Topic #1 - Jun 11-17, 2012
By Ernie Reyes and Sonja Chan in Saint Louis University Forensic Society (Files) · Edit Doc · Delete
Topic: Facebook is just about one of the best things that has happened to the communications world. What's your take on this?
Facilitator: Sonja Chan
Sher Moran - June 12 at 2:21am
" Facebook is just about one of the best things that has happened. . ." is indeed an understatement, it has revolutionized the speed of communication and bridged time and distance by the slightest touch of "send" or "enter" on the key board. It has placed on the spotlight memories that now has updated photos to a name and yes, more importantly made us get together again in a wider "classroom environment" with mam Sonja Chan gathering of students that now comprises this discussion group. FB has multiplied friendship, knowledge and kept us abreast with events, photos and ideas that are seemingly infinite. . . it is powerful!
Sonja Chan - June 12 at 2:54am
While I think along the same lines, Sher, I'd also ask why a lot of people I know have deactivated themselves from facebook....
Marl Rosal - June 12 at 6:12am
My view on the matter is that Facebook is a good communication tool. It reconnects us with our past and our present. We try to input everything in, basically baring our soul.. BUT. we don't really know who we are dealing with. True, it has the privacy settings, control and all, yet there are still people being robbed of their identity and privacy. I personally don't use Facebook that much and when I do, it is with caution. Yet, being cautious is still not a guarantee. I know of friends whose accounts have been hacked and I also have friends who are totally not into Facebook because they are sceptic and paranoid. Being in Facebook means you are gambling your privacy and your personal life.. exposing yourself to the world of the unknown!
Sher Moran - June 12 at 6:58am
True, Marl! I feel the same. To add to that sharing I opened a facebook account because important messages were being sent through FB. To access it I had to open one. I strongly agree with the privacy intrusion, the downside is learning how to manage FB well without revealing too much. I still a struggle with it.
Marl Rosal - June 12 at 7:10amThanks, Sher! Yup, we all are in the learning stage.. and when we get to master it another app is added thus, making it impossible to cope up and in the end.. just letting it be.. hoping and praying that our account will not be hacked.. :)
Maria Lorna Cusi - June 12 at 10:16pm
I agree, for as long as we are talking about communications per se, and not the art nor the science of it. And because it uses the uncensored, unpoliced medium that we call the internet, users and fanatics are, somehow somewhat someday in mostly the hard way, learning the responsibilities of freedom freebies: freedom of speech during their free time on a free social networking channel (Facebook) where opinions and thoughts are conveyed free-style. And I mean no spell-checks, too. However, it is only because Facebook was fast-thinking enough that they were able to gain many patrons and members. I still give credit to Friendster for being the first social networking site that promoted multi-media sharing and storing to a wide number of members. I'm still not converting to Timeline, though I'm considering pulling out of LinkedIn.
Sonja Chan - June 13 at 9:43am
On Marlie's point re caution, - I guess, there will always be loopholes regarding that. The privacy tools available are just help, right, which is why, when I am on fb, I actually throw caution to the wind and just thrill to the connection with friends and loved ones like you, guys! Don't you all , too? Now Lorna talks about uncensored stuff and freedom. Nice points, Lady. probably would open up to diverse sub-threads as well. My interest, though is, as you'd expect, also the freedom aspect of mutilating language. hehe. Too much freedom out there.
Glenn Gattud - June 13 at 10:41pm
Try working 3 timezones like I do (Philippine, Australian Eastern and US Mountain) and you dont care about dates anymore (just the alarm on your Outlook and Microsoft Calendar)....but that's another topic. Senior moments...that's another topic as well...Facebook as one of the best things...agree its one of the best things to keep from being bored while waiting for a call at 3am (which would be 12noon in Denver)...still miss pen and paper though...the suspense of waiting, the perfumed stationary, the stylized pen strokes, a ketchup stain or a lipstick mark - they dont have equivalents in FB :-)
Sher Moran - June 13 at 11:16pm
A point well taken! :-) it can never compare Glen. You just reminded me of romantic Tina Bejar.
Tina Bejar - June 13 at 11:18pm
And here i was playing with my new calligraphy pen set in Bangalore...
