I am using Facebook from the very launch of the network and I keep being grateful for the chance of connecting with so many people that I love to be in touch with and to have daily my update of news and interesting facts in the world and my town. I recognize that once in a while I spend too much time procrastinating, checking things that at the first sight do not bring me any pinch of knowledge, but in 90% of cases, also this apparently dead time helps. After all, I am a social media consultant besides many others hats I proudly wear and I need to be updated about different trends and marketing and communication possibilities.
Facehooked offers a different perspective on the popular network, written by a psychologist that for years studied behavioral changes and listened to different stories of people whose lives was influenced at various respects by it. Following a analytic approach, it covers various aspects regarding the exposure of the virtual identities. 'Our sense of self is now being shaped through what we share and how we share it', observed Dr. Flores, and one of the visible effects of these changes are the new behaviors related to compulsive use of social media. However, in the case of addictions, the pattern keeps being the same, with various alterations given by the specific nature of the medium where it manifests. In general, social networks interactions give 'a new dimension to the therapeutic presentation'.
Although it recognizes the positive effects of maintaining a healthy social media environment both online ad offline, the author focuses on the situations when Facebook can harm the mental integrity through: bullying, various manipulations, voyeurism, addictions etc. I completely agree with one of the advices that 'not everything we do have to be shared'. Also, I watch sometimes how parents are posting pictures online of their children, exposing them against their will to a publicity that maybe they do not want if anyone would have ask them. The world-wide interviews made by the author warn about dangerous trends and situations that dramatically changed lives and not always for the good, such as marriages destroyed, harassment etc.
A special section is dedicated to the Facebook phenomenon among teens, a category directly affected with a high consumption of social media and exposed to serious risks that their parents belonging to a different generation mostly ignore.
I really appreciated and recommend this book, for its systematic approach and various examples mentioned. Regardless the age group and level of social media use, everyone has something to learn from it.
Disclaimer: I was offered the book via NetGalley, in exchange of an honest review.
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