The Varsitarian

Publicity between Personal and Private (a published article) Back in 2004, from the dormitories of Harvard University, four young kids formed a study group, perhaps to pass on notes or test tips for the computer classes they all had. Mark, Eduardo, Dustin and Chris developed a tool through which they not only got to know each other better, but helped each other as well. Their club started exclusively amongst themselves, extended to other colleges in the Boston area, the Ivy League schools, until it reached the campus of Stanford University. Their circle kept on growing until 6 years later, with billions of dollars earned; they have attracted more than 400 million members worldwide and still they are growing. Despite this, it was only last year that I finally ventured to be a part of their circle and became a “Facebook” member. Mark Zuckerberg, at age 25, with a net worth of $4 Billion dollars, is the youngest technocrat with more than enough wealth to fund his own lifetime ten times over. Through his initiative, the brain of three other individuals, and other existing ideas, the world of social networking exponentially exploded and conquered the once intimate and private lives of real people who only met in the real world. From the virtual dimensions of our current history, social networking clubs are located between the corners of fact and fiction. Truth comes in different forms, sometimes stark naked and sometimes fudged with cosmetics. They travel through the highways of information and fantasy, sincerity and falsity. These crossroads are sometimes the major bumps that impede private individuals like me to hop on board and enjoy the ride. Yet, with a little bit more than 5 percent of the world population interconnected through “Facebook” fibers, it is hard to spray an antiseptic and thus be isolated because of technical ignorance. And so, after careful deliberation, consultation and exploration, I finally joined, became a member and posted my personal profile. It seems like only yesterday when I looked for pictures that could best reveal myself. Since I intended to interface only with those who really knew me, I intentionally uploaded vintage photos before the inception of “Facebook”. While a number of my friends and acquaintances grew, I forgot that some of them have never met me in real life. They were friends of friends who wanted to be my friends and those who poked their noses reading my personal profile. Between these two classes of Facebook acquaintances, I crossed paths with many real friends whom I have not seen or heard for a very long time; people whose faces will be real whether or not I see their photos online. They were classmates from grade school to College, High School buddies, old flings, and college dorm mates from Spain. Some were friends from the mission, co-workers in my office and different natives of Chicago. I did not pay much attention to what people shared, chatted or chalked out of the blues. I actually did not care that much until I found friends whom I have been wanting to talk to more than ten years ago. I was about to close shop when faces from a distant era of my personal story suddenly popped up and somewhat inspired me to read the corners, the cracks and the crevices of every page that Facebook reaches. In so doing, I was constantly beset on a suspension that toggled between the dissemination of accurate information and the sweetened coating of fat-filled facts. The former encompasses the wrinkles of current reality while the latter was a helpful yet subjective and oftentimes erroneous data. More recently, media deliberations debate on the dilemma between privacy and personal intimacy, entwined in the unintended projection of sheer publicity. To show or not to show, to say or to keep a secret, to reveal the mole on our nose or to keep the wrinkles in the closet – are just some of the questions that tend to hold the rest of the world from joining the social network. Thomas Hobbes, the main proponent of Social Philosophy, mentioned in his theory of “Social Contract” the notions of self surrender, the giving up of certain sovereignty for the sake of social order. In the world of “Facebook”, we give up privacy instead for the random chance of a simulated intimacy. It is not that people truly want to know, but that people want to be known. We all have the need for self revelation. And in doing so, we run the risk of disclosing too much as vultures prey on the naiveté of vulnerability as they fish for human capital in their need for economic survival. Facebook is not for everyone in as much as a social networking club cannot be universal. Although we will tend to conglomerate among those with similar likes and those with similar goals, the need to our own space and the borders of a private world are also essential. The dilemma between privacy and intimacy is solved through the discipline of individual secrecy. We have the right to be silent because anything that we say could be used against us in the courts of popular opinion. For those who cannot bear the risks of an adverse remark, there is always a quiet corner that could protect and back us up. I have met so many important individuals in my life through the virtual transports and graphics of Facebook. I am sure that many of my readers have experienced the same. Yet I also know that some of my former “friends” have decided to shut me out as they retreated in their own space. I understand. In our hectic world and a very short life span, the intent to reach out is a Utopic aspiration because the more “friends” we have, the less we truly have. There are only twenty four hours in a given day. Unless we spend more than a third of our daily lives allocated to scribbles on wallpapers or responding to trite comments, “Facebook” could soon be another fad destined to fade until a new technology perks our curiosity. Meanwhile, despite the abundance of technical platforms, the benefits and blessings of real friends cannot be replaced by a photo or two, by a casual remark, or by linking superficial bridges across domains. Friends are treasures we are blessed to be with and grow old with. The publicity between personal and private is nothing else than an issue among those who have not yet discovered their own fences and their own doors. Faces encompass the stories of our lives. Through others, we discover who we are. Through our thoughts, others could grow. Through their growth, our lives become more significant. See you in “Facebook”.

This used to be my section when you were probably not yet born. I still have the same name in a column I use where I write. Keep up the good work!