This was brought up in class the other day ...
FACEBOOK!!
Creeping: ok well all know what that entails .. many minutes or hours "creeping" (viewing ) others photos, infos, videos, and links ...
Is Facebook gendered?
first impressions: No? ... Because as I took and overall quick glance of my 'friends' list, there 'seems' to be an equal representation of both men and women there.
However, once i start thinking (smoke coming of ears!) ... is it really unbiased? Well not really, we view 'creeping' and new statuses as almost gossip, becuase come on let face it, we have all said ..."did you see what so and so's status said the other day?"
This is a form of gossiping, which overall is viewed as 'feminine' and "Low culture" Therefore, not worth spending valueable time on! However, as previously stated in another blog, How is this different that Checking sport scores, which are represented as "masculine"
Plus, !! ... i think Facebook creators, (or maybe current managers?) market to women with their ad bars on the right hand side of the page. ... I see many pictures of men men who have mysteriusly lost their shirt, appealing to dating sites and weight loss regimes/plans!
And ... it is somewhat of a classist site, becasue you need to have access to a computer, and have enough money to be able to have internet hook ups and pay for those monthly payments ...
Whatchya think??....
~Freddie Mercury~
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I was just thinking about posting this today!! I think creeping definitely goes with what we talked about in class on how information is communicated differently for each gender. Seems like the communication of information is more and more going from this fashion rather the linear pattern we are used to seeing.
ReplyDelete-BritFan
I guess FB could be considered quite the gossip site that is snowballing as the months roll on. It has slowly, but surely, began changing in ways that both allows for easier creeping (i love that that is now an acceptable verb in our modern vocabulary), as well as allows for people to be more easily creeped.The status update alone has become almost a therapy for some users craving attention. I think that this extremely emotional and attention seeking user base has traditionally been thought of as female, or at least gendered feminine...but these days you can see both boys and girls partaking in the grab for followers. So, in my opinion, FB has opened up a space for all types of users to gossip and share and bitch...which may, in turn, be helping to break down that binary based around emotion....not saying that ANY of this is good though. lol.
ReplyDelete***Looie***
Facebooking ...aka "creeping people that interest you" has become such a huge part of most of our social lives, its quite crazy! I mean most people can't even date someone these days without first checking out their Facebook profile! How did people survive in the 90's with actually having to TALK to girls/guys they wanted to date?!? (Note the sarcasm). Instant messaging, txt messaging, and Facebook has drawn an invisible line between not only males and females but everyone and made face-to-face or even telephone conversation awkward and perhaps while technology improves and evolves direct communication dissolves.
ReplyDeleteWhen looking at Facebook from a 'gendered biased standpoint' I do see how it is more centred around women. For example most girls on my friend list have more elaborate profiles than the men on my friend list. The females seem to put more detail into their 'info' category, post pictures more frequently, and update their statuses on a day-to-day basis. Im definitely not saying that there are a lot of men that run to their Facebook accounts every time something interesting occurs in their lives but I see more on my 'news feed' from females.
*Silver
This one really stumps me!!! I have trouble with it because I know my male friends creep and I know they use facebook just as much or more than I do. Facebook has so many other features besides connecting to people's profiles (such as the games, the instant chat, market place, etc) that I think its hard to determine whether it is gendered one way or another. I do agree though that gossiping is frequently devalued and labelled as feminine. Perhaps that explains why I rarely hear guys admitting that they 'crept' someone or frequently updating their profiles. This doesn't mean that they don't use it, but just that they won't openly admit it as it could be stigmatized by other guys who see it as a 'waste of time'.
ReplyDeleteAubrey B.
There is certainly some theorizing that could be done around the fact that creeping is relational, not autonomous, and that might suggest why it appears to be gendered. It may also explain why some women update more often than men do.
ReplyDeleteThe Doctor
Personally, I think that Facebook is generally quite equally gendered. However, it is important to note the differences between the men and women (boys/girls) who use this particular social networking device, and the WAYS/reasons in which they use it.
ReplyDeleteThis obviously doesn't go for ALL people, by any means. However, I have noticed that for the most part, if a guy is 'creeping' Facebook, he's either interested in someone sexually, wants to check out what a friend has been doing after awhile of being disconnected with them, or they will only use it out of complete and sheer boredom.
With women I've noticed that more often, they will 'creep' other girls more than guys even, and this could potentially be for many different reasons. Perhaps they are interested in fashion, social status, or as previously stated - gossip. Now, of course whether guys want to admit it or not, many ARE in fact interested in what they may or may not want to call GOSSIP, but typically, women are a little more apt to partake in the "updated info" more-so on other girls. Perhaps this is a way for girls to compare themselves to others, to relate or notice differences, or criticize others.
Don't get me wrong - I know many many people who aren't this way. But, I also know a very large number who fit this annoying stereotype.
I think it's the way different genders USE Facebook, and their reasoning behind using it that way, which make it gendered.
-ctime*