The Social Impact Of Voluntary Abstention From Social...

There is a plethora of academic research on the social impacts of widespread use of social networking sites. Questions that have often been raised include: do social networking sites isolate people and hinder their relationships? Or, are there any potential benefits associated with being connected to others in this way? Voluntary non-use – that is, a conscious and active rejection of social networking sites – is an equally informative line of inquiry. This paper will seek to explore the social impacts of voluntary abstention from social networking site Facebook – with specific emphasis on interpersonal relationships and employment. Comparing and contrasting the social impacts of voluntary abstention and indulgence between users and†¦show more content†¦Here, I want to explore why. A major theory in the economics of communication technology is the network effect. Simply put, â€Å"for some kinds of decisions, you incur an explicit benefit when you align your behaviour with the behaviour of others† (Easley Kleinberg, 2010). The value of Facebook exhibits the same property: â€Å"it is valuable to the extent that others are using it as well† (Easley Kleinberg, 2010). As more people join a network, in this case Facebook, more pressure builds on non-users to conform. As a social community, voluntary exclusion from Facebook means that you are dis-integrating yourself from the social collective (i.e., friendship, dating, employment) (Davis, 2012). In other words, if you cannot be found on Facebook, you do not exist. The aforementioned explanation entails that voluntary abstention from Facebook has a social cost apart from the social perceptions of abnormality. According to Microsoft researcher Alice Marwick, â€Å"In many communities, particularly wi th people under 25, Facebook is a crucial part of social life†¦if you’re not participating in the social network, you’re really not participating in the collective life of the group that you’re associated with† (CBC, 2011). This can result in social isolation (CBC, 2011). To further bolster this notion, a study on adults voluntarily abstaining from social networking sites (SNS) found that, â€Å"social media