Sonja Chan - June 14 at 1:20am
Glenn, you're so right about Facebook making you "miss pen and paper...the suspense of waiting... the perfumed stationery....the stylized pen strokes...the ketchup/lipstick stain"! But let me add to that. How about the thrill of opening the mailbox to an envelope with the handwriting so familiar...... the enclosed hundred dollar bill or perhaps just a pressed orchid .... the handwritten lines that choose to go diagonal on the page.... the crazy folds you can make out of your statio... these among a lot more! Facebook does give you a hundred nice things, it's true, but it can't give you these, can it? ;)
Glenn Gattud - June 14 at 2:53am
Call me old-fashioned but those are things you cant get on FB or any social media for that matter. True, FB gives you the speed of response and the economics of not having to spend for stamps but a "like" or an emoticon doesn't convey the emotion that one gets from a coffee-stained postcard with just a "can't wait to see you"
Peterjules M. Agustinll - June 14 at 6:33am
It depends on the user....it has advantages and disadvantages..for mark z,he is building a mobile phone...for me its the cheapest way to communicate,hope they can get skype that would be a real threat...Free of charge
Sher Moran - June 14 at 8:32am
Skype. . . to talk freely and see the person up close and personal does not just connect on what mam Sonja and Glen shared. I guess it is feeling, smelling, seeing distinct character scribbles and fancy ideas, corny or sentimental is what's missing in skype and FB. The effort given to a piece of paper that wishes to convey a thousand words appeals to all our human senses. I guess what Peterjules M. Agustinll appreciates in the world of technology is the speed of communication, right? :-)
Bryan Peñafiel - June 14 at 10:31am
I totally agree with the proposition. There may be some drawbacks but these are relatively minor compared to the benefits. Consider this: we wouldn't have this intelligent discussion, initiated by our mentor 20 years or so back who now lives in another part of the globe, joined by society members from another era ( 80's and 90's) now living their lives who knows where in the world, yet still moved by their passion for intellectual argumentation? Where else but in Facebook! Who would have thought then this could be possible without meeting face to face? Only through Facebook! Agree or disagree? I am open to discussion...
Bryan Peñafiel - June 14 at 10:38amSLU BS Psychology 1995. SLU Forensics member 1990-present. Presently building my business empire (haha) in the food industry here in Toronto, OntArio, Canada.
Sher Moran - June 14 at 10:53am
Of course agree Bryan! :-)
Bryan Peñafiel - June 14 at 10:59am
@sonja @glen : i miss the pen and paper too, the pressed flower or the monetary bill pressed inside the letter, etc etc etc....but let me play the Devil's Advocate to get the discussion rolling...Isn't all these a bit passe? In about a fraction of your time waiting for a personalized
Bryan Peñafiel - June 14 at 11:08am
"hAndwritten response from the person you are communicating with, I can send you the same respose in about a second or two. Personalized? Yes, because it comes from my unique email adress. And yes i can send you the same greeting card on your special day with an electronic signature very quite similar to my handwritten signature! Come on guys, lets stimulate our brains by intellectual argumentation!
