Since the beginning of time, our society has created ways to communicate which has evolved from primitive language and markings to more recent technologies including telephones and computers. Today’s technology enables people to interact with each other in settings that are not face-to-face. The use of telephones and computers has started a trend for the most recent addition to communication- social media. Regardless of location, social networking websites allows families, couples, and friends to stay connected, or to make new connections using a simple click of a button. Facebook, a popular social media platform created by Mark Zuckerberg, has over 1.18 billion active users (). The objective of this article is to observe and understand the
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Out of Baym’s seven key concepts, interactivity is the most relevant to Facebook as it is a medium which is known to be highly interactive. Facebook allows users to engage with other users by giving the option to chat, share or comment on posts. Baym says “We can meet new people and remain close to those who have moved away” (Baym 7). Baym is trying to explain that online communication has opened up many new possibilities for communication. One is able to keep in touch with family and friends, or make new connections regardless of their …show more content…
For example, I saw a status that said “ I would just like everyone to know that the birth of our daughter was a tough one, but I have never been happier to say that baby Lilly is finally hope. After being on life support for the past 4 days, she seems to be getting healthier everyday. Cheers to new beginnings” (Field notes). This Facebook post got 10 shares and even people who were not friends with this user was able to see it. The idea of sharing relates to Baym’s concept of reach. Features on social media enables information to travel around fast, and reach a larger audience. Often people use Facebook to reach to a larger audience as there are so many users active on Facebook all the time. Baym explains that while Facebook can sometimes limit face to face communication, it allows a large sum of people to view the same message within seconds (Baym
Out of Baym’s seven key concepts, interactivity is the most relevant to Facebook as it is a medium which is known to be highly interactive. Facebook allows users to engage with other users by giving the option to chat, share or comment on posts. Baym says “We can meet new people and remain close to those who have moved away” (Baym 7). Baym is trying to explain that online communication has opened up many new possibilities for communication. One is able to keep in touch with family and friends, or make new connections regardless of their …show more content…
For example, I saw a status that said “ I would just like everyone to know that the birth of our daughter was a tough one, but I have never been happier to say that baby Lilly is finally hope. After being on life support for the past 4 days, she seems to be getting healthier everyday. Cheers to new beginnings” (Field notes). This Facebook post got 10 shares and even people who were not friends with this user was able to see it. The idea of sharing relates to Baym’s concept of reach. Features on social media enables information to travel around fast, and reach a larger audience. Often people use Facebook to reach to a larger audience as there are so many users active on Facebook all the time. Baym explains that while Facebook can sometimes limit face to face communication, it allows a large sum of people to view the same message within seconds (Baym