatever you want. You don't really create links because you are behind a screen.

I agree with Virginia Heffernan , when she says that we create or own character,our own story,etc...on the social media. We are not exactly the same person on the internet and on the real life.

I think it's because of the sensation of protection the screen offers. The person we speak or we share images with can't really judge us if she doesn't see and know us.

AlexTL wrote:You don't really create links because you are behind a screen.

Do you meant to say that online communication doesn't exist, and that face to face relations necessarily create links?

If it's what Alexandre means to say, I can't agree with him. Face to face relations are sometimes only made by interest and it's not a real communication between two persons, whereas there may be communication online on social media and even on games. It depends of people.

Solveig wrote:Face to face relations are sometimes only made by interest and it's not a real communication between two persons

I agree,but it's true for conversation on the Internet too.On the Internet andin the real life ,there are people who are only interested, and people who are not.

I agree with Solveig. To be behind a screen doesn't prevent you from creating social links. You just lost the human contact but it's not the only thing that makes social links.
Concerning Viriginia's opinion, I don't think that social medias are like a story that you can create. You can lie, but it's all about you, all about your opinion, your way of life, etc..

“ Face to face relations are sometimes only made by interest and it's not a real communication between two persons, whereas there may be communication online on social media and even on games.”

I don't agree with you. You say that the relations between two person are only made by interest, but the communication face to face with friends for instance, isn’t made by interest. We talk to people in order to talk with them, not for interest

But Solveig said "sometimes", not all of the time !

I agree with Carole. Of course, you can lie on the Internet, create a new personnality but it doesn't make sens if you want to meet people and create links with us ; it's like cheating in relation ships

Anaïs TL wrote:

“ Face to face relations are sometimes only made by interest and it's not a real communication between two persons, whereas there may be communication online on social media and even on games.”

I don’t agree with you. You say that the relations between two person are only made by interest, (...)

I said relations between two persons are SOMETIMES made by interest -and "sometimes" is really important, it's not like it with our friends or our family. It was to answer to Mr Ferré who asked if face to face relations necessarily create links.

I agree with Virginia Heffernan about Facebook and social media. In my view, the social media are a new way of creating your own life. It's not really you real life, but everybody lies. It's just a new rule in the Internet.

The important is not to put this new rule in our real lives, and to keep in mind the difference between virtuality and reality.

Aufrant Marion wrote: It's not really you real life

But do you think that you can't create some social links if you lie ?
Because I think that even if you create a new character, you can share feelings, opinions, etc. with other people on the Internet !

Aufrant Marion wrote: In my view, the social media are a new way of creating your own life. It's not really you real life, but everybody lies. It's just a new rule in the Internet.

I think it's not a "new rule" to lie on the Internet. I like to believe that some people can be honest and themselves, even behind their sreens

I don't agree with anais said that talk to internet isn't a real discussion, because even if the person aren't face to face, that is always a real discussion

Facebook, MSN, Skype allow to communicate with friends and family or people of your work, it's a simple plan to exchange ideas, projects, stay in contact with peiople who live far away.

AlexTL wrote:You are not, most of the time, honest, you change certain part of what you are, you can lie about your age, aboute your weight, and whatever you want. You don't really create links because you are behind a screen.

But I think that this is what some people want from that kind of social media, they can be who they want to be and they don't really care about creating links with other people. So, in a way, I agree with Marion.

I'm agree what Marine said , to lie to internet no have a sens

marine descamps wrote:I like to believe that some people can be honest and themselves, even behind their sreens

I think that you're a little bit too utopist ... But I agree with you, most of people on the Internet don't lie. And even if they do so, you can do the same thing in real life !

With your diferents opinions, I've the impression that with the social network, it's obligatory to create an other personnage, and invent an other personality. I don't agree with this. I think that the social media are a very interesant tool which permits us to stay in touch with all our friends and with our family. I don't see the Internet and particulary the social network as a tool which permit us to lie.

I don't say that everybody must lie about all and nothing. But changing little things it's not very serious. Things like physical for example. Some people use the Internet to hide themselves behind the screen.

I share Carole (Laville)'s opinion: even if you lie on how old you are, where you live, what you do in your life... somewhere, you can't lie on your feelings and on your deep thoughts. You can modify a part of what other perceive of you, but you I think you can't hide everything of you. And, in fact, it's not an obligation to l ie on the Internet !

I agree with you, Elise, I think that a lot of people doesn't use Facebook in order to lie or create a "new character" but there are probably people who are searching it from the Internet and so, from Facebook.