Glenn Gattud - June 14 at 3:56pm
@Bryan - good point there but - and this is me being obstinate and keeping it within the context of the discussion meaning FaceBook and not email - while I enjoy the quick response and the semblance of privacy with personal messages - those are the same qualities that make social media impersonal and less intimate. I know a guy who poured out his soul on a PM and then the girl quickly adds several of her "friends" on and what was meant to be personal went viral breaking the guy's heart and making curse the day FB went online. Cant do that with pen and paper unless someone in the post office decides to open your letter, scan it and post it on his status :-P Even with email where - as a Groupware and Systems Administrator some time ago I am aware of the vulnerabilities that go even with electronic signature (I remember an instance where a guy sent out a secure email to someone to secure some photos he attached. Unfortunately, the dope forgot toadvice the other party how to open the thing so they looped me in and lo and behold after opening it, we had to call in the Ethics committee to give some disciplinary action on proper use of email). So.....if its speed you want - with publicity on the side - Facebook tops. For more intimate exchanges - stick to calling and - if you need to slip that pressed flower......send it via UPS, DHL and not the US Mail or PhilPost :-D
Glenn Gattud - June 14 at 3:57pm
...actually I would prefer the 100 dollars over the pressed flower too :-)
Sonja Chan - June 14 at 6:13pm
Impressive arguments, Bryan! Good Job! I agree with you that Facebook is indeed awesome... that it has conquered time and space, so to speak.... that were it not for Facebook, we would be far off enjoying our Forensics place and more - particularly this discussion! But those bits and pieces we put forward as joys Facebook is unable to offer are anchored on the fact that man is made up of 2 basic faculties: that of thought and of emotion. Take away one from him and he becomes non-human. So yes, you could send me an electronic birthday card complete with electronic images of you and electronic sounds from you and even an electronic signature quite similar to your handwritten one but all that - in all it's impact loaded presentation is not the real you greeting me. My thought faculty will appreciate the concrete value of the electronic aspects of your greeting but my emotion faculty will seek the reality of it in terms of your physical presence, the sound of your voice, the sight of your signature that comes out of the pen in your hand. So for Facebook to totally satiate a human's need, I say it must address both the thought and emotive aspects of his faculties. And for this reason, Bryan, the enclosed hundred dollar bill, ...the pressed orchid.... and more - are not passe! :)
Sher Moran - June 14 at 9:28pm
Agree to all sides presented. Being "old fashioned" becomes a choice. It is giving in to sentimental reasons that we want to grasp a bit of the habits of the past and that does not make it passe. The choice of being highly updated with the latest electronic programs and softwares which can be so tempting to try and "must try" is obviously winning over the more tedious but worth doing old fashioned paper and pen, crayons, pencils and pressed flowers and what not, done only for very special people and - very rare moments. There is just so much IT advancement now that it can be overwhelming. Again, since time is always of the essence and time valued in $ is a thousand times more now per second, we can all agree why FB becomes a choice of communication. But don't we stop a moment to show our kids how we went out a mile to just drop off a letter? We are the generation that bridged the generation "X" , as our parents were the ones that ushered the "baby boomers" . True and kinda sad that we are the last vestiges of corny letter writings with kiss marks and perfume scented envelopes. . . and no one can beat that. :-)
Maria Lorna Cusi - June 15 at 2:17pm
I could use an enclosed hundred dollar bill rather than an electronic image of it...
Reu Ildefonso - June 15 at 5:27pm
If I may humbly add my two cents worth. It's true that FB has become an on-demand, instant communication and content sharing tool (online na ang kodakan). It's a useful tool, not to mention cheap, for the Pinoy diaspora to keep tabs with family, friends and colleagues.
However, it's become a dangerous minefield as well. It's best to treat it, I thought, as an extremely indiscreet friend - once it's out there, it's not really private.
Besides, it's a home to inappropriate relationships, inane status updates, show-offs, those who stage-manage their image, or worse, objectionable content, paedos, creeps, stalkers and thieves stealing identities and property from people announcing holidays on FB, etc., etc.
Then you've got unwanted, unnecessary reunions that should have never happened in a social media free world. People lost their jobs and broke relationships after a careless post. There's even news of employers and schools demanding FB and social media passwords from applicants and students.
There are kids who are addicted to FB. Seniors even -- like my parents who have been transformed into prolific FB "likers", "commenters" & photo "uploaders" ever attached to their smartphone. (As an aside, I really find it funny and fascinating when my father complains each time he loses his internet access - parang reaction sa mga brown-out nung 1990s, kasing halaga na ng kuryente)
Then with the recent IPO, FB released how much revenue they derive from each user and it's just hit home hard. We the users, our content (which I personally believe is owned by us even if it's in their servers) and private details are the product - up for sale to anyone who wants to sell us something.
I'm sure there are a lot more issues out there - and unintended consequences - which we all have to grapple with in the age of social media. Watch this space, as they say.
