Is Facebook really becoming the Internet?

Kaity Holtman

Facebook is so intriguing and frustrating, all at the same time.

Created as a networking tool for college students, it has since become a great way to keep up with the lives of our family, friends, and even acquaintances. It does a great job of keeping us connected to others that we would otherwise do a terrible job at keeping up with.

But those Facebook folks are brilliant. They have capitalized on our need to connect with people and taken it to levels so high that we are honestly dependent on it.

Or at least, I am. And that scares me. I don’t think I speak for only myself when I say … it is seriously an addiction.

If I’m alone here, let me know, and I’ll get some serious help. But I don’t think I am.

It’s too easy to pull it up on my phone and scroll through it mindlessly.

We post something, and then we check it constantly to see how many have liked it, what they said, maybe even if they shared it.

And we are constantly comparing our lives with others’ lives.

Seeing us obsessing over our constant connectedness, those Facebook folks have found even more ways to keep us in their world — ways that I often think about from a newspaper perspective.

Swap shops make it easy to sell our stuff nearby without putting classifieds in the paper or putting all the work into a garage sale. Facebook has even tried a classified-like tab that lets you know what’s for sale in a certain-mile radius, though that one seems to have disappeared — must not have been as popular as swap shops.

Facebook events let us put information about everything from birthday parties to benefits and big sales out there for everyone or specific invitees without sending out invitations or putting it in the newspaper.

Facebook can be a place to share news — and “news” — and opinions, belittling the written letter to the editor and making people think they don’t need to take the newspaper.

Small and home-based businesses can sell product directly on Facebook, minimizing owners’ perceived need for advertising.

A continued long list of features like these make it obvious that Facebook is not only hurting businesses like ours, but is doing everything it can to monopolize every aspect of our lives.

That keeps us on Facebook more, meaning they get more eyeballs, which translates to advertising and investment dollars.

And while I’d love to just turn it off, or visit it every once in a while, part of my role is to be present to keep an eye on the Maryville Daily Forum Facebook page and to stay on top of what is going on. Even we treat it as a source to get news or ideas for stories.

Plus, because of its all-encompassing nature, it is the introductory step to the Internet for older generations. Actually, as I have noticed as I help people navigate maryvilledailyforum.com, many people don’t know how to navigate past Facebook. They don’t realize that when they click on an article from Facebook, they leave Facebook and go to the world wide web.

There is an Internet beyond Facebook that is actually incredibly useful.

I say both kudos to, and shame on, Facebook for figuring out how to market to people in such a way that they don’t think they need the rest of the Internet or local business.

They’ve got this marketing thing figured out, and we just accept everything they give us as the holy grail, without thinking how their usefulness and convenience impact the rest of our lives.

I used to say Facebook was a phase. I’m not so sure now. Even if it is, I think it’s going to be a pretty long phase.