Facebook is Brown’s most educational tool
This summer, as I was heading to my flight which would take me back to the city we know and love — Providence, that is — I got a bit of mortifying news: I had been given a “Top Fan Badge” from Facebook for the Blueno Bears Admirers’ Page. Now, I immediately screenshotted this, because, while I was ashamed, there was some ounce of pride in achieving such a prestigious honor. I wanted to show my friends. However, I did not appreciate Facebook’s willingness to out my guilty pleasure. I spent the rest of my time in security at SFO contemplating the evils of technology and the way social media is stripping us of the simple pleasures in life.
If you’re like me, and you find yourself in the Rock on a Thursday afternoon, trying to guess if you’re going to fail all of your classes, and wondering if you should use points to buy a KitKat from the Rock Cafe to cheer yourself up, then you and I both know that sometimes life can get you down.
Surely, life would be better with a little more “balance.” A little less Rock time. A little less using points to buy KitKats and calling that a meal time. A little more sleep. But balance is hard. I get that.
Sometimes you have to choose between getting a good night’s sleep and seeing friends, spending money on beer or vegetables, doing laundry or having sex… So when the heck are you supposed to find time to be actually “learning”?
If you’re ever feeling torn about the best way to be spending your time, let me save you some time: Go. On. Facebook. You’re smart. You seek personal edification, social connection, and efficiency. And no tool, from the Brown Essentials app to the half-working water bottle filling station in the Blue Room, is as effective at meeting your needs as Facebook is.
I’m convinced that Brown students are more Facebook reliant than many other kids of our generation. And I’m not sure why that is, but, to be honest, social life here has a lot to do with Facebook. It’s weird. Facebook is mostly what old people do when they think they’re using technology correctly, right? Much like how they use email like it’s texting? Not so, here at this institution. Kids as young as 17 are replying “Interested” to everything from the Wednesday Farmers Market outside the SciLi to Beta Rho’s latest extravaganza.
There is a way for you, dear Brunonian, to use Brown-specific Facebook in a way that edifies yourself. If you ever question what it is that you’re doing here, or why it all matters, just remember: you wouldn’t have been in touch with things like Dear Blueno, Arch Sings announcements, or Blognonian posts. And how, I ask you, would you know where the parties are?