I agree, something was lost in the new social media world, or I've just refused to move on and go with the flow;-)
Glenn Gattud - June 15 at 5:49pm
Excellent point, Reu especially that one on FB addicts....how true...and how sad
Charmaine Chan - September 23 at 7:29pm
I've been reading everyone's posts on the matter and I'm astounded -- and educated -- by the broad range of topics (un)covered in the discussion on Facebook, from privacy and legal issues, to bridging the generation gap, and even discussing the pros and cons of modern electronic messaging compared to the old-school snail mail.Facebook has certainly become a useful communication tool. It has allowed us to interact and get to know people such as the Forensics from different batches. Facebook has helped us reconnect online with old friends or connect with people we otherwise wouldn't normally be "friends" with in real life. It's both a good thing and a bad thing, though. There are some people out there who "mine" FB accounts and gossip about you; some use FB to pester you; some, even to cyberstalk you. Thank goodness for a variety of options in restricting one's access to our FB contents! I certainly wouldn't mind receiving a hundred dollar bill in the mail, and I'd appreciate even more a wad of Ben Franklins.
Sonja Chan - September 23 at 12:44 pm
Way to go, Charmaine...:) Might there be any face even other than that of Ben Franklin to outdo the one hundred number?... because I certainly will go for it! :)
Lester Cusi - June 16 at 7:53pm
Ok, FB and "old fashioned mail" as means of communication are both attended by danger and need for personal caution. Stealing personalities did not start in FB but in printed material, mostly passports. Slander and libel were conceptualized in the printed and verbal media, but FB has still a lot to learn on imposing that. Maybe an international law that allows one to just smack a court case from Timbuktu to one who defiled him in the Arctic region. The way I see it there are only two differences these means of communication have: a) time -- FB is faster, but it looses the thrill of knowing a mail is coming through the mailbox, kahit na alam mong sasagot din ang pinadalhan mo the next minute or day; and b) personal touch-- old mail in print will give you the closeness to someone via the senses of smell, touch, vision but FB gives you sight and sound and some emotional conveyance too. Wala nga lang yung smell ny pressed flower or crisp $100 bill. That would be very very nice. By and all, they share the same characteristics, pitfalls and advantages, save a few. and if need be, after FB, go out and send a letter to a friend, and let get so anxiously near heart-attack waiting for it after you inform them on FB, hehehe. But, I am reminded of the film "Surrogates" with that Die Hard guy, Bruce Willis. The IT age was able to send out communication to a point that even personal touch was possible, but as Mam Sonja said, it isn't you. I want to touch YOU! They can't do that. The metaphysical bond is absent, and that what makes us human and connected to each other. So, Bruce killed off all the mannequins and took his wife, I think. FB may be able to even provide a kind of 5-D system, where you can smell the flower you receive, open a crumpled paper and smell a parched Eucalyptus bark, or even feel the texture of a dollar bill, but it will lack that magical touch that one would feel on an actual item a friend or loved one sent especially "sealed with a kiss". Pero ako, I prefer both. Sa court, we are meticulous that we even record the demeanor and the movements or even smells we get in evidence sa transcripts ng hearings, because we know the judge or justice on appeal will not be able to experience the same thing as we did if we bring him the case. Why is that important? So he can feel what we feel and hear and touch and smell what we experienced PARA he will decide in the same way we think it should be.
Albert Froilan G. Gaerlan - June 18 at 12:24am
the first time i read ma'am sonja's post of a FB account for the Forensics I was hooked. Whatever postings members of the group upload I read them point by point and try to fashion my everyday life according to the posit should it be appropraite to my lifestyle. . I never gave my opinion though on any of the postings, i'd rather enjoy reading each and every issue raised and wait for another to come. it is a joy to see how erudite and cerebral members of the Forensics have become. However, at this point, after reading all the discusions presented on the issue at hand, I have finally decided to give my unbriddled opinion, after a painful deliberation on the arguments forwarded, I have come to the conclusion that "I DON'T APPEAR IN ANY OF THE PICTURES POSTED ON THIS ACCOUNT." This is FB and in FB, no thinking man will bother to read your posting unless there is a picture attached. I AM AN FB ADDICT AND AM A MEMBER OF FB ANONYMOUS. (Hello ma'am sonja, hello sherry, hello bing, ola lester, hello winston, hello everybody, i'm tired arguing and making erudite explanations, just want to see everybody) ciao.
.
