Sunday, September 25, 2011

Family, internet, facebook's decline

Helen Puhoi NZ Sept 11 This time last week Helen (eldest) and I were in New Zealand. This morning, I dropped she and some friends at Sydney airport to go the University Games on the Gold Coast. 

Back in July I mentioned the various university Conference games, with eldest playing in the mixed netball in the Eastern University Games. Now this is the big one, with some 5,000 players.

There was a certain symmetry in  that the UNSW team includes a Dane on exchange at UNSW, whereas Helen was playing netball in Copenhagen in the first part of the year while on exchange there!

It's interesting watching the kids.

Yesterday Helen was a bridesmaid at a friend's wedding. Her mother went off along with phone to get photos and a short video of daughter all dressed up at the church!  Both girls now have married friends. There would have been nothing unusual about this in my generation, marriage ages were then just beginning to blow out, but I have the strong impression that marriage age is shortening again from that holding even ten year's ago.

As must be fairly obvious, I rely on my daughters in keeping in a degree of touch! As part of this, I am interested in their reactions to the on-line world. They are, after all, what are now called digital natives!

I hate to say this, but internet enthusiasm is now dominated by the aging, those who discovered it when it was new and often think of it as a solution to all problems. To the young at least in Australia, it and all the new technology is simply a tool.

I mention this because it bears upon something I mentioned in passing a little while ago, Facebook's decline?. Younger usage has really dropped, at least among that group that I have access to. If youngest is any guide, the latest changes haven't helped.

The whole point about the early Facebook is that it was just so easy. As soon as you have to learn how to use something, then time poverty sets in.

Well, I have some writing to do today, including moving forward on my Greek posts. All for now. 

Postscript

It's interesting that I should have commented about Facebook, for in now checking I find that I group that I belong to has an archive or upgrade message.

From my viewpoint, I have noticed that the progressive tweeks to Facebook have made it less useful from my viewpoint. It's been little things like not getting feeds or finding it harder to find pages, groups or friends. I have to click round now.

This last major change has had broader impacts that I don't fully understand. I am a fairly passive user, but I am now apparently faced with choices that actually require me to do things. I don't mind the unsubscribe requests so that I don't see certain comments, but actually having to learn how to work the new Facebook is a pain.

It's the same type of issue that makes me cautious with Google+. It's not clear to me what personal and professional return I am going to get from the time involved.

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