Groups and Facebook: Making Social Interaction Easier

One of the most widely used Internet websites today, Facebook, has had a profound impact on social interaction. Using Facebook has proven to be useful, mainly in facilitating social interaction in many different ways. While there are numerous ways to interact on Facebook, Facebook "groups" are very helpful when it comes to social interaction among individuals.

Being a part of a group on a social networking website can have its perks. First, these Facebook groups can help individuals find other people with common fates, identities, or sets of goals (Markus et al., 333). The fact that this website is used by so many people means that the use of these groups helps people find a lot of people quickly with things they have in common. For example, I am interested in linguistics, a very uncommon interest. However, I am still able to find multiple groups with more than one person a part of these groups who share my interest in linguistics by using Facebook groups.

Second, these individuals in the groups are very likely to have a joint membership in a social category such as sex, race, etc (Markus et al., 294). So, if I were looking to join a group with mostly women this resource would be available with the click of a mouse! It is amazing how Facebook can help us do this so easily.

Next, a Social Psychologist would tell you that a group must have direct interaction with each other over time (Markus et al., 294). Well, Facebook does help individuals with this (whether or not the individuals follow through is what helps determines their level of group membership). Facebook has a feature that helps create events for individuals who want to organize a meet-up. Also, Facebook's new video chat makes it easier to interact with friends and family over the Internet.

Facebook's features like search tools, being cost-free, its worldwide usage, event planners, and many more allow individuals to interact in groups very easily. It is amazing how technology is shaping our world today! Some people have even started grouping social interaction into a new category: Internet and technology. This is because as our resources and technology grow, so do ways in which we are able to interact with others. Something to consider: What will we think of next and how will it affect human social interaction? Comment below, subscribe, get on Facebook.

Also, enjoy this amusing video about Facebook:

Sources:
Kassin, Fein, and Markus. Social Psychology. 8th ed. 2008. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2011. Print.