Sonja Chan - June 18 at 9:59pmFacilitator: Sonja Chan
Sher Moran - June 12 at 2:21am
" Facebook is just about one of the best things that has happened. . ." is indeed an understatement, it has revolutionized the speed of communication and bridged time and distance by the slightest touch of "send" or "enter" on the key board. It has placed on the spotlight memories that now has updated photos to a name and yes, more importantly made us get together again in a wider "classroom environment" with mam Sonja Chan gathering of students that now comprises this discussion group. FB has multiplied friendship, knowledge and kept us abreast with events, photos and ideas that are seemingly infinite. . . it is powerful!
Sonja Chan - June 12 at 2:54am
While I think along the same lines, Sher, I'd also ask why a lot of people I know have deactivated themselves from facebook....
Marl Rosal - June 12 at 6:12am
My view on the matter is that Facebook is a good communication tool. It reconnects us with our past and our present. We try to input everything in, basically baring our soul.. BUT. we don't really know who we are dealing with. True, it has the privacy settings, control and all, yet there are still people being robbed of their identity and privacy. I personally don't use Facebook that much and when I do, it is with caution. Yet, being cautious is still not a guarantee. I know of friends whose accounts have been hacked and I also have friends who are totally not into Facebook because they are sceptic and paranoid. Being in Facebook means you are gambling your privacy and your personal life.. exposing yourself to the world of the unknown!
Sher Moran - June 12 at 6:58am
True, Marl! I feel the same. To add to that sharing I opened a facebook account because important messages were being sent through FB. To access it I had to open one. I strongly agree with the privacy intrusion, the downside is learning how to manage FB well without revealing too much. I still a struggle with it.
Marl Rosal - June 12 at 7:10amThanks, Sher! Yup, we all are in the learning stage.. and when we get to master it another app is added thus, making it impossible to cope up and in the end.. just letting it be.. hoping and praying that our account will not be hacked.. :)
Maria Lorna Cusi - June 12 at 10:16pm
I agree, for as long as we are talking about communications per se, and not the art nor the science of it. And because it uses the uncensored, unpoliced medium that we call the internet, users and fanatics are, somehow somewhat someday in mostly the hard way, learning the responsibilities of freedom freebies: freedom of speech during their free time on a free social networking channel (Facebook) where opinions and thoughts are conveyed free-style. And I mean no spell-checks, too. However, it is only because Facebook was fast-thinking enough that they were able to gain many patrons and members. I still give credit to Friendster for being the first social networking site that promoted multi-media sharing and storing to a wide number of members. I'm still not converting to Timeline, though I'm considering pulling out of LinkedIn.
Sonja Chan - June 13 at 9:43am
On Marlie's point re caution, - I guess, there will always be loopholes regarding that. The privacy tools available are just help, right, which is why, when I am on fb, I actually throw caution to the wind and just thrill to the connection with friends and loved ones like you, guys! Don't you all , too? Now Lorna talks about uncensored stuff and freedom. Nice points, Lady. probably would open up to diverse sub-threads as well. My interest, though is, as you'd expect, also the freedom aspect of mutilating language. hehe. Too much freedom out there.
Glenn Gattud - June 13 at 10:41pm
Try working 3 timezones like I do (Philippine, Australian Eastern and US Mountain) and you dont care about dates anymore (just the alarm on your Outlook and Microsoft Calendar)....but that's another topic. Senior moments...that's another topic as well...Facebook as one of the best things...agree its one of the best things to keep from being bored while waiting for a call at 3am (which would be 12noon in Denver)...still miss pen and paper though...the suspense of waiting, the perfumed stationary, the stylized pen strokes, a ketchup stain or a lipstick mark - they dont have equivalents in FB :-)
Sher Moran - June 13 at 11:16pm
A point well taken! :-) it can never compare Glen. You just reminded me of romantic Tina Bejar.
Tina Bejar - June 13 at 11:18pm
And here i was playing with my new calligraphy pen set in Bangalore...
