Facebook cradle to Facebook grave
September 22, 2011 | Posted by Sophy Bot under Social networks |
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled today a new version of its website that does away with the traditional profile page in favor of a personal timeline inviting you to “tell your life story.” A preview video posted on the Facebook website hints at a life lived entirely online, from youth photos to marital bliss to the new baby in the family, and presumably on and on throughout the generations. It demonstrates what a life meticulously documented and shared online would actually look like, but a closer look shows us that it’s already happening. A full 81% of children have a digital footprint by the time they turn 2 years old, with 23% of children having pre-birth scans uploaded by their parents. On the other end of the human timeline, a whole slew of companies has been coming forth to deal with your online legacy after you die, and Facebook itself memorializes user pages and allows friends and family to post to the memorialized wall. Is the concept of a Facebook timeline really that surprising, then?
Although the majority of users are crying foul at the newly announced redesign, past experience has shown us that Facebook overhauls are met with an initial clamor followed by quiet adaptation. And indeed, Zuckerberg seems to have hit the mark with this recent announcement. The question is, are we really ready to deal with a transparent life?
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