What's the difference between Facebook and School?
I bet you that title grabbed your attention. Wondering what I mean? Check out this article I found in The Sydney Morning Herald - http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/why-facebook-feels-a-lot-like-high-school-20130528-2n888.html.
I'm sure after reading a wee bit of that you could see the point... "Facebook is the living dead: the most popular, least relevant social network where teenagers and adults alike gather out of fear of missing out on things that don't even make them happy" (Hess, 2013).
Have you ever known someone or have you ever been the one that hasn't had a clue what you wanted to do with your life? I know we are all here, doing our thing (be that an education degree or a career led by the Professor marking this) but I'm sure everyone can relate to a time of identity uncertainty. And that is definitely something that comes to my mind when I think about my education.
In high school I had no idea what so ever what I wanted to be, and trust me it was not a high school teacher. But at the same time I didn't want to leave school. I didn't want to lose my friends, miss out on goss, get invites to the best parties. Isn't that something we sometimes feel with facebook as well?
Every now and then I tell myself I will delete my account, but I can't, it is a "major centre of social interactions" (Hess, 2013).
As Wadham, Pudsey, and Boyd, reinforce one of the biggest questions facing any person is 'how do I fit in?' or 'what am I supposed to do with my life?' (2007, 13). Fitting in is all about social status and perception, and knowing what to do with your life is...well I'm still figuring that one out.
I don't believe we know our true identity right away, I don't believe in the essentialism perspective (Wadham, Pudsey, Boyd, 2007, 13) - being that we are who we are from birth, (i.e race and sexual orientation define identity).
I think that we discover out identity as we grow, change and discover. I didn't really want to stay in high school but I also had no idea what else I wanted to do. Similar to facebook, I don't really enjoy looking at it every day but it seems to fill some social need.
By the way, I completed high school, had a gap year (or a few), lived in France for a year, and now am studying to become a French teacher. Finding out who I am and what I want is an experience that has developed over time and has actually had a lot to do with my education. I might not have moved to France if I hadn't have studied it for the HSC. And now look where I am, loving anything to do with France.
For anyone who can't decide whether they should stay in school or delete their facebook account I think its worth it to note that it's your choice and your identity. You can create who you would like to be (literally you could do that on facey), and create the experiences that you want to get from an education and from your life.
References
Hess, A, May 28 2013, Why Facebook feels a lot like high school, The Sydney Morning Herald, http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/why-facebook-feels-a-lot-like-high-school-20130528-2n888.html
Wadham, B. Pudsey, J. & Boyd, R. 2007, Culture and Education, Sydney: Pearson Education, Chapter 1 What is culture?
AMANDA BROWN
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