Sonja Chan - June 14 at 1:20am
Glenn, you're so right about Facebook making you "miss pen and paper...the suspense of waiting... the perfumed stationery....the stylized pen strokes...the ketchup/lipstick stain"! But let me add to that. How about the thrill of opening the mailbox to an envelope with the handwriting so familiar...... the enclosed hundred dollar bill or perhaps just a pressed orchid .... the handwritten lines that choose to go diagonal on the page.... the crazy folds you can make out of your statio... these among a lot more! Facebook does give you a hundred nice things, it's true, but it can't give you these, can it? ;)
Glenn Gattud - June 14 at 2:53am
Call me old-fashioned but those are things you cant get on FB or any social media for that matter. True, FB gives you the speed of response and the economics of not having to spend for stamps but a "like" or an emoticon doesn't convey the emotion that one gets from a coffee-stained postcard with just a "can't wait to see you"
Peterjules M. Agustinll - June 14 at 6:33am
It depends on the user....it has advantages and disadvantages..for mark z,he is building a mobile phone...for me its the cheapest way to communicate,hope they can get skype that would be a real threat...Free of charge
Sher Moran - June 14 at 8:32am
Skype. . . to talk freely and see the person up close and personal does not just connect on what mam Sonja and Glen shared. I guess it is feeling, smelling, seeing distinct character scribbles and fancy ideas, corny or sentimental is what's missing in skype and FB. The effort given to a piece of paper that wishes to convey a thousand words appeals to all our human senses. I guess what Peterjules M. Agustinll appreciates in the world of technology is the speed of communication, right? :-)
Bryan Peñafiel - June 14 at 10:31am
I totally agree with the proposition. There may be some drawbacks but these are relatively minor compared to the benefits. Consider this: we wouldn't have this intelligent discussion, initiated by our mentor 20 years or so back who now lives in another part of the globe, joined by society members from another era ( 80's and 90's) now living their lives who knows where in the world, yet still moved by their passion for intellectual argumentation? Where else but in Facebook! Who would have thought then this could be possible without meeting face to face? Only through Facebook! Agree or disagree? I am open to discussion...
Bryan Peñafiel - June 14 at 10:38amSLU BS Psychology 1995. SLU Forensics member 1990-present. Presently building my business empire (haha) in the food industry here in Toronto, OntArio, Canada.
Sher Moran - June 14 at 10:53am
Of course agree Bryan! :-)
Bryan Peñafiel - June 14 at 10:59am
@sonja @glen : i miss the pen and paper too, the pressed flower or the monetary bill pressed inside the letter, etc etc etc....but let me play the Devil's Advocate to get the discussion rolling...Isn't all these a bit passe? In about a fraction of your time waiting for a personalized
Bryan Peñafiel - June 14 at 11:08am
"hAndwritten response from the person you are communicating with, I can send you the same respose in about a second or two. Personalized? Yes, because it comes from my unique email adress. And yes i can send you the same greeting card on your special day with an electronic signature very quite similar to my handwritten signature! Come on guys, lets stimulate our brains by intellectual argumentation!
Glenn Gattud - June 14 at 3:56pm
@Bryan - good point there but - and this is me being obstinate and keeping it within the context of the discussion meaning FaceBook and not email - while I enjoy the quick response and the semblance of privacy with personal messages - those are the same qualities that make social media impersonal and less intimate. I know a guy who poured out his soul on a PM and then the girl quickly adds several of her "friends" on and what was meant to be personal went viral breaking the guy's heart and making curse the day FB went online. Cant do that with pen and paper unless someone in the post office decides to open your letter, scan it and post it on his status :-P Even with email where - as a Groupware and Systems Administrator some time ago I am aware of the vulnerabilities that go even with electronic signature (I remember an instance where a guy sent out a secure email to someone to secure some photos he attached. Unfortunately, the dope forgot toadvice the other party how to open the thing so they looped me in and lo and behold after opening it, we had to call in the Ethics committee to give some disciplinary action on proper use of email). So.....if its speed you want - with publicity on the side - Facebook tops. For more intimate exchanges - stick to calling and - if you need to slip that pressed flower......send it via UPS, DHL and not the US Mail or PhilPost :-D
Glenn Gattud - June 14 at 3:57pm
...actually I would prefer the 100 dollars over the pressed flower too :-)
Sonja Chan - June 14 at 6:13pm
