Blog #4 Week 5: Stories and Places

Facebook: A Place I Made a Personal Space.

by Meg Tallis

          When I began this blog I was interested in utilising my weekly readings and lecture notes to find new ways in which to view Facebook; my involvement with it, and the power it affords me.  As mentioned in my first blog, I quickly realised upon joining facebook that it could act as a place for me to visit on lonely nights.  In the week five lecture Van Luyn (2013) states that 'places are specific sites made meaningful by humans interaction with them' and it is in this sense that Facebook can indeed be considered a 'place'.  After reading Tuan’s Language and the making of Place: A Narrative-Descriptive Approach (1991), I have an understanding of the role language plays in ensuring I feel this sense of place.  The first step in the process of place-making on Facebook was the requirement for me to create an online identity which involved a lot of naming. 

          Naming is encouraged on Facebook and I can see now how the Facebook structures encourage it as a means of assisting in identity construction.  As Tuan argues, ‘Insiders see “homeplace” – an environment that is familiar to them, not because they have materially transformed it but because they have named it.  It is their place – their world – through the casting of a linguistic net” (1991, p. 686).  Tuan was not referring to Facebook, but his theory of naming as a means of creating a familiar environment and sense of 'homeplace' can be used to see the Facebook's motivation to use labels such as ‘homepage’. Chrystopher Spicer in the week five tutorial explained how there is 'a sense of ownership associated with place for example our neighbourhood, our street'.  On Facebook, users are given ownership of the site by being able to name their homepage, interests, activities and more.

         Captioning also plays a role in the making of place on Facebook and supports Tuan’s argument that 'Naming is power - the creative power to call something into being, to render the invisible visible, to impart a certain character to things’ (1991, p. 688).  When I post a photograph of myself to Facebook, the caption I apply to it has the power to affect the way in which elements of the image are ‘made visible’.  In captioning the image I am utilising my power to control what message people will receive when they view it. Below is an example of how captions can change the message sent to viewers by a posted image.

Image 1. Example of a Caption's Power of Influence.

          Facebook is a relatively personal place for me to visit. Tamlyn Magee (2013) in blog post Superconnected Few makes note of the fact that there is a social phenomena associated with Facebook, the need to add more friends, increase your network.  However, as Tamlyn also points out, this is not an aim for all Facebook users.  For me, it is where I go to virtually visit my close friends. I ensured this 'place' would remain somewhere I would feel comfortable  sharing personal experiences by 'friending' only people whose numbers are in my phone - actual friends.

          
         Through Facebook I have the power to present myself from a chosen angle to the people who matter most to me.  I have the power to encourage comment from friends when I need reassurance or support; and I have the power to make Facebook an enjoyable place for friends via my own words. In a world where we can often feel powerless, it is nice to be afforded these modes of power.  So thank you Facebook! You are a place I will continue to virtually travel to I am sure.

References

Magee, T. (2013, Sep 10). Superconnected few - week 7 blogpost. [Web log post]. Retrieved from

             http://ba1002tuesday1pmcns.blogspot.com.au/2013/09/superconnection-week-7-blogpost.html            

Tuan, Y. (1991). Language and the making of place: A narrative-descriptive approach. Annuals of the   

        

             Association of American Geographers, 81,(4), 684-696. Retrieved from  http://www.

             jstor.org/stable/2563430

Van Luyn, A. (2013). BA1002: Our space: Networks, narratives and the making of place,

   

             Lecture 5: Stories and places. [PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://learnjcu.edu.au