Reality or Facebook - Which do we care about more

Reality or Facebook - 

                       Which do we care about more

By Jarrad Terry

Over the last couple of years power on social media has had a massive impact on our thoughts and decisions. One of the most common influential social media platforms is Facebook. Facebook targets each and every user with personalised ads for Products and the display of Social Figures. The ads for these products are related to recent item searches and online purchases. Businesses and Social Figures are expanding their name by using ‘boosts’ and their popularity.  Power on Facebook can be made through targeting the likes of users, being a household name with that either being a person or business, and paying to be seen by user.

Algorithms and google searches affect the products that appear on our Facebook homepage, as they are all related to your online searches. This shows power by targeting the products that you want and have inquired about. It plays on your feelings by giving it straight to your face, with the same or better deal. There has been many theories of if you talk about a product while having Facebook open on your smart phone then ads based around the conversation will appear, Facebook has coped criticism for this statement but hasn’t had any effect on the Facebooks community. I’ve recently purchased shirts online from a clothing shop named ‘Culture Kings’, since then I’ve had personalised ads appear for shirts that similar in colour and pattern. This is having power on you to essentially entice you to buy more items that you like.

  

Graph showing a Cluster of Connections 

Almost every Facebook user follows a celebrity or some kind of popular social figure. This allows similar social influencers to appear in the recommended section based on popular people you  follow.  Celebrities and businesses expand their advertising and pages by paying to ‘Boost’. There are two options you can choose, Vahl (2014) writes “People who like your page and their friends or people you choose through targeting”. Anyone can now basically buy power on Facebook.  This causes the influencer or celebrities’ page to grow. Most stars on Facebook now days are trying to sell their followers products. The obvious truth is that every star is trying to be the most followed and with the biggest bank account. Followers = ‘Facebook power’, the more followers and likes a page has, the better out reach the person has. This is similar to a “cluster of connections” as referenced in BA1002 week 2 lecture. The popular page is a weak tie and if I share that content, I potentially expose that content to all my active Facebook friends. 

Facebook has made drastic changes since first being launched in 2004. It has gone from chatting with and making new friends. Now having connection to being able to buy products from the palm of your hand and the ability to see events that are happening all around the globe. You too can have the power to sell products and influence your friends using Facebook.

                                                                                                                                                              

Mark Müller-Linow, C. C.-T. (2008). Organization of Excitable Dynamics in Hierarchical Biological Networks. Retrieved from PLOS Computational Biology: https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000190

Vahl, A. (2014). Boost Posts or Promoted Posts on Facebook: Which is Better? Retrieved from Social Media Examiner: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-boost-posts-promoted-posts/