Impressive arguments, Bryan! Good Job! I agree with you that Facebook is indeed awesome... that it has conquered time and space, so to speak.... that were it not for Facebook, we would be far off enjoying our Forensics place and more - particularly this discussion! But those bits and pieces we put forward as joys Facebook is unable to offer are anchored on the fact that man is made up of 2 basic faculties: that of thought and of emotion. Take away one from him and he becomes non-human. So yes, you could send me an electronic birthday card complete with electronic images of you and electronic sounds from you and even an electronic signature quite similar to your handwritten one but all that - in all it's impact loaded presentation is not the real you greeting me. My thought faculty will appreciate the concrete value of the electronic aspects of your greeting but my emotion faculty will seek the reality of it in terms of your physical presence, the sound of your voice, the sight of your signature that comes out of the pen in your hand. So for Facebook to totally satiate a human's need, I say it must address both the thought and emotive aspects of his faculties. And for this reason, Bryan, the enclosed hundred dollar bill, ...the pressed orchid.... and more - are not passe! :)
Sher Moran - June 14 at 9:28pm
Agree to all sides presented. Being "old fashioned" becomes a choice. It is giving in to sentimental reasons that we want to grasp a bit of the habits of the past and that does not make it passe. The choice of being highly updated with the latest electronic programs and softwares which can be so tempting to try and "must try" is obviously winning over the more tedious but worth doing old fashioned paper and pen, crayons, pencils and pressed flowers and what not, done only for very special people and - very rare moments. There is just so much IT advancement now that it can be overwhelming. Again, since time is always of the essence and time valued in $ is a thousand times more now per second, we can all agree why FB becomes a choice of communication. But don't we stop a moment to show our kids how we went out a mile to just drop off a letter? We are the generation that bridged the generation "X" , as our parents were the ones that ushered the "baby boomers" . True and kinda sad that we are the last vestiges of corny letter writings with kiss marks and perfume scented envelopes. . . and no one can beat that. :-)
Maria Lorna Cusi - June 15 at 2:17pm
I could use an enclosed hundred dollar bill rather than an electronic image of it...
Reu Ildefonso - June 15 at 5:27pm
If I may humbly add my two cents worth. It's true that FB has become an on-demand, instant communication and content sharing tool (online na ang kodakan). It's a useful tool, not to mention cheap, for the Pinoy diaspora to keep tabs with family, friends and colleagues.
However, it's become a dangerous minefield as well. It's best to treat it, I thought, as an extremely indiscreet friend - once it's out there, it's not really private.
Besides, it's a home to inappropriate relationships, inane status updates, show-offs, those who stage-manage their image, or worse, objectionable content, paedos, creeps, stalkers and thieves stealing identities and property from people announcing holidays on FB, etc., etc.
Then you've got unwanted, unnecessary reunions that should have never happened in a social media free world. People lost their jobs and broke relationships after a careless post. There's even news of employers and schools demanding FB and social media passwords from applicants and students.
There are kids who are addicted to FB. Seniors even -- like my parents who have been transformed into prolific FB "likers", "commenters" & photo "uploaders" ever attached to their smartphone. (As an aside, I really find it funny and fascinating when my father complains each time he loses his internet access - parang reaction sa mga brown-out nung 1990s, kasing halaga na ng kuryente)
Then with the recent IPO, FB released how much revenue they derive from each user and it's just hit home hard. We the users, our content (which I personally believe is owned by us even if it's in their servers) and private details are the product - up for sale to anyone who wants to sell us something.
I'm sure there are a lot more issues out there - and unintended consequences - which we all have to grapple with in the age of social media. Watch this space, as they say.
I agree, something was lost in the new social media world, or I've just refused to move on and go with the flow;-)
Glenn Gattud - June 15 at 5:49pm
Excellent point, Reu especially that one on FB addicts....how true...and how sad
Charmaine Chan - September 23 at 7:29pm
I've been reading everyone's posts on the matter and I'm astounded -- and educated -- by the broad range of topics (un)covered in the discussion on Facebook, from privacy and legal issues, to bridging the generation gap, and even discussing the pros and cons of modern electronic messaging compared to the old-school snail mail.Facebook has certainly become a useful communication tool. It has allowed us to interact and get to know people such as the Forensics from different batches. Facebook has helped us reconnect online with old friends or connect with people we otherwise wouldn't normally be "friends" with in real life. It's both a good thing and a bad thing, though. There are some people out there who "mine" FB accounts and gossip about you; some use FB to pester you; some, even to cyberstalk you. Thank goodness for a variety of options in restricting one's access to our FB contents! I certainly wouldn't mind receiving a hundred dollar bill in the mail, and I'd appreciate even more a wad of Ben Franklins.
Sonja Chan - September 23 at 12:44 pm
Way to go, Charmaine...:) Might there be any face even other than that of Ben Franklin to outdo the one hundred number?... because I certainly will go for it! :)
Lester Cusi - June 16 at 7:53pm
Ok, FB and "old fashioned mail" as means of communication are both attended by danger and need for personal caution. Stealing personalities did not start in FB but in printed material, mostly passports. Slander and libel were conceptualized in the printed and verbal media, but FB has still a lot to learn on imposing that. Maybe an international law that allows one to just smack a court case from Timbuktu to one who defiled him in the Arctic region. The way I see it there are only two differences these means of communication have: a) time -- FB is faster, but it looses the thrill of knowing a mail is coming through the mailbox, kahit na alam mong sasagot din ang pinadalhan mo the next minute or day; and b) personal touch-- old mail in print will give you the closeness to someone via the senses of smell, touch, vision but FB gives you sight and sound and some emotional conveyance too. Wala nga lang yung smell ny pressed flower or crisp $100 bill. That would be very very nice. By and all, they share the same characteristics, pitfalls and advantages, save a few. and if need be, after FB, go out and send a letter to a friend, and let get so anxiously near heart-attack waiting for it after you inform them on FB, hehehe. But, I am reminded of the film "Surrogates" with that Die Hard guy, Bruce Willis. The IT age was able to send out communication to a point that even personal touch was possible, but as Mam Sonja said, it isn't you. I want to touch YOU! They can't do that. The metaphysical bond is absent, and that what makes us human and connected to each other. So, Bruce killed off all the mannequins and took his wife, I think. FB may be able to even provide a kind of 5-D system, where you can smell the flower you receive, open a crumpled paper and smell a parched Eucalyptus bark, or even feel the texture of a dollar bill, but it will lack that magical touch that one would feel on an actual item a friend or loved one sent especially "sealed with a kiss". Pero ako, I prefer both. Sa court, we are meticulous that we even record the demeanor and the movements or even smells we get in evidence sa transcripts ng hearings, because we know the judge or justice on appeal will not be able to experience the same thing as we did if we bring him the case. Why is that important? So he can feel what we feel and hear and touch and smell what we experienced PARA he will decide in the same way we think it should be.
Albert Froilan G. Gaerlan - June 18 at 12:24am
the first time i read ma'am sonja's post of a FB account for the Forensics I was hooked. Whatever postings members of the group upload I read them point by point and try to fashion my everyday life according to the posit should it be appropraite to my lifestyle. . I never gave my opinion though on any of the postings, i'd rather enjoy reading each and every issue raised and wait for another to come. it is a joy to see how erudite and cerebral members of the Forensics have become. However, at this point, after reading all the discusions presented on the issue at hand, I have finally decided to give my unbriddled opinion, after a painful deliberation on the arguments forwarded, I have come to the conclusion that "I DON'T APPEAR IN ANY OF THE PICTURES POSTED ON THIS ACCOUNT." This is FB and in FB, no thinking man will bother to read your posting unless there is a picture attached. I AM AN FB ADDICT AND AM A MEMBER OF FB ANONYMOUS. (Hello ma'am sonja, hello sherry, hello bing, ola lester, hello winston, hello everybody, i'm tired arguing and making erudite explanations, just want to see everybody) ciao.
Well Guys, I am overwhelmed by your positive response to the Discussion Project we have put up, thanks to Sheree's initiation. Much appreciate it all. Thus, - Facebook? As it is a controversial issue, there had to be plusses and minuses to it even as we do agree that the benefits outweigh the latter. It was the usual highly intellectual and professional manner by which the topic was approached that made it all just phenomenal! But isn't that how we in the SLU Forensics are best known for! :) So let me wrap it up by thanking you for your input and participation: Sheree, Glenn, Marlie, Lorna, Jules, Lester, Bryan, Reu, Abet, Charmaine,( Eric and Tina) and all......see you at the next Discussion Box!
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